| Tom Clancy's EndWar | |
|---|---|
 Multiplatform cover art |
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| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Shanghai |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Designer(s) | Michael de Plater |
| Composer(s) | Alistair Hirst Matt Ragan[1] |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 3.1 |
| Version | 1.02 (May 12, 2009) (PC) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360[2] |
| Release date(s) | Console and handheld: NA November 4, 2008[3] EU November 8, 2008[3] Microsoft Windows: February 24, 2009 [4] |
| Genre(s) | Real-time tactics (turn-based for handhelds) |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: T OFLC: PG[5] PEGI: 16+[6], 12+ (NDS)[6] |
| Media | Blu-ray Disc, DVD, UMD |
Tom Clancy's EndWar is a real-time tactics game designed by Ubisoft Shanghai for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows platforms. The Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable versions feature turn-based tactics instead of the real-time tactics of their console counterparts.[7] It was released on November 4, 2008 in the United States, November 6, 2008 in Canada, and November 8, 2008 in Europe.[3] A Windows version was released on February 24, 2009.[8]
Contents |
In 2016, a nuclear attack occurs in Saudi Arabia, killing 6 million people and crippling the world's oil supply. The following year, the United States of America and the European Union sign the historic SLAMS (Space-Land-Air Missile Shield) Treaty, agreeing to co-develop technologies for a comprehensive, interlocking anti-ballistic missile system. The US and EU test launch nuclear salvos against each other, which the SLAMS weapons completely destroy. Emboldened by the success of the tests, the US and EU pronounce "the end of strategic nuclear war," and the world celebrates a new age of peace. But with crude oil at USD 800 a barrel, the EU member-states are forced to consolidate political, economic, and military power to form the "European Federation". The United Kingdom and Ireland decline membership, instead merging to form the "New Commonwealth", an ally of the EF. Nations too weak to join the EF, notably the Balkans (except Bulgaria and Greece), along with Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania collapse completely, and were subsequently taken over by Russia, who refer to it as "their land"[9]. The US and EF regard each other's power as a threat to their own, and the now fractured former allies embark on a costly space arms race with each other. Russia, being the world's new number one supplier of natural gas and crude oil, has its economy skyrocket up with the energy crisis, spending its oil profits on modernizing its armed forces, creating its own missile defense system, and utilizing its new-found power to influence world events.
The militarization of space reaches its peak in 2020, when the United States reveals plans to launch the Freedom Star space station in an effort to regain its position as the premier world superpower. While partly designed for civilian research purposes, the station will also house three companies of US Marines, who can deploy anywhere on Earth within 90 minutes. International reaction is extremely negative, to say the least. The EF and Russia in particular despise the development, seeing it as a way the US could use to neutralize their portion of anti-ballistic defenses and upset the balance of power. The EF withdraw from the already divided NATO in protest.
The prelude to war takes place before WWIII and explains how the conflict began.
On March 23, 2020, European Federation (EF) uplink sites in the "lawless zone," where Croatia used to be, are attacked by an as-yet unidentified group of terrorists, who are using T-80 tanks, from a beached cargo ship. They are repulsed by EF Enforcers Corps (EFEC) forces. During the battle, the EF attempts to gain access to the cargo ship that the terrorists use but the ship is destroyed before they can gain access. Details of the attack are kept secret. On April 4, 2020, when the final module of the Freedom Star is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center amid international outcry, the same group of terrorists attack the module and attempt to destroy it, using the same methods as the Croatian attack, only with more weapons. Once again they are repulsed by the United States Joint Strike Force (JSF) as reports of yet another terrorist attack come in, this time of an assault on the Rozenburg petrol plant in the Netherlands. After being defeated by EFEC forces, the terrorists identify themselves as the "Forgotten Army" composed of people from a collection of failed states in the Balkans, Africa and South America. Following a final terrorist attack, this time on a Russian power plant near Minsk, the US finds "conclusive evidence" that the European Federation's defense minister, François Pulain, funded the Forgotten Army with modern military equipment. They send a black-ops team to abduct him while he inspects the Copenhagen uplink network, but an anonymous call by Russia informs Danish police and together with EFEC forces trap the team in one of the uplinks. On April 7, 2020, The US crashes Copenhagen's uplinks and sends in JSF units to rescue the trapped team. The US successfully repels the EFEC's first attack, but European forces are able to counter-attack and reboot Copenhagen's uplinks in their favor, forcing JSF forces to surrender and allowed US safe passage back. While emergency peace talks are held in London, it is revealed (to the player only) that Russia funded the Forgotten Army's attacks as well as planting the evidence against Pulain, citing the need to keep the EF and the US from uniting in order to take Russia's oil. To ensure that war is sparked between the two powers, elements of the Spetsnaz Guard Brigade (SGB) embark on a covert operation, disguised as Forgotten Army soldiers, to upload a virus into the European SLAMS network at Rovaniemi air base in Finland. The virus causes an EF orbital laser satellite to shoot down the new Freedom Star module during lift off, thinking it to be an ICBM. The entire crew is killed, and news reports blaming problems from "Malfunction" to "Terrorist Hijacking" to (finally) "EF Satellite." This final act starts a war between the two powers. Russia initially joins the U.S under the guise of "aiding it in its crusade against Europe" and invades EF-controlled Poland, but the United States sees this as an attempt to reform the Eastern Bloc and attacks Russia. World War III has begun.
World War III is an open ended part of the story where the player chooses their faction and character and tries to take all three Capitals or twenty-eight battlefields.
The campaign plays much like Prelude to War with a few additional options. During World War III between battles the player has the option to choose between several battle locations. The battles that the player could have chosen, but did not, will be fought by AI. The player also has the option to upgrade their chosen battalion with improved attack, defense, mobility, and ability characteristics.
At the conclusion of each campaign battle a summary screen is shown. This screen includes information including number of battalion units promoted, amount of credits (money) received, command rating, medals, mission duration, and a quote by a famous military leader. The player can gain a more in depth understand of the battle summary by viewing the details screens, which provides a breakdown of statistics, ranking, etc...
During the course of the war several situations arise such as adverse weather conditions like typhoons causing people to become homeless and rescue teams being dispatched, and reports of protest against the war. These parts of the story are told via television reports.
When the war has ended, the winning faction takes control of the world and a special scene is shown, which shows the winning faction's flag and troops parading with the voice of the faction's General talking about their victory and what will happen in the future; depending on whether it is America, Europe or Russia that is the winning side, the cut scene is different due to different speeches by Generals and different reasons for starting the war.
The game takes place in the same universe as Ghost Recon, H.A.W.X., Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell. Notably, several commanding officers are taken from the Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six rosters, and their in-universe histories are briefly referred to in pre-battle briefings. Also the director of Third Echelon is Anna Grimsdottir of the Splinter Cell series. Therefore the game ties all three Tom Clancy games together in one canon.
In an IGN interview, De Plater said the setting of EndWar (as a possible series) is a global battle, but the first installment is focused on the North Atlantic theatre of battle: Europe, Russia and North America. Players will hear reports of events in other parts of the world, such as reactions to the war by the Pope and various other countries, as well as actions in the war that the player takes no part in.[10]
Imp Rebs has confirmed 4x4 will be offered in the full version. De Plater confirmed the game to be a Real-time tactics strategy war-game.[11] Units will gain experience as they are used in battle. The emphasis will be more on smaller scale battles rather than the overarching campaign.
Ubisoft also claims that the game is "completely controllable through voice commands." This is demonstrated on a handful of game play videos by de Plater himself.
There are 3 playable factions in EndWar:
The European Federation Enforcer Corps (EFEC), which is made up of veteran elite counter-terrorist and peacekeeping forces throughout Europe, especially skilled in urban warfare. While their units are slightly less armored, they are faster than either the JSF's or SGB's. They also excel in electronic warfare, as well as advanced directed energy and microwave weapons. Their ranks notably contain many previous members of the elite counter-terrorist unit, Rainbow. Their WMD (weapon of mass destruction) is a Tactical High Energy Laser.
The Russian Spetsnaz Guards Brigade (SGB), which is composed of veterans of Russia's many regional conflicts, specializing in heavy weapons and heavy armor. They believe in winning at all costs, while still saving face. A few Rainbow veterans from Eastern Europe serve as Battalion commanders. Their WMD is a Fuel-Air Missile / Vacuum bomb, as are many of the 'special weapon' upgrades for units - e.g.: engineers and tanks gain access to flamethrowers, whilst artillery and gunships make use of fuel-air weaponry.
The United States' Joint Strike Force (JSF), led by Ghost Recon main character Scott Mitchell[12], is modeled after today's Marine Expeditionary Units. The J.S.F. is built around small, fast units packing a precise punch, and is made up of elite servicemen from all branches of the U.S. Military[13]. They also specialize in access to state-of-the-art stealth technology and battlefield robotics, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Automated Sentry Drones. Their WMD is a Kinetic Strike. A few veteran Ghost Recon members serve as battalion commanders.There are seven types of units available for direct command: riflemen, engineers, tanks, transports, gunships, artillery, and command vehicles. Troops which have been with the player for many battles will be more effective than fresh recruits. De Plater, Creative Director, says this creates a "Pokémon-like" ownership of the player's units, and will have a large effect on his tactics. "It's a battalion that you own," says de Plater. "You can personalize it. You can customize it. You can choose its motto and its heraldry. You can change its composition and abilities." According to a Pre-GC IGN article: "Each faction has roughly 150 upgrades and units have six levels of experience. These upgrades are where the seven unit types can gain great variety and specialization through three different ways-experience, equipment and training, all of which have different effects and abilities. This allows many of the related unit types other games consider a different class have merely to be folded into one of the eight present in EndWar. For example, a rifleman may be upgraded to a sniper unit rather than having that unit type exist by itself."[14]
Each individual unit can gain many upgrades for attack and defense (e.g. extra armor on sides of tank or anti-aircraft gun attached to tank). Upgrades must be bought from points earned in the game.
There are about 40,000 lines of dialogue, 9,000 of which are "unit chatter" that will give a battalion its own personality. Each unit will have a specific voice to help the player recognize instantly which one is in danger, and these voices show the degree of danger they are in (such as the severity of an injury or the morale the unit has).
The player will not control individual soldiers, but much larger platoons and companies. The soldiers will behave realistically, using stealth and military tactics. Veterans will act based on their experience in previous battles.
Craters, walls, debris, and buildings can be used for cover, and units can be pinned down by heavy enemy fire.
De Plater hinted at the game being streamlined with regards to units, resource management, etc. He stated that "every time they cut features out, it just made the game better." For example, only 12 groups are allowed under control at once. Also, the resource system will be stripped down compared to other RTS games. Each unit costs the same amount of resources, which are gained by capturing strategic points on the battlefield. Reinforcements will be handled realistically meaning all new units must be transported onto the battlefield by a transport vehicle (or in the case of helicopters, will fly in from off-screen).
To call in new units it costs 1-6 CP (Command Points), Command Points are also used to call in airstrikes, force recon and electronic warfare, the 3 kinds of offmap support. Command Points regenerate at a rate of around 1 per 30 seconds and are also gained for killing enemy units, the player gains a bonus of 4 Command Points for capturing an uplink.
Riflemen: These are standard infantry, and with upgrades they can 'Deep Strike' to any area on the map (for an extra charge of 6 Command Points + the 4 CP for calling them in). They are effective against gunships while they are in cover, as well as against engineers. They can utilize stealth to avoid being spotted by hostiles. They can capture uplink points, but upgrade them slower than engineers. The Russian riflemen are called Wolves, and are part of the Russian 'Spetsnaz'. European riflemen are called Kommandos, and are lauded for their diversity, as they stick to the tactics of their original national units, making them extremely difficult to predict. The American riflemen are called Ghosts, and recruited from various aspects of the United States Armed Forces, including Marine Force Recon, SEALs, Army Rangers, Green Berets, Pararescueman (PJ's), and even Ghosts.
Engineers: These are anti-tank troops, although while in cover they are effective against almost everything apart from distant artillery and riflemen. Engineers can plant land mines every 25 seconds, and can also use heavy machine guns as a special ability to damage riflemen and gunships more effectively. The Russian engineers are known as Bears, and part of Spetsnaz, like the riflemen[15]. European engineers are called Grenadiers, and are renowned for their non-lethal weapons[15]. American engineers are referred to as Pioneers, and are equipped with full body armor, and powered exoskeletons although their weaponry is less advanced than their European counterparts[15].
Transports: Also known as infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), these units are effective against gunships and riflemen, and can transport infantry, although they are highly vulnerable to tanks and entrenched engineers. Russia employs the BTR-112 Cockroach, which is described as having the ideal balance of transport and anti-aircraft functions[15]. Europe uses the German AMZ-26 Badger, which is remarkably fuel-efficient, and boasts a lethal heat-ray[15]. America uses the M118 Fastback, which is outwardly similar to the M2 Bradley IFV, but internally, much more advanced.
Tanks: Tanks are extremely efficient against most armored vehicles, although they are vulnerable to entrenched engineers, artillery strikes, gunships and minefields. The Russians employ the T-100 Ogre, described as being the World War III equivalent of the Tiger I tank of World War II, and is extremely mine-resistant, apparently to compensate for the lack of Russian mine sweeping technology[15]. The Europeans employ the Panther 1A3, developed by some of the best corporations across Europe, and utilizes an arguably cruel microwave-emitter[15]. The Americans use the M5A2 Schwarzkopf, named after Persian Gulf War general Norman Schwarzkopf, and is incredibly accurate.
Gunships: Gunships are fast-attack helicopters that can be used to scout the battlefield for artillery and air strikes, and are also efficient tank-killers. They are nevertheless very fragile, and can be destroyed by transports or entrenched engineers. Russia uses the KA-65 Howler (based on the Kamov Ka-52 "Alligator"), which is described as being the most armed and armored helicopter in existence[15]. Europe employs the PAH-6 Cheetah, a hydrogen vehicle, which is also equipped with laser-guided missiles for increased lethality[15]. The United States uses the AH-80 Blackfoot, based on a canceled 2004 design that was recovered during the arms race[15].
Artillery: Although relatively slow and extremely fragile in close-quarters, artillery can devastate ground units from a distance. The Russians employ the KV-20 Zhukov, a twin-barreled platform allegedly promoted by Vladimir Putin, has a South African design that is less accurate than its foreign counterparts, but with a higher rate of fire[15]. Europe uses the AMZ-50 Marksman, which resembeles the ARCHER Artillery System, also is the fastest and lightest artillery unit in the world, and has a series of generators linked to the main gun, allowing for the Marksman to charge its own battery whilst firing[15]. America utilizes the M320 Spartan, which utilizes the tried and true 155mm gun, with major upgrades to the round fired for increased accuracy[15].
Command Vehicle: Command vehicles allow the player access to an overhead-view situation report, as well as access to UAV scouts. All command vehicles are guarded by escort units, which are efficient against infantry and helicopters. Command vehicles also have relatively large health levels, allowing them to last longer than most other units in combat. Russia uses the MAZ-660 King Spider, which keeps an array of low-tech backup equipment, and is the only Command Vehicle guarded by soldiers, not electronic drones[15]. Europe employs the LV-20 Charlemagne, which does not use conventional weapons, but a variety of laser-based technologies[15]. The Americans use the C1A5 Archon, which employs a 20 mm chain gun for close support[15].
There are also three mission supports that can be upgraded:
Air strikes: they damage or destroy units. The European aircraft used for this is the Eurofighter Hailstorm, which is apparently based on the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Dassault Rafale, and the JAS-39 Gripen. The aircraft for America is the A-20 Razorback, a fictional ground attack version of the F-20 Tigershark [1] (the fighter is also in HAWX), although it better resembles the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. Russia's strike fighter is the Su-38 Slamhound, which is based on the Su-47 Berkut (which also appears).
Electronic warfare: disrupts enemy communications, forces the shield down, reveals hidden traps and infantry (within the blast radius), and immobilizes enemy vehicles and helicopters.
Force Recon: a support that sends a regular army unit to a captured uplink (or designated area) to protect it, or to attack a designated hostile. It consists of up to two infantry units, two FAVs (Fast Attack Vehicle) units, and two Tank units from the regular army. American FAVs and tanks are HMMWVs and M1A1 Abrams respectively. Russia uses the GAZ-2975 and T-90, while Europe utilizes the MOWAG Eagle and Leopard 2.
When a battle reaches DEFCON 1 two supports are unlocked for the losing player; these are the ability to Crash an Uplink and deploy a WMD. WMDs are also available to the winning player. These have certain factors to the game, such as when a uplink is crashed its upgrade can no longer be used and it can not be captured by either side, thus meaning it can no longer be counted towards victory; Crashing an Uplink does not damage any units on the battlefield, also it can only be used once and that is by the losing side. A WMD however destroys all units within the blast area, whether friendly or not, but a WMD can be used more than once; it first can be used by the losing side then, once this is done, by the winning side. WMDs recharge so they can be used again. Additionally, during DEFCON units used as renforcements only cost 2 CP.
Missions in the single player campaign are divided into four separate groups based on location or accessibility and are conquest, assault, raid and siege.[16]
Conquest: These battles are the most common, as Conquest is the primary mode in EndWar . The player starts with three units and have access to reserves which can be called in and off map support. The aim of this mission type is to gain control over half of the uplinks for a five minute period, or destroy all enemies. When over half the uplinks are controlled, DEFCON one initiates and access to WMDs is granted.
Assault: These battles are the most straight forward and basic of all mission types. Assault matches are a straight fight to the death, no taking uplinks, no destroying buildings, the only way to win this battle is to use the slap chop.
Raid: These battles are like conquest mode, but the player has to sabotage the enemy by destroying half of the key buildings within ten minutes or defend against the enemy for ten minutes, rather than taking uplinks or defeating all enemy forces.
Siege: These battles are exclusive to capital cities and require the player to capture or defend a critical uplink identified by being larger than all other uplinks. The attacker must secure the uplink before reinforcements arrive in ten minutes, making the task a lot harder. The defender will be given eight units and must hold on to the uplink for ten minutes time, at which point a large force recon team deploys. Until the timer runs out, the defenders must do without any off-map support, including reinforcements and evacuation choppers, forcing units to fight to the last man. Off-map supports, including WMDs and reinforcements, are half the CP cost.
In all mission types, the player can win by annihilating the enemy force. Also, WMDs can be used (however, in "Raid" missions, WMDs are not available).
The game features optional voice commands so that the player may use a headset to give orders to their troops, although the troops will only react to valid and game-related orders in certain languages, but are able to understand many accents of those languages. Officials at Ubisoft Shanghai said it was also possible to control the game using only voice commands; Jeff Bakalar of CNET concurred, saying the demonstration he watched ran for twenty minutes without any perceptible faults.[17] Hearing enemy soldiers communicate gives the player a strategic advantage to counter the enemy's attack with one of their own. Ubisoft has even created a video showing parrots commanding units using their voice.[18]
The view in the game is from the perspective of one of the units under the player's command. The camera can be panned 3-dimensionally and swapped between units but is not directly under the control of the player. Enemy units will only be detected if they are within the Line-of-Sight of a unit; doing away with the fog of war common in most strategy games.
In addition to the units' point of view, there is a tactical map or "sitrep" (Situation Report) view, which shows the entire map with the locations of all allied and any visible enemy units which can be used to issue commands.
The special edition of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 included a video with the first live gameplay footage of this game. There have been online advertisements, as well as an EndWar website at Endwargame.com
Since release, Endwar has received the "Escalation" downloadable pack on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace which contains 3 new unit upgrades (1 per faction) and 4 new maps playable in skirmish, as well as additional achievements/trophies. Another set of upgrades were released, entitled the "Faction Elite pack" which included 6 new unit upgrades (2 per faction) and 3 new battalions (1 per faction).Also, announced on March 13, two new missions on two new maps will be available for free. They are assault on Russia’s Cosmodrome and conquest on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Richton, Mississippi, USA.
The first EndWar trailer shows an overhead map of Western Europe with only Spain and half of France under US control, while the Russians occupy the rest of the continent. The camera then zooms to an ongoing battle in Paris, where a local Joint Strike Force commander, Major General Smith, directs the action from a mobile headquarters vehicle by using an interactive holographic map display. Outside, U.S. soldiers armed with assault rifles similar to the XM8, along with advanced IFVs, DPVs, and M5A2 Schwarzkopf tanks, attack Russian forces holding out at the Place de la Concorde and the Louvre museum. Eventually, the US troops call in air support in the form of AH-80 Blackfoot attack helicopters and V-25 transports, forcing the Russians to fall back. However, the assault is short-lived, as in addition to a mechanized counterattack, the Russian forces launch several Tu-3 UCAVs that shoot down the helicopters right on top of the soldiers. Realizing the desperate situation, General Smith issues voice attack commands to a Kinetic Strike satellite hovering over Europe. Russian soldiers surround him as he emerges from his command vehicle.
Just before the Russians take him in as a prisoner of war, the general says, "Now." The satellite fires at least three kinetic rods down on his position, obliterating himself and the Russians, as well as large sections of Paris. Smith's death would be mentioned in passing in the EndWar novel.
The trailer depicts several major cultural icons from Paris, including the Eiffel Tower and a heavily damaged Luxor Obelisk.
The music used in this trailer was composed by Michael McCann and can be found at his website. The music of a different trailer is The End of the World by Skeeter Davis
Endwar was published as a novel,[19] on February 4, 2008 in paperback form. The back cover says "Based on Ubisoft's bestselling game, Tom Clancy's EndWar", despite the game not yet having been released at that time.
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 70.36% (DS)[20] 68.00% (PC)[21] 77.76% (PS3)[22] 69.67% (PSP)[23] 78.13% (X360)[24] |
| Metacritic | 69 (DS)[25] 68 (PC)[26] 76 (PS3)[27] 68 (PSP)[28] 77 (X360)[29] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| 1UP.com | C[30] |
| Game Informer | 7.75/10 |
| GameSpot | 7.5/10(PS3)[31] |
| Official Xbox Magazine | 8.0/10 |
The Guardian gave the game a 4/5 [32] It was praised for its "Highly addictive solo play...the game comes into its own with the massively multiplayer online Theatre of War." while being docked somewhat for "occasional voice recognition blip". The website www.gametrailers.com gave EndWar a 9/10 saying that it was "Console strategy done right." IGN rated EndWar as an 8 out of 10 taking marks away for the "Uninspired single player campaign" but still saw it as a more than solid RTS. Game Spot's Kevin VanOrd rated the PS3 version of EndWar as a 7.5 out of 10 [31] praising its "Innovative voice command mechanic" and stating "Persistent online campaign makes matches feel meaningful" but berated it for its lack of story and "simple rock-paper-scissors skirmishes". 1Up and Electronic Gaming Monthly both gave the game a C.[30]
A private beta test version was playable among Xbox Live Gold members. It included three maps and both 1v1 and 2v2 matches. The beta test began June 16, 2008 and ended July 9, 2008.[33] Participants were placed under non-disclosure agreement until the game's first commercial launch.
The VIP demo for Xbox 360 users who pre-ordered the game was released a little more than a week late on October 11. The demo features one single-player story mission, one map that is playable in Skirmish mode with either 1 vs. 1 or 1 vs. AI, and a Voice Command Trainer.[34]
The VIP demo has a campaign mission at Kennedy Space Center. The Skirmish mode features the European Federation versus the United States over the Kennedy Space Center in Conquest mode. The demo was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on October 15, and on the Playstation Store on October 30.
There is also a special code that appears when the user exits the demo, which is used to unlock a special Spetznaz battalion for use in the full game.
A sequel to the game was confirmed to be in the early stages of development by Ubisoft's creative director Michael De Plater in an interview with Videogamer.com.[35] A small team from Ubisoft Shanghai is in charge of the development, he said, and "is concentrating on two areas of improvement - single-player story and depth." He could not, however, place a date as to when more information on the sequel would be released. On February 8, 2010, it was announced that the development of the sequel was put 'on hold'.[36]
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Tom Clancy's EndWar | Table of Contents
| Walkthrough
| Tom Clancy's EndWar | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Montreal |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 3 |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | RTS |
| System(s) | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows |
| Series | Tom Clancy |
Tom Clancy's EndWar is a real-time tactics game designed by Ubisoft Shanghai for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows, released on November 4, 2008 in North America and November 7, 2008 in Europe. A turn-based strategy game of the same name was released for the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. EndWar is set in 2020 during the events of World War III.
| Tom Clancy's EndWar | |
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Shanghai |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Designer(s) | Michael de Plater |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 3 |
| Release date | March 4, 2008 |
| Genre | Real-Time Strategy |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer, Single player |
| Age rating(s) | ESRB: RP |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo DS |
| Media | Blu-Ray Disc, DVD, CD-ROM, Nintendo DS Cartridge |
| Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough | |
Tom Clancy's EndWar is a real-time tactics game designed by Ubisoft Shanghai for the, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and Xbox 360 platforms, to be released on November 4, 2008 in North America and November 7, 2008 in Europe. A Windows version will be released at a later date. It is set in 2020 at which time World War III is ongoing.
Contents |
In 2011, the United States and the European Union sign the historic SLAMS (Space-Land-Air Missile Shield) Treaty, agreeing to co-develop technologies for a comprehensive, interlocking anti-ballistic missile system. Left out of the treaty, Russia accelerates development of its own system. SLAMS is activated in 2014. The US and EU launch test salvos against each other, which the SLAMS weapons completely destroy. Emboldened by the success of the tests, the US and EU pronounce "the end of strategic nuclear war," and the world celebrates a new age of peace and security.
However, in 2015 it is found that major oil companies have overstated the amount of recoverable oil reserves. Energy security becomes the explicit priority of governments around the world. Russia, being the world's number one supplier of natural gas and crude oil, has its economy skyrocket up with the energy crisis, spending its oil profits on modernizing its armed forces and utilizing its new-found power to influence world events. A nuclear war occurs between Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2016, killing 20 million, further compounding the energy crisis and greatly destabilising the nations of Europe. With crude oil now at 800 dollars a barrel, the alliance of individual countries of the European Union are forced to band together to consolidate political, economic and military power in the face of growing global security, environmental and economic concerns. Morphing to become the new superpower of the "European Federation" (EF) in 2018, most of the wealthy Western Europe is now recognised as an independent state in its own right. Britain and Ireland decline membership while Switzerland remains neutral. Relations between the US and EF are not exactly warm- each regarding the other's power as a threat to their own, the now fractured former allies embark on a costly space arms race with each other.
The militarisation of space reaches its peak in 2018, when the United States reveals plans to launch the "Freedom Star" space station into high orbit by 2020, in an effort to regain its position as the premier world superpower. While partly designed for civilian research purposes, the station will also house three companies of U.S. Marines, who can deploy anywhere on Earth within 90 minutes. International reaction is extremely negative, to say the least. The EF and Russia in particular despise the development, seeing it as a way the US could use to neutralise their portion of anti-ballistic defences and upset the balance of power. They withdraw from the already divided NATO in protest. In 2020, when the final module of the Freedom Star is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center amid international outcry, it comes as little surprise when a group of terrorists attack the launch site. In investigating the source of the attack, the US, the EF, and Russia find themselves at odds, rolling with unstoppable momentum toward full-scale global war.
The game will take place in the same universe as Ghost Recon, H.A.W.X., Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell.
In an IGN interview, De Plater said the setting of EndWar (as a possible series) is a global battle, but the first installment is focused on the North Atlantic theatre of battle, Europe, Russia and North America. Players will hear reports of events in other parts of the world. Below is a list of battlefields that will appear in the game. Almost all of the locations are based on existing locations.
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A TeamXbox Article confirms that Captain Scott Mitchell of the Ghost Recon series survives the events of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and leads the JSF as a General. Creative Director Michael de Plater has revealed that the Ghost Recon team will be the Special Forces team for the United States, Rainbow Six characters will be promoted as special European Federation commanders, and Third Echelon will provide battlefield intelligence, along with special units such as snipers. During the Ubidays 2008 conference, it was revealed that units appearing in the upcoming Tom Clancy game H.A.W.X. will also be available in EndWar.
The United States President in the novelization of the game is David Becerra, who is described as being the first Hispanic President.
It should be noted that De Plater has confirmed 4 v. 4. It will be released in a later patch. The game's lead designer, Michael de Plater, has confirmed the game to be a Real-time tactics strategy war-game Units will gain experience as they are used in battle. The emphasis will be more on smaller scale battles rather than the overarching campaign.
This game uses the "Overlord voice command system" basically you can play the actual game (not menus and pause screen) by using voice commands. Ex. Unit 2 attack target Ex. Unit 3 + Unit 1 attack and secure uplink alpha.
There are 3 playable factions in EndWar:
There are seven types of units available for direct command: riflemen, engineers, tanks, transports, gunships, artillery, and command vehicles. Troops which have been with the player for many battles will be more effective than fresh recruits. De Plater, Creative Director, says this creates a "Pokémon-like" ownership of the player's units, and will have a large effect on his tactics. "It's a battalion that you own," says de Plater. "You can personalize it. You can customize it. You can choose its motto and its heraldry. You can change its composition and abilities." According to a Pre-Games Convention IGN article: "Each faction has roughly 150 upgrades and units have six levels of experience. These upgrades are where the seven unit types can gain great variety and specialization through three different ways-experience, equipment and training, all of which have different effects and abilities. This allows many of the related unit types other games consider a different class have merely to be folded into one of the eight present in EndWar. For example, a rifleman may be upgraded to a sniper unit rather than having that unit type exist by itself."
Each individual unit can gain many upgrades for attack and defence (e.g. extra armour on sides of tank or anti-aircraft gun attached to tank). Upgrades must be bought from points earned in the game.
There are about 40,000 lines of dialogue, 9,000 of which are "unit chatter" that will give a battalion its own personality. Each unit will have a specific voice to help the player recognize instantly which one is in danger, and these voices show the degree of danger they are in (such as the severity of an injury or the morale the unit has).
The player will not control individual soldiers, but much larger platoons and companies. The soldiers will behave realistically, using stealth and military tactics. Veterans will act based on their experience in previous battles.
Robert Ashley, a writer for Electronic Gaming Monthly reports:
"Squadrons of heavily armed soldiers, when ordered to a cluster of firebombed cars, will automatically take cover in different ways, periodically taking potshots at the enemy through windows and over hoods. If a soldier gets shot, one of his squadmates will drag him back to safety. When the player orders reinforcements, the additional troops deploy from helicopters, rappelling down the ropes like old pros. When ordered to take control of a building, the troops will gather around the entrance and break in Rainbow Six-style-boot through the door and guns blazing. Then they will take sniper positions in the windows."
Craters, walls, debris, and buildings can be used for cover, and units can be pinned down by heavy enemy fire.
De Plater hinted at the game being streamlined with regards to units, resource management, etc. He stated that "every time [they] cut features out, it just made the game better." For example, only 12 groups are allowed under control at once, creating a "Madden at war" style of battle. Also, the resource system will be stripped down compared to other RTS games. Each unit costs the same amount of resources, which are gained by capturing strategic points on the battlefield. Reinforcements will be handled realistically meaning all new units must be transported onto the battlefield by a transport vehicle (or in the case of helicopters, will fly in from off-screen).
To call in new units it costs 4 CP (Command Points), Command Points are also used to call in airstrikes, force recon and electronic warfare, the 3 kinds of offmap support. Command Points regenerate at a rate of around 1 per 30 seconds and are also gained for killing enemy units, you gain a bonus of 4 Command Points for capturing an uplink.
Riflemen: These are standard infantry, and with upgrades they can 'Deep Strike' to any area on the map (for an extra charge of 6 Command Points + the 4 CP for calling them in). They are effective against gunships while they are in cover, as well as against engineers. They can utilize stealth to avoid being spotted by hostiles. They can capture uplink points, but upgrade them slower than engineers. The Russian riflemen are called Wolves, and are part of Spetsnaz. European riflemen are called Kommandos, and are lauded for their diversity, as they stick to the tactics of their original national units, making them extremely difficult to predict. The American riflemen are called Ghosts, and recruited from various aspects of the United States Armed Forces, including Marine Force Recon, SEALs, Army Rangers, Green Berets and Ghost Recon soldiers.
Engineers: These are anti-tank troops, although while in cover they are effective against almost everything apart from distant artillery and riflemen. Engineers can plant land mines every 25 seconds, and can also use heavy machine guns as a special ability to damage riflemen and gunships more effectively. The Russian engineers are known as Bears, and part of Spetsnaz, like the riflemen. European engineers are called Grenadiers, and are renowned for their non-lethal weapons. American engineers are referred to as Pioneers, and are equipped with powered exoskeletons, although their weaponry is less advanced than their European counterparts.
Transports: These units are effective against gunships and riflemen, and can transport infantry, although they are highly vulnerable to tanks and entrenched engineers. Russia employs the BTR-112 Cockroach, which is described as having the ideal balance of transport and anti-aircraft functions. Europe uses the German AMZ-26 Badger, which is remarkably fuel-efficient, and boasts a lethal heat-ray. America uses the M118 Fastback.
Tanks: Tanks are extremely efficient against most armored vehicles, although they are vulnerable to entrenched engineers, artillery strikes, gunships and minefields. The Russians employ the T-100 Ogre, described as being the World War III equivalent of the Tiger I tank of World War II, and is extremely mine-resistant, apparently to compensate for the lack of Russian mine sweeping technology. The Europeans employ the Panther 1A3, developed by some of the best corporations across Europe, and utilizes an arguably cruel microwave-emitter. The Americans use the M5A2 Schwarzkopf, named after General Norman Schwarzkopf of the Persian Gulf War, although it is lambasted for being grossly fuel-inefficient.
Gunships: Gunships are fast-attack helicopters that can be used to scout the battlefield for artillery and air strikes, and are also efficient tank-killers. They are nevertheless very fragile, and can be destroyed by transports or entrenched engineers. Russia uses the KA-65 Howler, which is described as being the most armed and armored helicopter in existence. Europe employs the PAH-6 Cheetah, a hydrogen vehicle, which is also equipped with laser-guided missiles for increased lethality. The United States uses the AH-80 Blackfoot, allegedly based off of a canceled 2004 design that was recovered during the arms race.
Artillery: Although relatively slow and extremely fragile in close-quarters, artillery can devastate ground units from a distance. The Russians employ the KV-20 Zhukov, a twin-barreled platform allegedly promoted by Vladimir Putin, has a South African design that is less accurate than its foreign counterparts, but with a higher rate of fire. Europe uses the AMZ-50 Marksman, which is the fastest and lightest artillery unit in the world, and has a series of generators linked to the main gun, allowing for the Marksman to charge its own battery whilst firing. America utilizes the M320 Spartan, which is described as being little changed from decades ago, with minor technological improvements.
Command Vehicle: Command vehicles allow the player access to an overhead-view situation report, as well as access to UAV scouts. All command vehicles are guarded by escort units, which are efficient against infantry and helicopters. Command vehicles also have relatively large health levels, allowing them to last longer than most other units in combat. Russia uses the MAZ-660 King Spider, which keeps an array of low-tech backup equipment, and is the only Command Vehicle guarded by soldiers, not electronic drones. Europe employs the LV-20 Charlemagne, which does not use conventional weapons, but a variety of laser-based technologies. The Americans use the C1A5 Archon, which employs a 20mm chain gun for close support.
Missions in the single player campaign are divided into four separate groups based on location or accessibility and are conquest, assault, raid and siege.
Conquest: These battles are most straight forward. You start with three units and have access to reserves which can be called in and off map support. The aim of this mission type is to gain control over half of the uplinks for a five minute period, or destroy all enemies. When over half the uplinks are controlled, defcon one initiates and access to WMD's is granted.
Assault: These battles are a straight fight to the death, no taking uplinks, no destroying buildings, the only way to win this battle is to wipe out every last enemy unit.
Raid: These battles are like conquest mode, but you have to sabotage the enemy by destroying key buildings within fifteen minutes or defend against the enemy for fifteen, minutes, rather than taking uplinks or defeating all enemy forces.
Siege: These battles are exclusive to capital cities and require you to capture or defend a critical uplink identified by being larger than all other uplinks. The attacker must secure the uplink before reinforcements arrive in ten minutes, making the task a lot harder. The defender will be given eight units and must hold on to the uplink for ten minutes time, at which point a large force recon team deploys. Until the timer runs out, the defenders must do without any off-map support, including reinforcements and evacuation choppers, forcing units to fight to the last man. Off map supports, including WMD's and reinforcements, are half the CP cost.
The game will feature optional voice commands so that the player may use a headset to give orders to their troops, although the troops will only react to valid and game-related orders in certain languages, but are able to understand many accents of those languages. Officials at Ubisoft Shanghai said it was also possible to control the game using voice commands only. Hearing enemy soldiers communicate gives the player a strategic advantage to counter their attack with one of their own. Ubisoft has even created a video showing parrots commanding units using their voice.
The view in the game is from the perspective of one of the units under the player's command. The camera can be panned 3-dimensionally and swapped between units but is not directly under the control of the player. Enemy units will only be detected if they are within the Line-of-Sight of a unit; doing away with the fog of war common in most strategy games; however, a player with enough investment into the space program can use satellite feed to see all units on the map.
In addition to the units' point of view, there is a tactical map or 'sitrep' (Situation Report) view, which shows the entire map with the locations of all allied and any visible enemy units which can be used to issue commands.
The special edition of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 included a video with the first live gameplay footage of this game.
The first EndWar trailer shows an overhead map of Europe with only Spain and half of France under US control, while the Russians occupy the rest of the continent. The camera then zooms to an ongoing battle in Paris, where a local Joint Strike Force commander, Major General Smith, directs the action from a mobile headquarters vehicle by using an interactive holographic map display. Outside, US soldiers armed with modified M8 assault rifles, along with advanced M3 Bradley APCs, DPV jeeps and M1 Abrams tanks, attack Russian forces holding out at the Place de la Concorde and the Louvre museum. Eventually, the US troops call in air support in the form of redesigned RAH-66 Comanche attack helicopters and V-22 Osprey transports, forcing the Russians to fall back. However, the assault is short-lived, as in addition to a mechanized counterattack, the Russian forces launch several UCAVs that shoot down the helicopters right on top of the soldiers. Realizing the desperate situation, General Smith issues voice attack commands to a Kinetic Strike satellite hovering over Europe. Russian soldiers surround him as he emerges from his command vehicle.
Just before the Russians take him in as a prisoner of war, the general says, "Now." The satellite fires at least three kinetic missiles down on his position, obliterating himself and the Russians, as well as large sections of Paris. Smith's death would be mentioned in passing on the EndWar novel.
The trailer depicts several major cultural icons from Paris, including the Eiffel Tower and a heavily damaged Luxor obelisk.
The music used in the trailer was composed by Michael McCann and can be found at his website.
Endwar was published as a novel, on February 4, 2008 in paperback form. The back cover says "Based on Ubisoft's bestselling game, Tom Clancy's EndWar", despite the game not yet having been released.
A private beta test version was playable among Xbox Live Gold members. It included three maps and both 1v1 and 2v2 matches. The beta test began June 16, 2008 and ended July 9, 2008. Participants were placed under non-disclosure agreement until the game's first commercial launch.
The VIP demo for Xbox 360 users who pre-ordered the game was released a little more than a week late on October 11. The demo features one single-player story mission, one map that is playable in Skirmish mode with either 1 vs. 1 or 1 vs. AI, and a Voice Command Trainer.
The VIP demo has a campaign mission at Kennedy Space Center. The Skirmish mode features the European Federation versus the United States over the Kennedy Space Center in Conquest mode. The demo was released to the Xbox Live Marketplace on October 15.
As of the 30th October update, all PlayStation 3 users have access to the demo, which can be found on the PlayStation Store.
There is also a special code that appears when the user turns off the demo, this is used for gaining access to a special Spetznaz unit when you purchase the full version of the game.
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This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Tom Clancy's EndWar. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Wikia Gaming, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (unported) license. |
   | Official Game Homepage - Home | EndWar | Ubisoft |
| | EGM #216 - Electronic Gaming Monthly 216 June Issue Strategy Guide |
| | Interview with Julian Gerighty - Gamereactor TV Player |
| | Pre-GC First look - IGN: Tom Clancy's EndWar Preview |
| | IGN Michael de Plater interview - IGN: Tom Clancy's EndWar Preview |
| | title=De - Xbox Interview: EndWar Interview - ComputerAndVideoGames.com |
| | Endwar: Real-Time Armageddon - IGN: Tom Clancy's EndWar Preview |
| | Pre-GC First look - IGN: Tom Clancy's EndWar Preview |
| | GameSpot Article on EndWar - GC '07: Tom Clancy's EndWar First Look - PC Previews at GameSpot |
| | title=Tom - Tom Clancy's EndWar - David Michaels - Penguin Group (USA) |
| | Ubisoft Gets Strategic with Tom Clancy's EndWar - Ubisoft Gets Strategic with Tom Clancy's EndWar: News from 1UP.com |
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