Product Description
Experience
World War III in your living room with Tom Clancy’s EndWar, a
revolutionary new game destined to change simulated war-games on the PC
platform forever. Nobody thought humanity could possibly let it really
come to this, but in 2016, the unthinkable happens… The first nuclear
exchange occurred over Middle Eastern soil. It lasted only 5 hours and
resulted in the launch of the world’s first joint missile defense system
to ensure peace, that is, until now. With the United States, the
European Federation and Russia at odds a final war is inevitable.
Although intercontinental ballistic missiles have been rendered
obsolete, command technology has evolved. Now battles will be fought
from war rooms. Leaders will rise and countries will fall.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales
Rank: #1605 in Video Games
- Brand: UBI Soft
- Model:
0068406
- Released on: 2009-02-24
- ESRB Rating: Teen
- Platform: Windows
- Format: DVD-ROM
- Dimensions: .25
pounds
Features
- Watch the destruction unfold
in spectacular detail in massive battles.
- 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.
- Deeply customizable armies
featuring unit ranks and hundreds of upgrades add up to endless replay
value.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Nobody
thought humanity could possibly let it really come to this, but in
2016, the unthinkable happens… The first nuclear exchange occurred over
Middle Eastern soil. It lasted only 5 hours and resulted in the launch
of the world’s first joint missile defense system to ensure peace, that
is, until now. With the United States, the European Federation and
Russia at odds a final war is inevitable. Although intercontinental
ballistic missiles have been rendered obsolete, command technology has
evolved. Now battles will be fought from war rooms. Leaders will rise
and countries will fall. Experience World War III in your living room
with
Tom Clancy’s EndWar, a revolutionary new game destined to
change simulated war-games on the PC platform forever.
Get ready for World War III |
Save Paris or destroy
it.
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Battle as one three
superpower shocktroops.
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Command on land, at
sea, and in the air.
View larger. |
Pick from many
different unit types.
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The
Storyline
A horrific nuclear conflict in the Middle East has not
only killed millions, it's also crippled the world's fuel supply. With
oil from that part of the world no longer available, crude oil prices
skyrocket to $800 a barrel. The vast Russian landmass now holds the
largest accessible reserves of fossil fuels, making Russia the world's
primary supplier of energy virtually overnight. With the massive
economic boom it receives, Russia quickly re-establishes itself as a
superpower and restores her military might. In response most of Western
Europe unifies to create the European Federation, a new nation destined
to be a formidable 21st-century superpower. But things are also changing
across the pond. In 2020, the United States is on the verge of
finishing construction on the Freedom Star, a controversial orbital
military platform that will upset the balance of world power. The
European Federation withdraws from NATO in protest. Tensions between the
European Federation, the United States, and Russia are building and
will soon reach the breaking point. The EndWar is about to begin. Which
side will you fight on?
 |
The European Enforcer Corp
The
European Federation is a new superpower, founded in 2018 to consolidate
political and economic power in the face of the world energy crisis and
accelerating security and environmental concerns around the globe.
Though publicized as an evolution of the European Union, demanding
admission criteria disenfranchised all but the wealthiest nations of
Europe. The UK and Ireland declined membership (instead joining the New
Commonwealth), as did Switzerland (fiercely neutral as
always).Consummate professionals, the European Federation Enforcer Corps
is made up of veteran elite counter-terrorist and peacekeeping forces
from throughout Europe. Calm and precise, these highly-trained and
experienced soldiers are especially skilled in urban warfare. They excel
in electronic warfare as well as advanced directed energy weapons
technology, and have the fastest battlefield vehicles. The Enforcer
Corps also have access to the world's best "less than lethal" weaponry.
 |
The United States Joint Strike
Force
Once strong allies with Europe, the U.S. has broken ranks
following the dissolution of NATO and the formation of the European
Federation. The two superpowers are now locked in a costly and
controversial military space race. This rivalry builds to a crescendo
when the U.S. prepares to launch the Freedom Star, a huge military space
station that Europe suspects could be used to neutralize its missile
shield satellites. An evolution of today's Marine Expeditionary Units,
the Joint Strike Force is known for their integration of air and ground
combat capabilities. Epitomizing the saying, 'high speed, low drag,'
these elite soldiers excel in precision firepower and can rapidly deploy
anywhere in the world. Moreover, their stealth technology and the
accuracy of their weapons are second-to-none.
The Russian Spetsnaz Guard
Brigades
The world's number one supplier of oil and natural gas
since the 2016 nuclear war in the Middle East, Russia has experienced an
economic boom of epic proportions. It has used its newfound riches to
build up its military to levels beyond the Cold War and is once again a
true superpower in the world arena. Soldier for soldier, no force on the
planet can match the Spetsnaz Guard Brigades in terms of raw, brute
force. Hardened veterans of Russia's many regional conflicts, these
troopers are a highly effective, determined, and deadly force. The
Spetsnaz tend to focus on heavy weapons and heavy armor, and often
ingeniously modify standard-issue equipment to suit their needs,
resulting in vehicles bristling with bolted-on weaponry the original
designer never dreamed of including.
Key Game Features:
- 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.
- Deeply customizable armies
featuring unit ranks and hundreds of upgrades add up to endless replay
value.
- Go to war online in a persistent multiplayer campaign
with fully-customizable battalions and units.
- Watch the
destruction unfold in spectacular detail in massive battles featuring
hundreds of units and fully destructible environments.
Join
in a Battle Armed for the Future
Instead of the traditional
top-down view,
EndWar uses a unique third-person camera that puts
you in the heart of the battle. This means that you get a bird’s-eye
view of the devastation that unfold as hundreds of units engage the
enemy on fully destructible battlefields. Also, true to the Tom Clancy
legacy,
EndWar deals with fictional, but strikingly true to life
situations and scenarios and features a wide range of vehicles, weapons,
and equipment based on real-world military research. The result is a
frighteningly realistic and relevant war-game experience that provides
players with unprecedented access to the cutting-edge technology of
tomorrow’s wars and the combatants that may faceoff in them.
Customer Reviews
Casual RTS
End War is mainly a command
point capture and hold game. It is much similar to Star Wars Force
Commander of years ago. It plays smoothly and has no bugs that I've
seen. The developers really did a good job porting this to PC. The game
is really light on my cpu and video card given that it's graphics are
rather good for an RTS. Part of this is the fact that any one side is
limited to 12 units (4 vehicles or fire teams per unit). The voice
acting is also noticeably good and varied.
I do not like how the
camera angle is set to something similar to an over-the-shoulder 3rd
person shooter game like Splinter Cell. I would like the game more if it
had an option for a free roaming camera, rather than one locked to the
units I own.
It isn't in line with the standard of other PC RTS
games in terms of complexity and involvement. Micromanagement is not
something this game does much while in combat. I don't like heavy
micromanagement, but this game is too light on it. It can be a good
introduction to more complex RTS games or can be a game for the more
casual player who wants to get a little RTS-like action in, without the
tedium. I gave it 2 stars on fun rating and 3 on overall rating because I
like more complexity and especially because the camera issue is really
annoying.
Real Time Tactics Game
Based more on games like
Ground Control or World in Conflict than Tom Clancy's previous games,
"EndWar" is a real-time-tactics game taking place in World War III.
EndWar's
depiction of WW3 is fought between the United States, Europe, and
Russia after Russia sabotages European missile defense networks to cause
them to attack a US spacecraft. The game takes place in the future, and
all the units are meant to reflect this. Gone is the modern-day
grittiness of most Tom Clancy games, as well as the fairly plausible
storylines. What's mostly odd about the plot is that it's meant to take
place in the same universe as Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon, meaning that
the three main superpowers, despite having worked together for years,
decide to go to war at the drop of a hat.
The goal in EndWar's
standard mode is to capture command nodes, which are locations scattered
around the map. Controlling half of them starts a five-minute countdown
timer; controlling all of them leads to instant victory. The player
commands up to 12 units, each a platoon of 4 squads or vehicles. There
are 6 types of unit. Riflemen (meant to be elite special operatives, not
standard army grunts) are good against other infantry and can capture
nodes the fastest. Engineers are armed with missile launchers and
various tools, but do poorly against other infantry and capture nodes
more slowly. Transports can carry infantry and have good anti-air
weapons, but are weak against tanks. Tanks do well against ground
vehicles, but poorly against air vehicles. Helicopter gunships destroy
tanks easily, but are vulnerable to transports and engineers. Finally,
artillery is powerful at a distance, but highly vulnerable at close
range.
The seventh vehicle type is the command vehicle; you can
only have one on the battlefield at a time. The command vehicle offers
two major advantages. The first is satellite imaging. The game is viewed
with a camera that follows one of your units; there is no "free
camera". There is a mini-map, but for practical purposes all the
player's orders need to be issued from a third-person camera
perspective. With a command vehicle active, the player can go into a
more traditional top-down view and see the whole battlefield, as well as
issue orders. Losing the command vehicle, or choosing not to bring it,
means you don't get access to that ability. Secondly, the command
vehicle can launch Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to scout locations or fire
missiles at enemy units.
One of the game's main attractions is
that it can be played by voice - all units, command nodes, and visible
enemies are given a name ("Unit 1", "Point Alpha", and "Hostile 1", for
example). By following the game's methodology, in theory it should be
possible to say "Unit 1 attack Hostile 1". However, one of the main
problems with this concept is that saying all that stuff (for every
single action you would take in the game) takes a long time, and it's
really just easier to use the mouse. Using the game controller (for the
PS3 or Xbox versions of the game) also seems like an unusual hassle;
really, as with any RTS, using the mouse is basically the best idea. The
voice commands are a neat idea, but also impractical.
The game's
other main feature is that units are persistent and unique. Each
platoon has its own callsign and matching voice; as you play through the
game's Risk-like main game, your platoons gain experience, and gains
access to upgrades to attack, defense, mobility, and so on. Therefore,
keeping your platoons alive becomes a major priority. If a platoon is
injured heavily (having lost 3/4ths of its squads), they are evacuated
by helicopter unless the enemy specifically chooses to continue
attacking them (which results in permanently losing them). Luckily, the
computer does not do that; it's only a risk from particularly cruel
players online. The customizability and uniqueness of each unit means
that losing a particularly favored one is a direct punch to the player.
Unit voices can be either male or female, with a variety of accents; the
Europeans, for example, have French, Italian, German, or Spanish
accents (Britain is neutral in the game's universe). Therefore,
recognizing a unit by its voice can assist in making speedy decisions on
the battlefield - if a unit says it's under attack, you can recognize
the voice and go to its aid more easily. You can even assign camouflage
to your whole unit, to make them distinct from other players' units.
One
of the main problems with the gameplay in EndWar is the superweapons.
After half of the control points on a map are captured by one side or
the other, both sides get access to their superweapons, which include a
laser satellite for the Europeans and an orbital missile platform for
the United States. These weapons cause massive destruction, and are
guaranteed to wipe out any units caught in their range. In fact, they
are one of the few sources of perma-death in the game (if the targeted
unit is wounded enough). What's frustrating about this is that there's
no way to avoid it, you simply have to resign yourself to losing your
units once half the map is conquered. It's not like one side has to set
up arrays or whatever; once you hit half, everyone gets a nuke.
The
other main problem is that the gameplay is very repetitive. The main
Risk-style conquest mode has you attempting to take over the entire
world, but what it actually pans out to is doing a single play style
(capture the nodes) over and over and over until you win. The six unit
types mean that there's not a lot one can do in terms of strategy or
development, though the unique platoons at least give it some variety.
Overall,
EndWar is a good concept, but a lot of its potential was taken out by
being adapted for consoles. The controls on the PC are basically good,
with some frustrating bits arising from unit selection (you can't select
units on the mini-map, for example, and it's hard to drag a selection
box over helicopters without selecting units far in the background as
well). However, for the most part, EndWar is a good game with a lot of
neat elements to it.
7/10.
Simplistic
combat, annoying camera anlge, but it's fun to blow things up
I've been a fan of almost all
of the Tom Clancy games, and expected to like this one as well as I
also really like RTS games. Sadly, ENDWAR just didn't live up to my
expectations. The gameplay is simplistic and doesn't require any use of
tactics or strategy. I found the game to be very easy, but fraught with
frustrations like the irritating limiting of the camera. You cannot
scroll around freely like in VIRTUALLY ALL OTHER RTS GAMES. Your
perspective is limited to that of your units, with a sort of modified
3rd person view like in a FPS.
Another issue is that the game
lacks intensity. Blowing things up is entertaining, but it only goes so
far. There are no situations created by either brilliant AI or odds
stacked against you that get your pulse up. Nothing to compare even to
much older games like STARCRAFT (especially the map on Char when you
have to defend a base from a massive ZERG invasion for the first time).
It feels like a super simplified eye candy fest that will not likely
appeal to hard core RTS fans.
There are some great things about
the game. The story is interesting and believable (to a point--it is a
video game). The idea of the US and Europe locked in a war, a post
apocalyptic Middle East, and a resurgence of Russian military power all
are frighteningly believable in today's geopolitical situation. The
storyline is also interesting, and the acting very well done. However,
this isn't enough to save a game with relatively boring gameplay; you'll
find yourself either frustrated with the story because it is better
than the game, or wishing that UBI had made a movie rather than an RTS.
Worth
noting is that this game was released DRM free, for which UBI Soft
should be commended. They also released Prince of Persia (which is a
much better game on the whole) DRM free, and here is hoping they
continue that trend. I also hope they get back to making interesting,
playable games instead of this weak effort.
2.5/5 Stars. Only
worth buying if you value storyline over gameplay, or just want to see
things blow up with a minimum of effort. If you are a hard core RTS
player, skip this one.
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