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| Now the latest from Bill in the traffic news chopper! | Too quiet …don’t you wanna just add tanks, missiles and fire!? |
First off though, make sure you have almost the 'bee’s knees' of computing power at your disposal! This game likes to run processors into the ground, and slurp greedily at your memory. At first it handles well, but once the action gets full swing you’ll feel the strain. With good reason though, zooming in on the units is pretty cool as they are all modelled well with the armoured units looking damn nifty I say! It uses the latest in graphics features, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself turning a few off to get a better run at the game!
I like explodies! Yes that is a real word …somewhere, and this game has lots of them – big ones too and oh so pretty! On the tutorial mission based on Alcatraz (what is it with terrorists and that island?) you get to fire up a British Challenger 2; complete with Scottish accent. With water realism set to on, prepare to enjoy another piece of graphical eye candy. For those with aging game machines I would advise you turn that off too as in the end it’s for aesthetics only, and considering your time will be most spent on land it doesn’t really matter. Explosions, gunfire, smoke, your all purpose fire – all of it looks great and illustrates the general chaos just begging to consume the current situation.
Sound, what can I say? Nothing as I can only type this review …so what can I type? It’s good; the effects to each vehicle and gun are as they should be. It’s better to play the game with EAX on (if possible) as the atmospheric feel can be an experience to behold. Copters buzzing about, tanks rolling across whatever desert you’re thrown into in the name of war and the screams of troops. Sadly there’s no blood gurgling to be heard, giving a less than convincing death yodel from fallen enemies. Another mild amusement is the varied languages and accents, playing as the World forces incorporate British, American, French and probably others to make up your squads and units voices. A slight nic-pick (though I admit it could be just my machine) is the small breaks in weather sounds, rain and thunder would go silent for a second.
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| The games engine can truly make a scene to behold | The vehicles and units are detailed well |
Okay so how does this terrorising bad boy play I hear you shriek? For those looking for some Command & Conquer style action, you will be disappointed here as there are no bases or resources to handle in the usual gathering sense. Instead you are awarded mission points (MP) for completing Primary, Secondary and any Hidden mission objects that come your way. This is easily explained within the tutorial, where you’ll soon learn that additional troops are 'bought' and then dropped into battle at drop points. You can only bring in more men at these points, so you have to look after them or the enemy can easily cut off additional support. All hail the medic! They are truly a saviour; they can quickly heal your men after a fire fight and have you ready and able again. They also revive fallen troops, so when a man is down he isn’t necessary dead and gone just yet, but make sure you hurry otherwise his wounds will finish him off!
Most units have passive and special actions under their command. A passive power for instance could be mine detection, now while they will detect mines it doesn’t mean they will automatically disable them! Units also have stances such as the expected 'aggressive' one where your units will engage enemies hard. 'Defensive' will be returning fire only; they even come with sneak so they will try their hardest to go unnoticed. Each mission in a campaign allows you to carry over units from the previous, so when you’re quite the way along your surviving veteran units will be all the more valuable, resourceful and deadly.
As I had the campaign set too easy (What? I ain’t a girl!) I can’t speak extensively on the AI, but from what I have experienced it’s good! The computer knows how to yank up pressure, now the campaigns will of course be heavily influenced by scripting but the 'brains' of the enemy is great for a challenge. For strategy games, AI is everything as if the enemy is nothing but a lame duck then you can’t boast the next day how much you 0wned them! In the gaming World 0wnage is everything! Also available for those instant action types out there is the map generator, so you can a long replay life cycle with this one. For those map making overlords out there too, a map editor is included.
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| It’s the rapture! Oh no false alarm, it’s just a war | Rush hour can bring the worst out in people |
Now for a bad point, well I’d say more of a not-so-good point is more accurate. The User Interface is perhaps the least inspiring, plus it’s too big and eats up the screen even at higher resolutions. Also be careful when rotating and tilting the view as if you move too quickly you could find yourself discovering a new angle previously uncharted! Nic-pick #2, audio and subtitles do not always see eye to ear!
Overall this game is well worth getting, it may appear like an Act of War look-a-like but don’t be fooled. This really will offer a different experience, ultimately whether that is good or bad rests with the gaming public! War on Terror is a great game and I hope you grab a copy soon!
Top game moment:
TOP GAME MOMENT
Watching a horde of enemies rush my position, only for them to realise too late that …I have apaches! Oh yeah!
