Act of War: Direct Action

 PC
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 63 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 63
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 63
  3. Negative: 8 out of 63
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  1. Yuri
    Mar 26, 2005
    10
    If you thought c&c:generals was good, think again.
  2. Hallolinski
    Mar 7, 2005
    10
    This is the inofficial C&C Generals killer! It will become more than 90 % average!
  3. UltraGamer
    Mar 31, 2012
    10
    This game is awesome. It is one of my favourite games of all time up there with homeworld 2. Both of these games are so great i find it hard to decide which is the ultimate. These guys really stepped in and picked up where westwood dropped the ball, dropped the live action cutscenes and went "in game 3d"
  4. Delta_Assault
    Sep 22, 2011
    10
    I played this RTS religiously for about a year before I moved on and found out about Dawn of War. Anybody who likes RTSs at all should try this little-known gem from Atari. To put it simply, Act of War is in my opinion the perfect Command and Conquer game. It takes everything that made Command and Conquer great and dials it up to 11. This is strange because Act of War isn't actually anI played this RTS religiously for about a year before I moved on and found out about Dawn of War. Anybody who likes RTSs at all should try this little-known gem from Atari. To put it simply, Act of War is in my opinion the perfect Command and Conquer game. It takes everything that made Command and Conquer great and dials it up to 11. This is strange because Act of War isn't actually an official Command and Conquer game. IMO, Act of War got exactly the right scale of combat. With DoW 2, you have small intimate squad battles. With Supreme Commander, you've got a ginormous scale with epic battles across entire peninsulas. Act of War had the perfect average of scale with good infantry action (even inside buildings!), while also allowing for devastating nuclear strikes and massed tank rushes. They even managed to pull off air combat in an innovative realistic fashion, which Relic later mimicked in CoH. Even Command and Conquer 3 came out later and tried to follow the magic and execution of Act of War, but I think they fell short. About the *only* complaint I can ever make about Act of War is that the infantry are individual units rather then squads, but I played it before DoW so that didn't bother me at the time.… Expand
  5. Deviant
    Mar 20, 2005
    10
    The best RTS out there, sharper graphics and crisper sounds makes this game amazing and much better then the competition, although it does have some minor, MINOR flaws, and by minor i mean the Optic Soldiers head gear is croked, this game is absolutely amazing.
  6. MikeS.
    Mar 27, 2005
    10
    I had a hard time, getting used to all the different units and structures. But once you figure it out. This game is great! True the movies are kind of lame, low budget productions. and the story isnt the greatest either. But the gameplay shines! I didnt expect it to be better then C&C Generals in terms of game play. But it is!! Great game Atari!
  7. RezaD.
    May 1, 2005
    10
    I want to give this game a 9.5 but I can select 9 or 10 only so I choose 10 because it is definately not lower than a 9.5. This is a fantastic Strategy game that for the first time it takes my focus off of C&C series of games.
  8. Rich
    May 8, 2005
    7
    Well produced, entertaining game that build on the RTS genre well. But it if you are searching for a game that involves any tactical skill or some difficult AI to come up against then try Rome: Total war because this one is lacking on both counts.
  9. MatthewK.
    Oct 13, 2005
    10
    I love it. I love this game so much, haha I bought this game after I could not buy an other one and it was worth ever penny. The animation is so so great its amazing. I have not had this much fun in a stargagie game for a long time not since command and counquer, haha but they have gone down the grain since the new ones cane out. Well bottom line if you like war games and stargagie wise I love it. I love this game so much, haha I bought this game after I could not buy an other one and it was worth ever penny. The animation is so so great its amazing. I have not had this much fun in a stargagie game for a long time not since command and counquer, haha but they have gone down the grain since the new ones cane out. Well bottom line if you like war games and stargagie wise get this game as soon as possible you wont be disapointed. At first I had to get us to the controls but then I cought on. I think the only thing I dont like about this game is that the units cant fire anywhere they want like, for ex: in command and counquer you could hold shift and fire anywhere with any units, now in this game you can only do that with altirary vechilcs and no other, so that was a down fall in a way. Other then that Best game did find one glich playing haha in skirmish I saw a tanker and I wanted to blow it up well I nuked it and bomed it and a altirary it too nothing work ahha so that was a other funny thing. Other then that the live film they use is great and everone should see this game atair did a good job.… Expand
  10. Pityek
    Feb 18, 2013
    9
    This is the best CnC: Generals "clone". The 3 factions are balanced, the graphics are lovely, gameplay is perfect, wha else do you need I go a bit further: this game is slightly better than CnC Generals!

Awards & Rankings

28
#28 Best PC Game of 2005
91
#91 Most Discussed PC Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 43 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 43
  3. Negative: 0 out of 43
  1. Computer and Video Games
    84
    Takes the old-school RTS formula and enriches it in countless cool ways, using the lessons of the past decade to create a single-player campaign that's as valid and exciting as anything else in the genre. [PC Zone]
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  2. Eurogamer
    80
    While Act of War doesn't transcend its genre, in terms of doing the pure "Red Alert" thing, there hasn't been anything as competent and thrilling in ages.
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  3. IGN
    85
    Units seem to be well balanced, combat is fun and made pretty interesting by dense city sections, and the visuals should keep anybody more than satisfied.
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