Your Base is Under Attack: Top Five RTS Games Part 3/5

I'm sure that most of you out there have heard the old adage, 'bigger is better'. Well, as I sit here now I also think of the saying 'quality over quantity', which is generally something I try to follow as closely as possible. This poses an interesting question; is there a certain point where sheer size and scale defeats quality? I'd be to inclined to say yes; funnily enough, when I thought of this the first example that came to my mind was the Battle of Stalingrad during the Second World War. The German forces were better equipped and better trained than the Russian troops, but the endless wave of bodies crashing against them prevailed, and the Germans were pushed back. Anyway, scale and quality are not always mutually exclusive, and speaking of military conflicts this brings me in a somewhat roundabout fashion to the number three RTS of all time for this list.

3) World in Conflict (Massive Entertainment, 2007)
For me, it is a sad affair to speak of this strategy game today. I suppose it's a story of a lonely giant, with so much to give to the world, but regardless it's largely forgotten by all but a few. Melodramatic perhaps, but this game is one of the few games where the campaign did not grind me down in my attempts to complete it. It was a genuine joy to lose myself in the story, and feel as though I really was that faceless commander, so quiet under such chest pounding pressure. And yet, I never managed to play this game online. It was not for lack of trying; I sat for quite some time on Massgate, feeling my frustration build over a lack of populated games. Maybe it was just a bad week, but nevertheless this game deserves more in my opinion.

World in Conflict places you as Lieutenant Parker, a cool, calm and collected officer ready to rip into the invading Russians with all the U.S. forces at his command. The cut-scenes are cleverly shot so you never actually see his face; a nice touch to help you imagine yourself as Parker, and it reminded me a bit I suppose of the immersion in the Half Life series (never a bad connection). The story plays out similarly to Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising (fantastic book by the way!), as the Russians essentially decide to take on the west in all out warfare. The cut-scenes, interspersed with artistic screens with dialogue, develop the characters to a fairly large extent, and you start to find yourself really fighting for freedom and the infantry under your command. This superb story is absolutely dazzling; perhaps not unique in design, but flawless in execution.

In terms of actual gameplay, World in Conflict focuses strongly on the combat aspect of strategy, and largely dismisses the economy and base management. This may be to some player's distaste, but personally I find the approach refreshing and bags of fun. Units and support powers are handled through 'reinforcement points': these points are set to a maximum number, and then deplete and replenish accordingly as you spend points on units and artillery.

Oh the artillery! I suppose each game has a certain spark that makes it stand above other games in different areas, and for World in Conflict it's the support powers available to the commander. With visual settings set to a decent level, try calling down artillery of varying sizes on the map, and watch in fascination as an awesome display of fireworks tears the ground (and enemy units) to shreds with unsettling elegance. It truly is an unparalleled feeling of power. Combine that with command of tanks, armored vehicles and infantry on a massive scale, and you have World in Conflict at its finest. In multiplayer, you are given a specific role (air, support, armor or infantry) and you help your team destroy the enemy or capture territory to win the game. Sadly, I was denied the opportunity to fully test this; but from what I've seen it's excellent as well.

To the spoils go the victor, and World in Conflict can feel satisfied with the bronze today as it claims the third place prize in this battle for the greatest RTS of all time. That's all from me for now, but don't go too far; the silver is up for grabs tomorrow as the second place is revealed...