World in Conflict (PC)

World in Conflict isn't just about singleplayer and AI Compstomping across the massive maps. There are numerous game modes and all of these can be played with a mix of AI and human opponents, you can even watch the AI duke it out if you want to see the game in action.

The game modes are:

Domination: where two teams battle it out to capture and control a number of Command Points on each map. You win at this mode by pushing the Domination Bar at the top towards your team. It's vital in this and other modes that you work together with your team and solo play isn't supported. When you hold enough points the Domination Bar moves towards your team's side, hold them all (Total Domination) the bar moves even faster. When the timer runs out the team with the domination advantage wins.

Assault: A classic game played in rounds where two teams face off against each other. One team is the attacker and the other defends. The attacking team takes a number of Command Points in an order of progression, take the first and then a second appears etc. Once the time runs out, the teams switch. You win this mode by capturing the most number of points per round or being the fastest to capture the points than the other team.

Tug of War: A long Command Point is your frontline. You control perimeter points to push the frontline forwards. Push it all the way towards the enemy you win, or if you hold it back and control most of the map you win.

These game modes can be played online; LAN, skirmish and they also support Few Player Mode. This removes the role system and gives you a massive stack of Reinforcement Points to play with.

Online play has a few issues and there are some disconnects, this is probably since Massgate is new and is the official online portal for the game. It's still a fun and enjoyable experience overall as well as having full clan support and leaderboards. It supports Avatars as well as player profiles so it's been set up to provide an excellent level of customisation for your online persona.

All in all: World in Conflict is an enjoyable robust game that really pushes the boundaries of the modern warfare RTS. It removes the base building and resource mining and replaces it with tactical play and unit management. The DirectX 10 specific features are impressive enough but the game does not suffer if you only have a DirectX 9 capable machine.

The singleplayer campaign has a good story and will keep you coming back for more as the plot unfolds. The online play with its team-based gaming is unique in that it supports a role system rather like modern BF or CS based FPS.