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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.
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