ONsight: Is the War coming to an End?

Tom Clancy's End War is the latest flagship title to be released under the Tom Clancy / Ubisoft banner on the 360, PC (later Feb. 2009), and PS3. The game takes place into the future where the world is once again plagued by war on all nations between the US JSF, EU, and the Russians. You are The General, an overlord if you will who controls all combat units in the field and, you are the key to winning the war. What sets this game apart from all god-view RTS games is, that unlike the standard point and click approach, the game allows you to more or less play the whole game using only your voice. Does it work? Yes it does, and quite well at that.


Below are the scores:

Graphics: 8.5 out of 10
The really good unit design per faction is very appealing to the eye, but not overdone. The landscapes are huge with a good amount variety, from urban centers to open fields. Textures can get a little blurred when zooming in too much, and action transitions and effects as well as overall combat could be sharper.

Gameplay: 9 out of 10
Definitely the best console RTS gameplay/control so far, maybe even of all time. Combat is more or less a rock, paper, scissors thing but this can be offset slightly by a large variety of unit customization upgrades. The flexibility the game gives you allows you to tailor your tactics to your preferences. The system of facing combat through the view of the unit rather than the big picture allows you to see the carnage and more detail allowing you to deal with situations more effectively. Multiplayer is also awesome due to its relative low lag and persistence system.

Replay: 9 out of 10
Constant warfare and fighting online with your own battalions to preserve your nations territories will seldom get bored especially when you consider that no other game really immerses you as much as EndWar does. Tinkering around with your units can keep you on for a while if you think about all combat scenarios.

Sound: 8.5 out of 10
Mediocre voice acting, and accents conflict a little, but they get to the point well enough. Combat effects sound good but may or may not become bland after a while. Explosions sound crisp but seem lacking to some extent. Reports are a little less entertaining considering that unlike Company of Heroes when your units get slaughtered or are under attack, they show no emotion.

Overall: 8.8 out of 10
Definitely something to buy, the learning curve is okay, but when you play online against the more seasoned demo players and the hardcore strategists things can get rough at the start. Campaign is mainly like a huge training session considering you cannot really deal with live opponents the same way. Its not an ugly game but neither is it super pretty (in a manly way, shiny graphics, nicer explosions, etc.) like Company of Heroes.