Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft

So you’re a Real Time Strategy (RTS) fan. Starcraft 2 is looming in the distance and Warhammer 40K Dawn of War 2 is waiting to eat your free time up as well. But what about how you’ll get your fix on your console? With Halo Wars just a few months away, you still have to ask the question: how well can an RTS be adapted to your standard console controller.

Anyone who has played an RTS on a console before has seen firsthand the intuitiveness a controller is lacking over your standard mouse and keyboard configuration. Many would even argue that a mouse and keyboard are the preferred method of control for FPS games as well. RTS titles here and there have tried to overcome this limitation in the past, streamlining the controls and simplifying things. Still a better solution may have been found by Ubisoft in Tom Clancy’s Endwar title.

Tom Clancy’s Endwar takes the idea of how to control a RTS on a console to the next level. With voice commands using your Xbox 360 or any Bluetooth (PS3) headset you can control every aspect of the game including unit actions and camera controls. To be honest this control mechanism performs quite well. Now this isn’t really new or groundbreaking technology. You may remember that Rainbow Six 3 on Xbox and PC allowed for voice command albeit fairly limited commands. The technology has however been refined here.

This is obvious from the get go when you begin the surprisingly useful and necessary tutorial. Commands are pretty much based off of four categories which are strung together into command phrases. It’s impressive just how comprehensive the selections of commands are. Sometimes it is necessary to raise your voice or annunciate your words to get a command to go through clearly but most of the time things work without a hitch the first time. The only downsides I found to voice control were that it seems to limit the amount of units one could effectively control and you’ll understand that after trying to remember exactly what unit is where when they aren’t on screen and you’re losing soldiers left and right. The other downside is looking like a complete moron shouting at your headset and screaming when your units tell you they can’t obey you.

Other than the new control scheme Tom Clancy’s Endwar proves to be a fairly traditional but solid RTS. The visuals are adequate if at times a bit drab but if realism was the goal that can be understood a little. Units move fluidly especially infantry, and weapons of mass destruction show off some impressive effects. The sound effects are nice but unfortunately rarely noticed when you’re yelling at your units and jumping around the map checking in on various skirmishes.

This brings me to a frustrating aspect of Tom Clancy’s Endwar for me: the camera. I often found the only good way to view the battlefield was by attaching my camera view to air units. Although the global view available from the command unit is quite useful, the ability to zoom out and see the whole battlefield from a top down view would have been nice.

There aren’t a whole lot of unit types either but this does at least allow the game to be balanced. There are three main factions, each with their own specialties and weaknesses; your standard RTS formula. Each unit type is effective against another and vulnerable to another. Engineers will take down air units, but fall victim to rifleman. You get the idea. Knowing what unit does what is the key to the game.

Online this is imperative, however sometimes this may not matter due to opponents having upgraded units. You begin the multiplayer Theatre of War by choosing a faction and army specialty (i.e. mobility or armor). Then you’re presented with conflicts your faction is currently involved in to maintain its territory that you may participate in, think Chrome Hounds minus the mechs. Single player campaign will prepare you for theatre of war but a word to the wise, pick a specialty and upgrade those units until you can’t anymore.

What Tom Clancy’s Endwar lacks in depth and flash, it makes up for in solid competitive game play. Tom Clancy’s Endwar is one of those titles that after a few hours there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to pose a challenge for someone with ten times the play time. Voice command is functional though not perfect, and the only thing that didn’t really live up to expectations in Tom Clancy’s Endwar for me was the story but let’s be honest here: Clancy probably has as much do with the stories for these newer titles as Gene Roddenberry does the new Star Trek. This one is a little bit tough to recommend during this holiday season with the plethora of new game releases. Definitely worth a look if you can put down Fallout 3.