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EndWar screens dazzle the senses
Okay, so these new EndWar screens don't dazzle all the senses. They dazzle every sense except sound, smell, taste, and touch. So, um, when you come right down to it, all they dazzle is the eyes (unless you find licking your monitor a dazzling experience). Anyway, regardless of what particular sense is dazzled, the screens themselves are, in fact, dazzling. If this is the kind of quality we can expect from EndWar, the first RTS in the Tom Clancy franchise, color us impressed. The screens are just loaded with highly detailed objects and effects. We're particularly fond of the explosion seen above. Visit Xboxygen to see the screens in high resolution glory.
EndWar controls nothing like BFMEII
Now that we've taken a look at the first shots of EndWar, we can start to ask the serious questions. Being a console RTS, one question rises above all others: how does it control? According to EGM and Michael de Plater, who is leading the EndWar project, it controls nothing like Battle for Middle Earth II. 360 fanboys will recall that BFMEII, and now Command & Conquer 3, were Electronic Arts' attempts at streamlining console RTS controls. That's not good enough for Plater, who says that BFMEII "was a test case for exactly what we didn't want to do." A note for console RTS developers: watch out for flying mud.CVG reports on the EGM information, clarifying that the main factions of EndWar will be the U.S. Joint Strike Force, Russian Spetsnaz, and the European Enforcers. Furthermore, combat will be limited to 12 squads at a time. Limiting combat numbers sounds like a great idea, as managing giant armies (as in BFMEII or C&C3) can be difficult on a console. Also mentioned in the article, the battlefield will be fully destructible.Now we have a new question: will EndWar set the new standard for console RTS games, or will we have to wait for Halo Wars?[Via Joystiq]
EndWar viral footage is the shakiest ever
We brought word yesterday that the EndWar viral site password had been discovered, revealing a pair of video clips. Our friends at The Xbox Domain have uncovered the viral footage in handy YouTube form. As a public service to our readers, we have posted it here. We have to say though, even for viral footage, this stuff is pretty tame. The camera shaking and constant static effect nearly nullifies the whole experience. Honestly, if we didn't know from where the footage came, we'd have no idea what it was (which is sort of the point of viral marketing, we suppose). Still, if you've got a hankering for some Tom Clancy flavored World War III action, you might as well check it out. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see some actual gameplay.
Tom Clancy's EndWar announced, set in WWIII
It looks like the recent Tom Clancy viral campaign is no longer a mystery. Ubisoft officially announced the next entry in the Tom Clancy franchise today. Titled EndWar, the game is being built from the ground up for new generation consoles. While specific platforms have not yet been named, it's a fairly safe bet the game will end up on the Xbox 360. EndWar is set in World War III and "will allow gamers to lead their own armies against hundreds of others online." The game is being headed by Michael de Plater who has worked on the PC Total War series for some time now. EndWar is described as a "war strategy game," and considering the talent behind it, it seems like we're in for a brand new RTS. The game is being developed by Ubisoft Shanghai, the team behind Splinter Cell: Double Agent. It's expected to debut sometime this fiscal year (which began this month, so it could easily be 2008).A new gen RTS with Tom Clancy flavor? Where do we sign up?[Thanks, Mike]
