by Tom Chick
You probably know by now that EndWar is Ubisoft's voice-commanded real time strategy game coming out next month. The game details a world war between Europe, Russia, and the United States in the near future, when oil has run dry, terrorists are running amok, and cities are precariously defended by electromagnetic missile shields (it's a Tom Clancy storyline, so just go with it). But did you know these five things?
1. You don't have to say a word
So what happens during those times you want to play EndWar, but everyone in the house is asleep? Will EndWar work if you whisper? Even better, EndWar is still fully playable without ever having to say a word. There are plenty of button shortcuts for the most commonly used commands, including context sensitive actions such as moving to points on the map, attacking enemy units, and capturing locations. And you can use the d-pad to work your way through a comprehensive text parser that'll let you issue any command you could have spoken. So feel free to play EndWar even after the kids/parents have gone to bed.
2. You can't just say what you want to say
Here's a pro-tip: F is not "Frank". It's Foxtrot. L is not "Larry". It's Lima. There are variations of the phonetic alphabet used by pilots, the police, and the military. The one you'll be using to identify the points of the map in EndWar is available here. In case you didn't learn it from, say, HBO's Generation Kill, don't worry about memorizing it. As you give a voice command, your options are listed onscreen while you're talking. When you get to the part where you need to reference an uplink, just read the corresponding word from the list. You'll be sounding like a military dispatcher in no time.
3. You can't see the whole map
In EndWar, you can only see what your units can see. The down-low perspective of infantry is much less helpful than the view from a helicopter. So do you opt for boots on the ground or eyes in the sky? Or some combination of both? The Command Unit gives you a computerized battlefield overview, much like the map in a traditional real time strategy game. You can even play from this perspective. But are you willing to sacrifice one of the precious few unit slots that would have given you extra firepower? Rather than the limited camera control being a limitation, it's an integral part of the game balance.
4. EndWar is from one of the guys who made Rome: Total War
This is the first real time strategy game made by Ubisoft, and it's being created at the Shanghai studio known mainly for chipping in on the Splinter Cell series. But don't' write it off as a first attempt from a bunch of newbies. Early on in the development process, Ubisoft hired Michael de Plater, a veteran of the Total War series going back to Shogun, and one of the designers of Rome Total War. De Plater was tasked with assembling a team of RTS veterans and their work shows in the way the gameplay is carefully crafted instead of just slapped together around a voice command gimmick.
5. You're playing a game partly inspired by Mario Kart
De Plater told us part of the inspiration for the ending of a typical match of EndWar was Mario Kart. Just as Mario Kart gives better power-ups to the driver in last place, EndWar gives the losing player control of special tricks like hacking uplinks and calling down weapons of mass destruction. The idea isn't to unbalance the game so much as it is to give the losing a player a way to shape the outcome. For instance, if the loser uses his nuke, then it unlocks a similar attack for the guy he just nuked. Turnabout's fair play, and the nuclear option is called the nuclear option for a reason.
Posted: 27 Oct 2008
