World in Conflict: Soviet Assault

[Flawless]

This is the upcoming console version and PC expansion pack. The console version will include both the original World in Conflict along with the new content in Soviet Assault.

More info

• Brand new campaign with obligatory switching sides and, for the first time, playing on the Soviet side.
• Among new units a chronoplane, some sort of a boat-ship mix based on an actual prototype model from the '80s (perhaps the Bartini VVA-14?).
• Camera controls mapped onto both analog sticks (as in a first-person shooter) with the possibility to zoom or pause the game completely.
• Reinforcements or new units can be called to the battlefield either by using the context menu, or - at this point still a bit tricky - voice communication using the headset, same as in Tom Clancy's EndWar.
• The same multiplayer maps & mods as in the PC version, plus some new ones. With the maximum number of connected players lowered from 16 to 10 and lacking cross-platform play.
• The actual conversion (such as fitting the controls onto a joypad) being handled by Swordfish Studios, with Massive Entertainment supplying only new content.
• New rendered movies and cutscenes.

[Flawless]

Re: World in Conflict: Soviet Assault

Trailer

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[Flawless]

Re: World in Conflict: Soviet Assault

Team Xbox: Hands-On

After spending a little time with the game, it’s clear that getting those controls right is priority number one for Massive and the development partner they brought in to help them with the controls, Swordfish Studios. Right off the bat they’ve got the camera down pat, an important function for RTS games in general, but especially wit this one. The game looks great to begin with, and you wont want to miss all the little details put into the maps. They’re a bit like FPS controls; Left Stick moves you around and Right Stick allows you to look around. Click down on LS and move RS up and down to change the elevation on your camera too. When Massive sat down to design this game, they really dissected the gameplay to determine what the most important things were to gamers. Selecting units, moving units and attacking other units were 1, 2, 3 on their list. So you can do all those things with the A button. That’s at least 80% of the controls right there. But they do add layers of complexity below that for the more complex actions. For instance, you can assign groups of selected units to your d-pad for quick and easy access. In general, the controls felt really good and really intuitive for anyone who enjoys RTS games.

Anyone who played the game on the PC, especially multiplayer will be very familiar with the Tactical Aid and Reinforcement actions. Calling in reinforcements can be easily done in a match by buying them from a simple drop down menu. Same thing goes for the Tactical Aid items that include calling in different types of air and artillery strikes as well as the aforementioned nukes. These two menus are controlled with the bumper buttons. But interestingly, the game is also promising voice command technology, similar to that being used in Ubisoft’s upcoming EndWar. Actually calling in a carpet bombing run, or a mortar attack using your voice should make the whole experience that much more immersive.

We already like World in Conflict a lot, and the Xbox 360 version doesn’t look like it’s going to let us down. The controls seem easy and intuitive, yet aren’t nerfed in any way from the PC version. And there will be new content on top of the already excellent battle scenarios that are in the game. In other words, color us excited about World in Conflict Soviet Assault’s release on the Xbox 360 this fall.

[Flawless]

Re: World in Conflict: Soviet Assault

IGN UK Preview

The biggest challenge of bringing World in Conflict to consoles was staying faithful to the control intricacies that are traditionally better served by a mouse and keyboard than by a pad, and its here that the hard work of Swordfish really shines through. The PC title was already renowned for an active camera that pandered to the on-screen chaos with aplomb, and for the port Swordfish has taken this as the foundation for its system, giving players control over their viewpoint of the action in much the same way as they would in one of the many first-person shooter titles that typically flourishes on the Xbox 360.

"The camera is the key," says Jensen, "and it's something that was in Ground Control that was revolutionary at the time on the PC, with a free camera not stopping and looking all around." Jim Bottomley of Swordfish seems grateful for the groundwork laid down by Massive in the original World in Conflict, saying, "It would have been interesting to see what the game would have been like had the camera not been so friendly, and it's incredibly console friendly, even on PC. I play it on PC almost like I play it on console, so once that got mapped the rest of it almost fell into line."

It all conspires to create an experience that is remarkably intuitive, granting control to even the most strategically challenged of players, and by leaning on some of the tropes of first-person shooters, there's an instant accessibility to the game that helps bring the intense action to the fore. Playing through the early Seattle mission of the single-player campaign, whereby a US battalion sees off the initial Russian invasion, it's easy to forget you're playing a strategy game as the action soon escalates to incorporate the heavier end of the arsenal and the game's trademark explosions begin to fill the screen.

The graphical sheen of the original has survived the translation extremely well too. It's certainly visually a cut above what you'd normally expect from a title of its ilk, and those explosions certainly impress, with the option to pause the game and twist and turn the camera around a static mushroom cloud underlining how impressive the engine that powers World in Conflict is.

[Flawless]

Re: World in Conflict: Soviet Assault

New Trailer:

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[Uhfan]

Re: World in Conflict: Soviet Assault

I did not like this game at all. Very cool concept and story but it just felt like I had no real control over what happened in battle (i.e. just keep on dropping constant air strikes and you get an easy victory).