Deeply customizable armies featuring unit ranks and hundreds of upgrades add up to endless replay value.
Can be played almost entirely via the revolutionary voice command system.
Experience a chillingly realistic vision of World War III in the fashion of the best techno-thrillers.
Explore 40 stunningly realistic real-world battlefields set in Europe and the United States, including Washington D.C., Paris, and Moscow.
Go to war online in a persistent multiplayer campaign allowing hundreds of player matchups in battles that can last for months at a time.
Rating: - Good, but only the first time around.
Let me tell you, the whole reason I rented EndWar was because I was intrigued with its World War III premise. I also rented it expecting what's usual in a Tom Clancy game--a first-person shooter.
What I got was a strategy game.
Now, that's not bad; I absolutely love strategy games, but I wasn't exactly sure what this would turn out to be.
Basically, EndWar is about World War III. The story begins by putting you in the 'prelude to war' at the beginning of the game. This is the point where America, Europe and Russia are facing their own problems and stresses, which forces them into small skirmishes with one another. But, the real point comes when Europe destroys one of America's space shuttles. World War III is soon to follow.
When I first started playing the game, the tutorial prompted me to use the headset to command my troops. My headset was and still is damaged, but still workable. Whenever I tried to speak into it, I got a 'you're speaking too loud' message. This was surprising and, oddly, amusing. I figure if it's still processing what I'm saying, does it matter if the microphone is reading my voice as 'too loud?' Well, it apparently did, as I was never able to use the headset feature. The lack of that didn't make the game any less enjoyable though. It's perfectly easy to command your troops with the controller commands, but the headset would've made the game a little more enjoyable, since you'd actually get to voice-command your troops and all.
Like any strategy game, your mission is simple. But, in this game, it's more than simple. You either, A) capture half the uplinks on the map and hold them for a few or, B) destroy all enemy troops. It's simple, but it doesn't give you a whole lot to do in each match. You're either running back and forth, stealing uplinks from enemies, or engaging in firefights with your enemies (Europe/America/Russia, depending on who you play as.) The lack of strategy it actually involves is rather disappointing, because I expected I would be able to do a lot more than just capture uplinks. The game explains that capturing the uplinks is to keep your enemy from knocking out your communications, which is understandable, but it doesn't add to the game. The fact that your enemy never seems to be afraid of you (even in the most drastic of situations) is also disappointing. In the conquest matches, you just everything. There's nothing to it, really; you're just killing everything, with little to no strategy whatsoever.
EndWar has a few different types of units. It's got the infantry, which are riflemen, who don't sport rifles, but machineguns; and engineers who have rocket launchers, but don't fix or work on anything. I found it odd how the designers called them `Engineers' when I didn't see them repair anything (but I could be wrong, considering I only played through the game once.) There are also ground vehicles, which are the transports (mini tanks that allow you to load your soldiers inside of them,) tanks and artillery. You've also got the base of operations vehicle, which, without it, you can't push the back button and display your overhead map. And, finally, there's helicopters.
These units are what you use to dominate your enemy. But, fear not! You've also got special abilities you can use when you gain war funds after defeating the enemy. There's also a few other neat things (destroying enemy uplinks with bombs, or using kinetic strikes to massacre handfuls of units at a time.)
One problem with the game is that the gameplay becomes repetitive. It also doesn't leave anything to be desired, or anything you're working toward. After you get into the World War III part of the game, you automatically have all the unit types every time you enter combat. You can keep ordering them in without having to worry about running out of them, no matter what map you're on or whether you're playing capture the uplinks or conquest type maps.
The lack of main objectives, coupled with the small amount of units and their never-ending supply [and lack of realism as to how so many units would be so easily deployable,] doesn't make the game that much fun after a little while. I played the whole story (until victory) once, tried to play it again, then found myself not wanting to replay the same story, but with a different faction. Oh, and playing the same repetitive game again wasn't really up my alley either.
In all, EndWar is the kind of game you'll at least want to try if you like strategy games. I personally wouldn't pay fifty/sixty dollars for this game. I doubt I'd even pay forty or thirty for it. This kind of game, with its repetitive gameplay and lack of real strategy elements, isn't up there with the other strategy games I've played in the past. But, I do recommend renting it, just to enjoy the experience. It's not a bad game, really; it just doesn't give you a whole lot to come back to after you win WWIII the first time around.
I give EndWar three out of five stars, with three out of five on the fun level.
Rating: - decent game
i bought this game on special and i'm glad i did. i don't think i would have paid full price for it. don't get me wrong, it's a pretty good game, just too easy. i haven't finished it yet i just tried it out for a bit. i would suggest you play on the most difficult setting there is to make things challenging (again not entirely sure if you can change or not, didn't check that). why do i recommend this game though? what other game do you see out there that you can instruct units to attack hostiles by speaking??? until world of conflict soviet assault comes out you're not going to see something like this anywhere. it's great fun! the fun factor for this game is severely reduced if you do not use the headset).
Rating: - Blown Away!
My favorite 360 game used to be Gears of War. Now, there is no question that this game is even better that Gears of War 2. When I think RTS games, I think about games like Starcraft. This game is different all together.
In this game, it's all about real strategy, instead of who can build the biggest army the fastest. Don't get me wrong, speed is still a great thing, but this game is more about planning and execution. You command an army like you really would in real life: no gathering resources, no building structures, and a minimum of micro-management. A highly recomended game!
Rating: - Starts Out Fun, But Novelty Wears Off Quickly
I really wanted to love this game since I am a big fan of RTS games on the PC and the demo download seemed fun. The use of voice to deploy units was really fun initially, but frustration grew with having to repeat orders again and again. The gameplay is very limited to "my transport beats your infantry" and "your tank beats my transport." This feels more like a different visual interpretation of paper-rock-scissors rather than any fighting strategy. I also had a hard time finding anybody playing online. Ultimately it morphed from a fun game with a lot of promise for future improvements to just a good first try at the use of voice in gaming while still maintaining some promise for the future.
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