NZGamer: Tom Clancy's EndWar Preview

One of the few genres which hasn't yet fully transitioned to game consoles is the humble Real Time Strategy (RTS). This traditionally PC-based genre was born (well, excluding the Megadrive Herzog-Zwei...) with the mouse in mind and console developers have had a great deal of difficulty moving beyond that. Sure, there's been advances - recent examples like Command & Conquer 3 and Universe at War have continued the great work started by the likes of Battle For Middle Earth. Arguably, however, there's still some trepidation around exactly how to give gamers full control via the current console interface.

Instead of finding yet another new way to map the complex functionality of an RTS onto the analogue sticks, Ubisoft's new Tom Clancy game, EndWar, almost completely eschews the buttons and sticks console gamers are so accustomed to and instead opts to put the power of control into the gamer's voice: players equipped with a microphone directly instruct their troops by telling them what to do - literally.

It's World War Three and you, as leader of your chosen (of three) faction, must take control of the battlefield:

• Lead Russia, the United States or the Enforcer Corps (Europe) into battle around the world
  
• Issue commands like "Red Team - take that objective" or "Airstrike the target" - the stuff you've seen in the movies or orders you issued to your little toy soldiers in the sandpit of your youth
  
• One world, one war, thousands of players - your success or failure will affect the online progress of your faction
  
• Customize your batallion - choose it's motto, logos, outfit and more
  
• Ultra realistic AI sees your troops utilize cover intelligently, rescue their mates in combat and much more - as if they're really there
  
• Control all of the game or none of the game using your voice - easily embarassed, Singstar-phobic gamers have the option of sticking to standard controller-based input if they prefer