Salient

Games Reviews

By Shinigami and Ryback | 10 Mar, 2008

World In Conflict Review

World in Conflict is a good game. There I said it — I’m finally reviewing a game that I’m superficially happy with. World in Conflict is Red Alert on methamphetamine. The game is set in the late 1980s. Instead of Communism falling apart and entering its death throes, it has undertaken a last offensive, fighting NATO and US forces in Europe and a sneaky invasion of the United States. You play as Lieutenant Parker — an officer fresh out of the academy — and you must lead the disorganised US reserves to fend off ‘Ivan’ and the Red Menace.

The game is best described as a hybrid of the strategy and real time tactics genres. There is no resource gathering here — the US army will provide. World in Conflict is also one of the prettiest titles released this season. The character detail is excellent and the terrain maps are expansive and well designed. While impressive on a large tactical scale, it also excels in miniature. I loved the fact that when you zoomed in to look at Russian tanks, you could hear them talking in Russian over the radio. Neato.

The fact that your attention is focused on killing things rather than managing in-game economies means that the game is deliciously fun. That warm fuzzy feeling is not the physical embodiment of your peaceful aspirations to your fellow man; it’s the blowback from the tactical nuclear warhead you just launched.

The storyline is cinematic if at times horribly jingoistic: “It’s been an honour to serve with you Captain Bannon” (cue heroic suicide cut-scene). The graphics are beautiful; the gameplay is actually fun and the expansive maps make you really feel like you are in the middle of a true modern war. Everyone wants to call in tactical napalm air-strikes on tank columns. Now you can.

Developer: Massive Entertainment
Publisher: Sierra Entertainment
Genre: Real Time Tactics
Hardware Specifications – High (PC)

By Shinigami

The Nintendo Wii

Nintendo, the OG of the gaming industry with its iconic systems the NES and SNES, has become one of the most well established and recognized video game companies in the world, producing timeless classics like Donkey Kong, Mario Bros and Zelda. However, just like your awkward teenage years, Nintendo has gone through rough times, releasing some major duds such as the Nintendo 64 — then it continued to ride the fail train with its GameCube. So something revolutionary was needed if it wasn’t going to end up like Sega. Enter… the Nintendo Wii.

All grown up and full of confidence, Nintendo shocked the world with its new looks, in particular its controller remote. I too was shocked and skeptical at whether Nintendo could ever break the cycle. But that non-conformist streak still remained from its old teenage cartridge days, allowing Nintendo to give the big middle finger to Sony and Microsoft with a system that was all about the play and not power.

Encouraging people to get off their couch and invite their friends over, it managed to break the stereotype of a gaming scene notorious for its image of greasy guys locked in an unlit smelly bedroom playing Final Fantasy. With its focus on casual gamers, Nintendo have built a system that is noob friendly and complimentary to any social gathering. The wacky games have a touch of deliciously basic but appealing Japanese flair, and are what I would recommend when gaming. It’s this entertainment value that brings friends together for some good console fun.

The hype around the Wii was justified. The times that I have played the Wii, it was with my homeboys all jumping around and having a good time. But for me, that is also where the problem lies. It was left virtually abandoned when the homies weren’t over and due to the nature of the remote and lack of hardware grunt, traditional styled games were frustrating and looked out-dated. Single player wise it was a definite “DO NOT WANT”. That’s not to say you shouldn’t get one. If you want something the whole family/flat from Grandma to your fat five year old cousin can enjoy, the Wii is a must get. But for the leet gamer, a Wii is still great, but only as a compliment to your haxed out PC/PS3/ XBOX 360.

By Ryback