8.0

Act of War: Direct Action

A mix of live action and honest to good real time strategy, Act of War could fall apart on so many levels however simply refuses to. For anyone who didn’t get what I meant there, it’s a good game.

Following a tight story penned by wordsman Dale Brown, this thriller follows the plot of a techno thriller in the way that it weaves and bobs around international intrigue and espionage as a conglomerate sends the world to the edge by perpetuating an energy crisis that threatens to drive the world to war and factions break out on the streets of every suburb in a desperate bid to control the land. 

As the game progresses, it is interspersed by live video footage of news reporters making live announcements and also of troops fighting on the streets. It’s all a bit B Grade but still on the whole highly enjoyable and takes nothing away from the actual gameplay itself. In fact, it could even be argued that some of the scenes are gritty enough that they fit well within the confines of the game which is in and of itself a touch on the war torn side. 

The gameplay takes place in an urban environment and is centred around skirmish type battles. You will have to build forces in order to use them and there are natural strengths in following certain types of schemes. The gameplay has a natural flow to it and is incredibly intuitive to pick up and run with. Installation of the game was extremely easy and even a novice could do so.

Graphically the ingame action is extremely detail with the grit that I mentioned during fighting. It does appear that this is intentional and as such I applaud it. The visuals are not hurt at all by it and in fact it lends some realism to the whole aspect of urban combat. There are plenty of elements that players are going to have to keep their eyes on later in the game due to the fact that there is a ton of stuff that you can micro manage throughout the title. Detail nuts are going to love this fact but I must admit that it was a little overwhelming for me at times.  

Some of the little things you can see during the title are going to blow you away, literally J Helicopter Gunships, vehicles, all engaged in the art of war at the same time and your mouse finger frantically clicking away.

This is one of those games that is very tightly written and highly enjoyable from both a storyline and gaming perspective. I think that most gamers will get a kick out of it whether they are strategists or not. Give it a shot and see what you think. Surprisingly from me this title gets the thumbs up.