World in Conflict

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

World in Conflict
Developer(s)	Massive Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Sierra Entertainment
Designer(s)	Magnus Jansén
Engine	Masstech Game Engine
Version	1.0.0.8 / May 28, 2008
Platform(s)	Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date	PC: September 18, 2007 September 20, 2007 September 21, 2007 PlayStation 3: Fall, 2008 2008 Xbox 360: September 2, 2008 2008
Genre(s)	Real-time tactics
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T OFLC: M PEGI: 16+ BBFC: 12
Media	DVD, Blu-ray Disc

World in Conflict (also known as WiC or WIC) is a real-time tactical video game developed by the Swedish video game company Massive Entertainment and published by Sierra Entertainment for Windows PC. The game was released in September of 2007.^[1] A version for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles by Swordfish Studios will be released by fall 2008 under the name World in Conflict: Soviet Assault.^[2][3][4]

The game is set in 1989 during the social, political, and economic collapse of the Soviet Union. However, the title postulates an alternate history scenario where the Soviet Union pursued a course of war to remain in power. ^[5]

Generally considered a real-time strategy (RTS) game, World in Conflict includes gameplay typical of real-time tactical (RTT) games.

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Single player campaign 1.2 Multiplayer 1.3 Interface 2 Plot 3 Development 3.1 Influences 3.2 Collector's edition 4 Expansion 4.1 World in Conflict: Soviet Assault 5 Reception 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Gameplay

World in Conflict does not offer base-building or resource gathering. Instead, players are given a pre-determined amount of in-game reinforcement points to buy units. When a unit is destroyed, the points used to purchase it are slowly filtered back to the player: thus reinforcements can be summoned to the fray. Tactical gameplay lacking base- and unit building is similar to real-time tactics (RTT) games, some of which feature intermittent reinforcements. Another example of the genre is Ground Control by Massive Entertainment^[6], sometimes considered World in Conflict's spiritual predecessor. In fact, the game's designers considered the game to be an RTT^[3].

World in Conflict contains three main factions: USA, Soviet Union & NATO, all playable in multiplayer games. However the Soviet Union is not playable in the single-player campaign, which is experienced from the USA and NATO perspective. The USA and NATO are pitted against the Soviet Union throughout the story as well as in online play.

The player may choose one of four roles in battle: infantry, air, support or armor. Each role has its own exclusive units, that aren't available for purchase from other roles. The basic units of each role can be purchased by everyone but are more expensive for players with a different role. The infantry role gives access to various infantry squads such as anti-tank teams, snipers, and light transport vehicles whereas armor allows players to use various classes of tanks, the dominant direct fire land combat unit of the game. Players choosing the air role have access to anti-armor, air superiority, scout and transport helicopters. Finally, the support role contains anti-air, artillery, and repair units.

Most units have special offensive and defensive abilities that recharge after use. For example, standard infantry has the offensive grenade launcher attack and are capable of a defensive sprinting maneuver. World in Conflict uses a tactical aid system similar to that of Command & Conquer: Generals. Tactical Aids allow the player to perform special actions such as calling in airstrikes, deploying paratroopers and carpet bombing.

[edit] Single player campaign

The single player campaign, owing to inspiration from Call of Duty and Medal of Honor (see the 'Influences' section below), gives the player the role of Lieutenant Parker, an officer in the United States Army, in charge of a company. Meanwhile the AI handles the remainder of action on the battlefield. This contrasts the approach of most RTS titles, in which the player is in charge of whole armies and thus responsible for most of the action on the battlefield. The player experiences many different locations in the United States, Europe and Russia.

The campaign mode differs from the skirmish and multiplayer modes in that it restricts the units that can be deployed. It is narrated by Alec Baldwin.

[edit] Multiplayer

Multiplayer games support up to sixteen players and can be played on a LAN or over the Internet. Three types of maps are featured: domination maps, where players must control command points to win the game, assault maps, where one team defends a series of command points which the other teams assaults, and tug of war maps, where teams must fight to capture a series of command points on the front line, whereupon the line shifts towards a new set of points closer to the losing team.

The game host can add bots to play on the server. The AI is quite intelligent^{[citation needed]}, using different techniques for different game types and using a variety of forces together, so there are few weaknesses. Bots adapt quickly and react well to changing situations on the battlefield, and are also quite good at using tactical aids effectively^{[citation needed]}. Bots try to obey commands given by the player by replying on-screen.

The online component of the game uses the in-game Massgate system, which is derived from Ground Control^{[citation needed]}. The system helps players keep track of friends, allowing them to see whether they are online or playing a game. Clans can be created and kept track of in-game, with features such as ranks and clan matches. Massgate includes leader boards and a ranking system based on US Army military ranks. Players can increase their rank and leader board position in a way similar to Battlefield 2, by accumulating earnings and scoring points, medals, and badges. Achieving higher ranks becomes progressively more difficult. The leader board also keeps track of clan rankings.

[edit] Interface

The game interface for World in Conflict is smaller than that of with other strategy games^{[citation needed]}. There is no framing in the game, so the interface is dramatically reduced especially at the bottom middle. The middle is replaced with a list of units, whereas the top right hand corner contains the expandable reinforcement procurement list. The mini map is in the bottom left hand corner, while the bottom right hand corner contains the special abilities buttons (including unit formation). Overall the smaller interface gives players to a bigger view of the battlefield, allowing them to micromanage more easily than in other strategy games^[who?]. Players can also use a messaging system that is designed to allow conversation between individuals regardless of whether they are on the same server or playing the same game.

World in Conflict features a fully rotational 360 degree camera. The player uses the WASD keys to move the camera around the map, while clicking and holding the mouse wheel is used to look around from a fixed position, players can move the camera as far down as close to the units on the ground.

[edit] Plot

See also: History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991)

The game is set in an alternate 1989 in which the Soviet Politburo elects to take military action to preserve the crumbling Soviet Union, rather than see it fall apart. Their plan was to blackmail Western Europe to get the needed aid, but, failing to achieve this diplomatically, the Soviet Union invades Western Europe.

The player assumes the role of First Lieutenant Parker, an United States Army officer under the command of Colonel Sawyer. At the time of his introduction Parker was on leave in Seattle when a camouflaged Soviet amphibious assault force launches a surprise invasion of the city. A combination of regular U.S. Army and National Guard soldiers engage the invading Soviet forces in an effort to buy time for the local civilians to evacuate before retreating south toward Pine Valley, Washington. Here elements of the 5th Battalion under the command of Colonel Sawyer make a stand, and with the aid of the battleship Missouri ultimately force the Soviets to halt their invasion and tighten their defensive lines. During this brief respite Sawyer's battalion is reinforced by Oregon National Guardsmen under the command of Colonel Wilkins.

After a month of consolidation, the Soviet invaders renew their expansion, heading east into the Cascade Mountains towards Fort Teller in order to disable the United States' Strategic Defense Initiative. While the project was a bluff, the threat of its existence has thus far kept the Soviet Union from launching a nuclear strike, and thus the defense of the facility takes top priority. Sawyer and Wilkins engage in a series of delaying battles while en route to the Fort, with Sawyer electing to make a stand in Cascade Falls, Washington. At first the stand appears to work, but when overwhelming Soviet forces enter the area the Americans are forced to resort to nuclear weaponry to stop the Soviets, leaving a group of volunteers behind to pin down the Soviet ground troops while a tactical nuclear missile is fired at the town; upon its arrival and detonation the nuke annihilates both the town and the Soviet invaders.

The game then flashes back to the outbreak of the war, in the process revealing that diplomats from both sides had laboured for a month to prevent the outbreak of the war and had ultimately failed. The game then shows Parker's service in France, in the Soviet Union, and fighting off a limited invasion of New York City by Soviet Spetsnaz, centered around Liberty Island, Ellis Island and Governors Island. In the latter scenario, the Soviets intend to store chemical weapons inside the Statue of Liberty and release them over Manhattan. Foreshadowing the game's final missions, Parker must defeat the Soviet forces before the Army is forced to destroy the Statue and everything else on Liberty Island with a massive air strike.

After the flashback, the game returns to the sequence of events after the destruction of Cascade Falls. As the scattered remnants of the U.S. Army defenders from Cascade Falls attempt to regroup and reorganize the United States receives word that the People's Republic of China has entered the war on the Soviet side. Chinese troops occupy Mongolia and launch attacks into South Korea and India; additionally, the People's Liberation Army Navy sends an invasion fleet to reinforce the Soviet beachhead in Seattle. After mulling over the available options the President orders the surviving U.S. Army units from the attack on Cascade Falls to attack Seattle, and as a back up plan orders a nuclear strike against Seattle should the attempt to recapture the city fail. In the final series of missions Parker's commander, desperate to avoid "...another Cascade Falls" on a much bigger scale, orders his forces into a desperate attack aimed at breaking through the Soviet lines to reach Seattle and destroy the heavily fortified Soviet headquarters before the Chinese land. The Americans manage to retake Seattle from the Soviets before the Chinese fleet arrives, thus delivering a decisive blow to the Chinese as they lack the materiel to launch an amphibious assault. Consequently, the Chinese fleet turns back to China.

The game concludes with a statement that Parker may be called upon to fight later on, hinting of an expansion or a sequel, as fighting continues in Europe and elsewhere. Notably, the late entry of the PRC and the attacks into both India and South Korea are not part of the WiC solo player campaign, suggesting they may form the basis for a expansion or sequel.

[edit] Development

System Requirements^[7]

Operating System	Microsoft Windows XP/Vista
Processor	2.0GHz Or Higher, 2.2GHz For Vista, if dual-core: Any Intel or AMD
RAM	512MB, 1GB for Vista
Disc drive	DVD-drive
Hard drive	8GB or more
Video Card	128MB video RAM Direct X 9.0c Compatible
Sound Card	Direct X 9.0c Compatible
Internet connection	Cable, DSL or Better

[edit] Influences

The game's designers have cited the 1984 film Red Dawn as one of their key influences [1]. The film's main premise is the invasion of America by Soviet and Central American troops. Echoes of the film can be seen in the initial paratroop landings (though in the film they happen in Colorado) and in the use of civilian transports to disguise a Soviet invasion force; again, this differs slightly from the film.

Tom Clancy's novel Red Storm Rising is likely to have some elements drawn from it; as it depicts a conventional war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact in West Germany, though much of the action takes place at sea. An added factor was that the co-author of the book, Larry Bond, was the main consultant for the World in Conflict team.

Another influence for the game, according to issue 7 of the WiC Journal, are the first-person shooter game series Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, and how the games give the player a relatively small role in a big conflict and will command small numbers of units at a time rather than whole hordes. The developers, still according to the journal, have also looked to the games Battlefield 2 and Counter-Strike: Source for inspiration. The game play is reminiscent of Conflict Zone, as the camera angles and basic troops are similar. The plot is also reminiscent of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, featuring a Soviet invasion of the US.

Acknowledgement was made in the campaign mode of the indignation many Koreans had expressed over a scene in the James Bond film Die Another Day, which features an American officer giving orders to obedient South Korean troops. Upon arriving in France, the brash American colonel assumes command of the NATO troops, presuming a MacArthur-like role, but his French equivalent is insulted, calling the colonel's attitude unprecedented. The colonel's word wins out in the end, but the Frenchman gripes about how Americans think they rule the world.

[edit] Collector's edition

The collector's edition of World in Conflict comes in a limited edition collector's box art cloth packaging (with a Soviet flag on one side and Russian wording of "World in Conflict", and the USA Flag on the other with English "World in Conflict") and includes an authentic piece of the Berlin Wall,^[8] Modern Marvels: The Berlin Wall DVD by The History Channel, Behind the Scenes DVD and World in Conflict exclusive Creative HS-390 headset (Europe Only).^[9]

The collector's edition in Poland is different compared to collector's editions in other countries. It includes an exclusive World in Conflict wooden container, limited edition collector's box art packaging (Soviet or USA Flag), a full-sized flag of the USA or Soviet Union, an exclusive World in Conflict poster, a t-shirt and cap with the World in Conflict logo and decorations and a World in Conflict exclusive Trust Hs-2200 headset.^[10]

The collector's edition available in Taiwan, is also different. As there was no preorder scheme put into place. It includes an exclusive flag of the Soviet Union, a Modern Marvels: Strategic Air Command DVD by the History Channel, Special translated behind the scenes DVD, Metallic packaging featuring the Soviet Flag on the front, and the USA flag on the back.[2][3]

[edit] Expansion

[edit] World in Conflict: Soviet Assault

Main article: World in Conflict: Soviet Assault

A new edition of the game, called World in Conflict: Soviet Assault^[11], will be available by fall 2008 for home consoles, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. It will released for PC versions as a purchasable expansion pack. The new edition will include a brand new campaign with the obligatory switching of sides. Reinforcements in the new edition can be called to the battlefield either by using the context menu or voice communication using the headset, just as in Tom Clancy's EndWar. New maps will be included as well as new movies and cutscenes. There will be no new units included ^[12].

The console version will lower the maximum number of connected players from 16 to 10, and lack cross-platform play. Camera controls in the console version will be mapped onto both analog sticks (as in a first-person shooter) with the possibility to zoom or pause the game completely.

[edit] Reception

Reviews
Publication	Score
Eurogamer	9/10[13]
Game Informer	9.25/10[14]
GameSpot	9.5/10[15]
IGN	9.3/10[16]
PC Gamer UK	8.8/10[17]
PC Gamer US	93/100
PC PowerPlay	9/10
PC Zone	92/100[18]
Games for Windows	8/10[19]
Compilations of multiple reviews
Compiler	Score
Metacritic	89/100[20]
Game Rankings	89/100[21]

World in Conflict has been positively received. It topped weekly sales charts in North America, Germany and Australia in the week it was released ^[22]. It has received "generally favorable reviews" from game critics according to the review aggregator Metacritic^[21], where the game has an average score of 89%. Gamespot, a popular online game site, called the game "the studio's masterwork". They gave it 95 points out of 100^[15] and the editor's choice award. The game also received the editor's choice award from IGN.com ^[16] and the Australian gaming magazine PC PowerPlay, as well as PC Zone's classic award^[18]. PC Gamer US awarded the game its editor's choice award, as well as naming it the 2007 RTS game of the year.

Prior to its initial release in September 2007, World in Conflict received several awards from its E3 presentation in 2007.

• IGN: Best PC Strategy Game, Best Strategy Game (All Platforms), Best Of E3 2007^[23][24]
• Gamespot: Best Strategy Game Of E3, E3'07 Editors Choice Award^[25]
• GameTrailers.com: Best Strategy Game Of E3^[26]
• Game Critics: E3 2007 Best Strategy Game, The Best Of E3 07 Winner^[27]

The game was played in the 2007 Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) World Tour.^[28]

[edit] See also

• List of Games for Windows titles

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• World in Conflict official website
• World in Conflict official forum
• World in Conflict official wiki