
There are far too many gameplay abstractions for that, from being able to air-drop reinforcements on the battlefield within seconds to repairing equipment almost instantly. This isn't a hardcore wargame or simulation. World in Conflict also features some incredible prerendered cutscenes that are so good you actually wish there were more of them. Some of these vignettes are conveyed through in-game cutscenes, while others are delivered through graphic-novel-style drawings. While there's a small misstep or two, such as a gospel song in the weirdest of places, the game effectively tugs at your heartstrings, which is rare for a strategy game, especially when it concerns the fate of one character whom you presume to be entirely one-dimensional but isn't.

For instance, you'll hear a soldier's futile battle against Army bureaucracy, the phone conversation of a husband and wife, and the deliberations of the president and his top military advisors. He's backed up by a great voice acting cast that brings the principle and secondary characters to life, along with a story that offers up emotional and sometimes humorous vignettes from a world at war. That's partly due to the excellent storytelling, which is spearheaded by pitch-perfect narrator Alec Baldwin. Yes, the story is a bit far-fetched, but World in Conflict does a great job of making the implausible seem believable. However, the campaign twists and weaves, letting you experience a sample of the European conflict, battle in remote areas of the Soviet Union, and bring the fight to New York City. In the 14-mission single-player campaign, you play as a company commander who is part of the meager US defense there is no campaign from the Soviet perspective, though you can play as the Red Army in multiplayer.

Four months into the conflict, after the US Navy has been attrited down, the USSR launches a surprise invasion in Seattle and pushes inland. Instead of the Berlin Wall falling and communism collapsing, the Soviet Union launches an assault on Western Europe, and the United States rushes its forces in to aid its Western allies. World in Conflict is set in an alternate-history version of 1989. Now Playing: World in Conflict Video Review 1 By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's
