Video Game Review: 'Tom Clancy's EndWar'

Nov. 28, 2008— -- More and more, real-time strategy (RTS) games are making their way onto next-gen video game consoles. In the past, most of them have been ports of PC games which are at least somewhat simplified to make them playable on the consoles, and to make up for the lack of a mouse and keyboard.

"Tom Clancy's EndWar" seeks to completely remake the genre for home consoles, by keeping gameplay simple and adding voice controls so players can get their troops moving without using the console's cumbersome controller.

The game is set in a future where the world's oil supply has been crippled by a nuclear attack. The U.S. and an alliance of nations named the European Federation have worked to eliminate the nuclear threat once and for all by launching space-based missile defense shields. As the world's chief energy supplier, Russia is once again a major superpower with the miliatry prowess to match.

As the U.S. prepares to send an orbital defense platform into space and upset the balance of power, tension between the three world powers is reaching a fever pitch.

"Tom Clancy's EndWar" is easy to learn thanks to the voice controls, but remains challenging throughout. There isn't a vast multitude of troops to choose from, but the lack of variety doesn't affect the fun factor. Whether you're new to the genre or a veteran, "EndWar" offers a unique experience that's different every time.

The game's single-player campaign is little more than a tutorial in how to best use your troops and how to use the game's unique control interface. In what's little more than a prelude to world war, players have to make their way through the opening salvo of the war's early battles. Once that's accomplished, the game spits players out onto a world map with various "battlefields" representing key areas of conflict within each of the warring nations.

The battles range in importance and have varied goals. Take a key supply point and disrupt enemies on adjoining battlefields; defend a landmark city from foreign armies.