Tom Clancy's EndWar

EndWar was a very hopeful beginning for the first strategic franchise of Ubisoft in consoles, but on PC its just a solid RTS. The lack of depth prevents the game from being a great title, but its powerful online mode is a really interesting option for those who like fresh games.

The faultlessly working speech recognition of Tom Clancy's Endwar achieves its objective: you really feel like a military leader - at least for one hour, because in terms of speed and precision the human voice is still inferior to controlling the game with a mouse. The game itself resembles World of Conflict, but doesn't come close. Especially the game balance needs to be fixed.

EndWar will most likely represent a disappointment for real time strategies fans, as it was created for a totally different market, that of “casual gamers". Because barring the voice command system and a mildly interesting multiplayer mode, EndWar unfortunately doesn’t have anything to keep you interested in long run, being more of an appetizer than the main course.

For PC gamers accustomed to faster, deeper, and more exciting RTS games, EndWar will seem like a voice in the wilderness.

EndWar is also a good game on the PC. The game looks good, the controls work as you would expect and it is fun to play. We also want to give credits to Ubisoft to do something original. However, we give the PC-version a lower grade then we did with the console-version. There are simply more RTS-games on the PC and a lot of them are better then EndWar.

EndWar is a “fast and furious” RTS game with promising voice command but, when you remove this feature, all that is left is a standard strategy game without any originality or significant attributes. [Mar 2009]

While EndWar's quirky camera tricks and novel approach to unit selection may very well be functional choices on the X360, they translate very poorly to the PC and create a confusing and chaotic experience that seems to be the precise opposite of what Ubisoft Shanghai was attempting to create.

Ideal if you want to dip your toe into RTS and love the sound of your own voice.

EndWar's a little too repetitive and you'll probably end up using the same basic strategy in every battle. [June 2009, p.69]

While the console versions are solid, the PC version of this unique strategy game is too stripped to stand out.

The only real “achievement” of EndWar is its voice command system.

It's going to be a hard struggle for EndWar to keep itself afloat in an overcrowded genre. With a pretty decent voice command system, the game does its best to bring something new to the table, but it won't be enough to win the war. Take away the controls and you'll find an RTS that offers to little to hold your attention.

Most PC gamers will find the experience too dumbed down to warrant investigation. On console EndWar is good. On PC it's in over its head.

Like a forgotten girlfriend, it’s not especially pretty, smart, or fun. EndWar’s simplified gameplay keeps it from being a good real time strategy game, while the mediocre combat ensures the game has few memorable moments.

A splendid idea hampered by an average execution and a hideously uninteresting setting.

It’s hard to expect a breakthrough game from a studio that botched half of the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell series.