World in Conflict

World in Conflict (also known as WiC or WIC) is a real-time tactical video game developed by the Swedish video game company Massive Entertainment and published by Sierra Entertainment for Windows PC. The game was released in North America on 18 September 2007, 20 September 2007 in Australia and New Zealand and, in Europe on the 21 September 2007. Swordfish Studios (a division of Sierra Entertainment) will be porting the game to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. These versions will be released by fall 2008, and will contain extra single player and multiplayer game content that will be released for PC versions as an add-on.

The game is set in 1989 during the social, political, and economic collapse of the Soviet Union. However, the title postulates an alternate history scenario where the Soviet Union pursued a course of war to remain in power.

The game was played in the 2007 Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) World Tour.

Generally considered a real-time strategy (RTS) game, World in Conflict includes gameplay typical of real-time tactical (RTT) games. Nicklas Cederström, one of the designers of the game, stated that internally, World in Conflict is considered an RTT.

Plot
At the end of the 1980s, the Soviet Union found itself unable to compete with the United States because of its bankrupt and disorganized economy. Funds for the Soviet nuclear and conventional arsenal were becoming scarce. This led to increasing cuts in the civilian sector, which created widespread famines and supply shortages.

The game takes place in an alternate history scenario, where, at this point, the Soviet Politburo decided to blackmail Western Europe to get the aid they needed or invade Western Europe and take it themselves.

The player experiences the war through Lieutenant Parker of the United States Army. At the beginning of the game, he is on leave in Seattle at the onset of a Soviet surprise invasion of the city. What sparse military forces are in the city help to evacuate civilians and then retreat into the Cascade Mountains towards Fort Teller, the headquarters of the United States' Strategic Defense Initiative. While the project was a bluff, the threat of its existence had kept the Soviet Union from launching a nuclear strike. Therefore, the defense of the facility had to be staged as if it were true. The initial attacks are fought off, but when overwhelming Soviet forces enter the area, the Americans are forced to sacrifice the town of Cascade Falls, leaving a group of volunteers behind to pin down the Soviets as a tactical nuke is detonated over the area.

The game then flashes back to several months earlier, showng Parker's service in France, in the Soviet Union, and fighting off a limited invasion of New York City by Soviet Spetsnaz, centered around Liberty Island, Ellis Island and Governors Island. In the latter scenario, the Soviets intend to store chemical weapons inside the Statue of Liberty and release them over Manhattan. Foreshadowing the game's final missions, Parker must defeat the Soviet forces before the Army is forced to destroy the Statue and everything else on Liberty Island with a massive airstrike.

After the flashback, the game returns to the sequence of events after the destruction of Cascade Falls. China officially enters the war on the Soviet side by sending an invasion fleet to reinforce the Soviet beachhead in Seattle. The President orders the nuclear destruction of Seattle as this fleet arrives - unless the city can be retaken and the Chinese prevented from landing. In the final series of missions Parker's commander, desperate to avoid "another Cascade Falls" on a much bigger scale, orders his forces into a desperate attack. Parker must break through the Soviet lines to reach the city, destroy the heavily fortified Soviet headquarters before the Chinese land and the nuke is dropped, and survive a massive counterattack.

The game concludes with a statement that Parker may be called upon to fight later on, hinting of an expansion or a sequel, as fighting continues in Europe and elsewhere.

Gameplay


World in Conflict does not offer base-building or resource gathering. Instead, players are given a pre-determined amount of in-game reinforcement points to buy units with. When a unit is destroyed, the points used to purchase it are slowly filtered back to the player: thus reinforcements can be summoned to the fray. Tactical gameplay lacking base- and unit building is similar to real-time tactics (RTT) games, some of which, such as Ground Control (another real-time tactics game by Massive Entertainment sometimes considered World in Conflict's spiritual predecessor), features intermittent reinforcements.

Factions
World in Conflict contains three main factions: USA, Soviet Union & NATO. The three are playable on Multiplayer games. However the Soviet Union is not playable for the single-player campaign, as the campaign is centred on the USA and NATO perspective. The USA and NATO are pitted against the Soviet Union throughout the story, and in online play.

Interface
The game interface for World in Conflict is smaller compared with other strategy games. There is no framing in the game, so the interface is dramatically reduced especially at the bottom middle. The middle is replaced with a list of units, the top right hand corner is the expandable reinforcement procurement list. The bottom left hand corner is the mini map, while the bottom right hand corner is the special abilities buttons (including unit formation). Overall the smaller interface allows players to have a bigger view of the battlefield, allowing them to micromanage more easily than on other strategy games. Players can also utilise a messaging system which is designed to allow conversation between individuals regardless of whether they are in the same server or playing the same game.

World in Conflict features a fully rotational 360 degree camera. The player uses the WASD keys to move the camera around the map, while clicking and holding the mouse wheel is used to look around from a fixed position, players can move the camera as far down as close to the units on the ground.

Roles
Another feature is a system where the player may choose one of four roles in battle: infantry, air, support or armor. Each role has its own exclusive units, which aren't available for purchase from other roles. The basic units of the roles can be purchased by everyone but are more expensive for players with a different role.


 * Infantry - players have access to various infantry squads such as anti-tank teams and snipers, along with light transport vehicles. Infantry are generally vulnerable when not concealed or garrisoned in structures, but are effective against all unit types under the right conditions.


 * Armor - Allows players to use various classes of tanks, the dominant direct fire land combat unit of the game.


 * Air - by far the most mobile and powerful class of unit in the game, players using the 'air' specialization have access to anti-armor and air superiority helicopters, as well as scout and transport units. Air units are very vulnerable, naturally, to fixed, vehicular, and man portable anti air systems, however, giving the role a high risk high reward play style.


 * Support - a general purpose support class, Support contains anti-air, artillery, and repair units and is the most versatile class in the game.

Units
The units in World in Conflict all have various special features. Most units have special offensive abilities which recharge after use. Examples include standard infantry with grenade launcher attack, medium tanks with fragmentation shells, heavy (main battle) tanks with HEAT shells, medium attack helicopters with anti-aircraft missiles, heavy attack helicopters with anti-tank missiles, medium artillery (mortars) with white phosphorus shells, and heavy artillery (howitzers, rocket launchers) with smoke screen shells. In addition, most units also have a defensive ability. For example, infantry are capable of sprinting, tanks can utilise smoke screens, and helicopters are equipped with countermeasures. Some defensive abilities, such as smoke screens, may be a hindrance as well as a help by allowing a unit to remain hidden but at the same time also clouding its own view.

Tactical Aids
World in Conflict uses a Tactical Aids system similar to that of Command & Conquer: Generals. Tactical Aids allow the player to perform special actions such as calling in airstrikes, deploying paratroopers, carpet bombing, napalm strikes. Tactical Aids are available once the player has gained enough tactical aid points, which are accumulated through action on the battlefield, such as destroying enemy units, capturing and fortifying command points, or repairing friendly units. There are three categories of Tactical Aids: non-destructive, selective, and indiscriminate strikes. Each category contains five to seven different actions, which vary in effectiveness. The more effective the action, the more tactical aid points it costs to deploy. All offensive Tactical Aids will affect not only enemy (and sometimes friendly) troops but also the environment; forests and buildings, which can be used as cover for infantry, may also be destroyed, and carpet bombing leave the landscape covered in craters. Other Tactical Aids include artillery barrages, additional units, and various forms of air support. In multiplayer games, teammates are able to pool their Tactical Aids points by donating them to a specific player, enabling more expensive actions to be purchased. Players may launch three of these at one single time where it is less expensive than launching one tactical aid strike at a time and waiting for it to regenerate.

Single player campaign
The single player campaign, owing to inspiration from Call of Duty and Medal of Honor (see the 'Influences' section below), gives the player the role of Lieutenant Parker (An officer in the United States Army), in charge of a company, while the AI handles the remainder of action on the battlefield. This contrasts the approach of most RTS titles, in which the player is in charge of whole armies and thus responsible for most of the action on the battlefield. The player will experience many different locations from various parts of the United States then to Soviet-occupied Europe then Russia and then back to the United States for the grand finale.

The storyline ultimately forces the player to differ from the usual reinforcements seen in the skirmish mode or the multiplayer mode. The campaigns limit what the player can order and where they can deploy. The Single-player campaign is narrated by Alec Baldwin. The AI in the campaigns could be considered inferior when compared to the skirmish mode, as their locations and moves are fairly predictable. The Friendly AI also frequently gives hints and tips making the game easier, though it may aid struggling players. The campaign can be played on Easy, Normal and Hard. At the conclusion of a campaign mission, a summary screen shows the usual performance statistics as well as any combat medals, ribbons, badges that a player has earned based on their performance.

Skirmish mode
In the skirmish mode, players can add up to 15 bots to play against. The player can choose the time limit from as short as a 5 minute round to a 40 minute round. The bots can be in various modes including:
 * No Bots - Player vs Player (LAN)
 * Player(s) VS Bot mode -Player(s) vs Bots
 * Auto even teams mode - Teams of players and bots are even.
 * Advanced mode - The Player picks how Bots will act throughout the game, how many there are, and which faction the bots are placed into.

If a player plays with a total of 4 or less players, they can select the few player mode which gives players around 18000 reinforcement points which is enough to have a whole army right off the bat allowing utter mayhem on the map. The few player mode doesn't allow the player to select one out of the four roles (armor, air, support, infantry) but rather all of them are available and units from each role will be at the same cheap reinforcement price the player would incur if they selected that specific role in a multiplayer game. AI in the skirmish mode is quite intelligent, using different techniques for different game types and uses combined forces meaning that they use a variety of forces together, so there are little or no weaknesses. The bots are good at adaptations, and react well to changing situations on the battlefield. They are also quite good at using tactical aids and place the tactical aids well, which can aid struggling players. Bots try to obey commands given by the player by replying on screen. There are various modes of skirmish mode including Advanced mode, player vs bot mode and even balanced.

Multiplayer
Multiplayer games support up to sixteen players. Multiplayer games include 3 types of gameplay:
 * Domination - Where players must control command points to win the game. As more command points are controlled by one team, the domination bar speeds up, and when all command points are controlled by one team, the domination bar speed doubles.
 * Assault - Where one team is placed to defend a series of command points, and the other to assault the command points. It is separated into 2 parts, with the second part, the two teams are switched around.
 * Tug of War - Teams must fight to capture a series of command points in one line (frontline), once a line is captured the frontline is pushed back towards the enemy team. This is repeated until all of the frontlines are captured, then the game ends.

The game supports clans which players can create or can be invited to. World in Conflict uses the Massgate system, which is derived from Ground Control. The game developers have further customised the system to make things easier for players. Players can search up friends and see if they are online or playing a game. This interaction is further extended to that players could join the same game their friend/s may be playing in a click of a button. Clans feature ranks of Grunts, Officers and the Clan Leader. Players can customise their online account such as changing display pictures, allowing people to view their account. Online accounts which are based upon that of Battlefield 2 feature ranks, medals and badges. Clans can also have tournaments against each other. There are various achievement records that a player can obtain by playing well. Awards show how well the player did in a match, how well the player did in that multiplayer mode etc. Rankings show how a player ranks compared to other players, while medals show the player's achievements, they are similar to awards but easier to obtain. Badges also show the player's achievements but are easier to obtain than awards and medals. They are all separated by bronze, silver and gold and honor stars counting as extra rewards. Friend lists and acquaintances are also to be included to make finding other players easier. There is also a search tool which allows players to search for clans and players. Leaderboards are also available listing the rankings of clans, players.

Ranks, Leaderboards
For a player to successfully rank up in ranks and the leaderboard position, he or she must reach a certain score and achieve a specific amount of medals and badges. This will entitle the player to rank up. As the player ranks up more, it becomes more difficult to rank as the higher a rank is, the more awards and scores a player will need to achieve. Clans will also have leaderboard positions depending on how well they do. The ranking system featured in the game is based on the US Army ranking system. There are also statistics available to be seen in-game on Massgate or on the Massgate website.

Collector's edition
The collector's edition of World in Conflict comes in a limited edition collector's box art cloth packaging (with a Soviet flag on one side and Russian wording of "World in Conflict", and the USA Flag on the other with English "World in Conflict") and includes an authentic piece of the Berlin Wall, Modern Marvels: The Berlin Wall DVD by The History Channel, Behind the Scenes DVD and World in Conflict exclusive Creative HS-390 headset (Europe Only).

The collector's edition in Poland is different compared to collector's editions in other countries. It includes an exclusive World in Conflict wooden container, limited edition collector's box art packaging (Soviet or USA Flag), a full-sized flag of the USA or Soviet Union, an exclusive World in Conflict poster, a t-shirt and cap with the World in Conflict logo and decorations and a World in Conflict exclusive Trust Hs-2200 headset.

The collector's edition available in Taiwan, is also different. As there was no preorder scheme put into place. It includes an exclusive flag of the Soviet Union, a Modern Marvels: Strategic Air Command DVD by the History Channel, Special translated behind the scenes DVD, Metallic packaging featuring the Soviet Flag on the front, and the USA flag on the back.