Le Goat
01-21-2009, 06:18 PM
I've been dying for this game for some time now, I just now saw it's hitting PC before console... I think it has the best trailers i've seen for a game.
World in Conflict may have launched not too long ago--in September of last year--but developer Massive Entertainment isn't content to simply rest on its laurels amidst the critical acclaim and throngs of devoted fans the game has garnered. The team is now hard at work alongside Swordfish Studios on the task of bringing this genre-defining RTS to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. PC gamers don't need to cry into their helmets just yet though, as the developers are also bringing World in Conflict: Soviet Assault--which they steer clear of referring to as an expansion--to mouse users. Massive is keen to avoid that term lest users think this is simply the addition of a new unit class or two and some extra maps. Instead it believes there's enough here that even the most hardened of WIC devotees will want to replay the single-player campaign to take it all in. The team even went so far as to liken it to Call of Duty 4 and its multiple playable characters from different sides of the military fence, giving a more broad view of the situation and focusing on both internal conflict and the underlying war themes.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/118/940051_20080428_embed003.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/strategy/worldinconflict/news.html?sid=6190042&mode=previews#) It's WIC, just like you remember...except without the mouse. (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/strategy/worldinconflict/news.html?sid=6190042&mode=previews#)
We had only a short amount of hands-on time with a development build on the Xbox 360, but the thing we noticed quickly was the control scheme. Although it's a daunting task to take something as complex as an RTS and map its many menus, unit selection, and objective lists to a console controller, the developers have done a great job making it intuitive without dumbing it down. In the early part of the campaign mode, you'll need only the A button to progress, using it to select your units, move them where they're needed, and attack hostile targets. This isn't to say the advanced control options you'll learn later are unavailable, but first-timers shouldn't have any trouble picking it up, because the learning curve is nice and gentle. As you progress, you'll learn to use the primary and secondary weapon options, mapped to the X and B buttons, while the left and right bumpers will let you control your reinforcements and tactical aid.
Unit selection has consciously been made as painless as possible. Pressing a direction on the D pad switches between teams of troops or vehicles and lets you select groups. A single press selects the team, while a double tap will snap the camera to the team to give it precise location commands for where you want the team to go. We were also told that units can also be selected by "painting" them--holding the A button and manoeuvring the left analog stick around the screen. If that sounds too tough and you're more of an attack-in-numbers kind of player, you can also click downwards on the right analog stick, which gives you a large green circle to select units with by encircling them. Double clicking the stick widens the radius further still.
There's no minimap function to be found here, but it's surprisingly tough to lose track of your troops. If you zoom out to the maximum game-field distance, you're presented with all of your forces clearly marked by green arrows and your foes in red--which gives you the option to survey the lands before you at a glance. If you're an up-close-and-personal kind of gamer, you can zoom in to watch your characters battle it out.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/118/940051_20080428_embed006.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/strategy/worldinconflict/news.html?sid=6190042&mode=previews#) The action is just as frantic as ever and still looks a treat. (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/strategy/worldinconflict/news.html?sid=6190042&mode=previews#)
World in Conflict: Soviet Assault will also see the addition of voice support on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 via headset. Unfortunately, during our demo the feature failed to work properly, but we were told it would be used to control the player's tactical aid and to order reinforcements. The technology, which is also being used in Ubisoft's upcoming Tom Clancy's EndWar, allows for quite granular control, letting you bark orders like "One jeep, two armoured transport" to have units selected. You won't be able to launch a multitiered attack sequence through voice, but you can tee up an impending missile bombardment with your dulcet tones, needing only a simple press of the A button to fire and forget. Massive did confirm that the feature would not be a part of the PC version of the game when it ships. Console users will also be able to use voice commands in tandem with Xbox Live and PlayStation Network chat multiplayer games, with the game muting your microphone when orders are given.
We'll hold off on passing judgement on the game's visuals until we see a more advanced build running, but from our short introduction, it appears to be a faithful reproduction of the high-spec PC-eating graphics we saw in the previous game. Explosions are just as chunky, smoke is thick and plumed, and environments are suitably verdant.
Is there enough here to satisfy the player who purchased and played through World in Conflict on the PC? At this point we don't really know, but for those who missed its original incarnation or are interested to find out what all the fuss is about, this version looks to hold plenty of promise for console gamers with a penchant for real-time strategy.
When the merged Activision-Vivendi dropped a host of games from its roster last year (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6195113.html), it left developers and franchises alike in limbo. Among the more notable of these were Massive Entertainment and the multiplatform Soviet Assault expansion to its freshly established real-time strategy series, World in Conflict.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2009/020/sovietassault471_embed.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/worldinconflictsovietassault/news.html?sid=6203443&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures;title#)And boom goes the dynamite. (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/worldinconflictsovietassault/news.html?sid=6203443&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures;title#)
Ubisoft acquired Massive in November (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6200814.html), picking up the World in Conflict brand in the process. However, the publisher did not address release plans for Soviet Assault until today.
Ubisoft has announced that World in Conflict: Soviet Assault will arrive on the PC in March. Gamers will be able to pick it up at retailers as part of the World in Conflict: Complete Edition bundle, while those who already own the original game will be able to purchase the expansion online.
While that news may be comforting for PC gamers, their console counterparts will notice that Ubisoft made no mention of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 editions of World in Conflict: Soviet Assault. Both had been announced by Vivendi Games, with Soviet Assault for the Xbox 360 originally intended for a fall 2007 release (the PS3 edition was first pegged as a fall 2008 release). However, since acquiring Massive and the World in Conflict brand, Ubisoft has not addressed any release plans for the console versions of the game.
Inquiries to Ubisoft representatives about the status of Soviet Assault for the Xbox 360 and PS3 went unreturned as of press time.
OEnaX55NBVI
(my favorite)
1A4oSCrCP6U
World in Conflict may have launched not too long ago--in September of last year--but developer Massive Entertainment isn't content to simply rest on its laurels amidst the critical acclaim and throngs of devoted fans the game has garnered. The team is now hard at work alongside Swordfish Studios on the task of bringing this genre-defining RTS to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. PC gamers don't need to cry into their helmets just yet though, as the developers are also bringing World in Conflict: Soviet Assault--which they steer clear of referring to as an expansion--to mouse users. Massive is keen to avoid that term lest users think this is simply the addition of a new unit class or two and some extra maps. Instead it believes there's enough here that even the most hardened of WIC devotees will want to replay the single-player campaign to take it all in. The team even went so far as to liken it to Call of Duty 4 and its multiple playable characters from different sides of the military fence, giving a more broad view of the situation and focusing on both internal conflict and the underlying war themes.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/118/940051_20080428_embed003.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/strategy/worldinconflict/news.html?sid=6190042&mode=previews#) It's WIC, just like you remember...except without the mouse. (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/strategy/worldinconflict/news.html?sid=6190042&mode=previews#)
We had only a short amount of hands-on time with a development build on the Xbox 360, but the thing we noticed quickly was the control scheme. Although it's a daunting task to take something as complex as an RTS and map its many menus, unit selection, and objective lists to a console controller, the developers have done a great job making it intuitive without dumbing it down. In the early part of the campaign mode, you'll need only the A button to progress, using it to select your units, move them where they're needed, and attack hostile targets. This isn't to say the advanced control options you'll learn later are unavailable, but first-timers shouldn't have any trouble picking it up, because the learning curve is nice and gentle. As you progress, you'll learn to use the primary and secondary weapon options, mapped to the X and B buttons, while the left and right bumpers will let you control your reinforcements and tactical aid.
Unit selection has consciously been made as painless as possible. Pressing a direction on the D pad switches between teams of troops or vehicles and lets you select groups. A single press selects the team, while a double tap will snap the camera to the team to give it precise location commands for where you want the team to go. We were also told that units can also be selected by "painting" them--holding the A button and manoeuvring the left analog stick around the screen. If that sounds too tough and you're more of an attack-in-numbers kind of player, you can also click downwards on the right analog stick, which gives you a large green circle to select units with by encircling them. Double clicking the stick widens the radius further still.
There's no minimap function to be found here, but it's surprisingly tough to lose track of your troops. If you zoom out to the maximum game-field distance, you're presented with all of your forces clearly marked by green arrows and your foes in red--which gives you the option to survey the lands before you at a glance. If you're an up-close-and-personal kind of gamer, you can zoom in to watch your characters battle it out.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/118/940051_20080428_embed006.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/strategy/worldinconflict/news.html?sid=6190042&mode=previews#) The action is just as frantic as ever and still looks a treat. (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/strategy/worldinconflict/news.html?sid=6190042&mode=previews#)
World in Conflict: Soviet Assault will also see the addition of voice support on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 via headset. Unfortunately, during our demo the feature failed to work properly, but we were told it would be used to control the player's tactical aid and to order reinforcements. The technology, which is also being used in Ubisoft's upcoming Tom Clancy's EndWar, allows for quite granular control, letting you bark orders like "One jeep, two armoured transport" to have units selected. You won't be able to launch a multitiered attack sequence through voice, but you can tee up an impending missile bombardment with your dulcet tones, needing only a simple press of the A button to fire and forget. Massive did confirm that the feature would not be a part of the PC version of the game when it ships. Console users will also be able to use voice commands in tandem with Xbox Live and PlayStation Network chat multiplayer games, with the game muting your microphone when orders are given.
We'll hold off on passing judgement on the game's visuals until we see a more advanced build running, but from our short introduction, it appears to be a faithful reproduction of the high-spec PC-eating graphics we saw in the previous game. Explosions are just as chunky, smoke is thick and plumed, and environments are suitably verdant.
Is there enough here to satisfy the player who purchased and played through World in Conflict on the PC? At this point we don't really know, but for those who missed its original incarnation or are interested to find out what all the fuss is about, this version looks to hold plenty of promise for console gamers with a penchant for real-time strategy.
When the merged Activision-Vivendi dropped a host of games from its roster last year (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6195113.html), it left developers and franchises alike in limbo. Among the more notable of these were Massive Entertainment and the multiplatform Soviet Assault expansion to its freshly established real-time strategy series, World in Conflict.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2009/020/sovietassault471_embed.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/worldinconflictsovietassault/news.html?sid=6203443&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures;title#)And boom goes the dynamite. (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/worldinconflictsovietassault/news.html?sid=6203443&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures;title#)
Ubisoft acquired Massive in November (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6200814.html), picking up the World in Conflict brand in the process. However, the publisher did not address release plans for Soviet Assault until today.
Ubisoft has announced that World in Conflict: Soviet Assault will arrive on the PC in March. Gamers will be able to pick it up at retailers as part of the World in Conflict: Complete Edition bundle, while those who already own the original game will be able to purchase the expansion online.
While that news may be comforting for PC gamers, their console counterparts will notice that Ubisoft made no mention of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 editions of World in Conflict: Soviet Assault. Both had been announced by Vivendi Games, with Soviet Assault for the Xbox 360 originally intended for a fall 2007 release (the PS3 edition was first pegged as a fall 2008 release). However, since acquiring Massive and the World in Conflict brand, Ubisoft has not addressed any release plans for the console versions of the game.
Inquiries to Ubisoft representatives about the status of Soviet Assault for the Xbox 360 and PS3 went unreturned as of press time.
OEnaX55NBVI
(my favorite)
1A4oSCrCP6U