Once in a while, a game comes along that changes people minds’ about an entire genre of gaming, and, when that happens, it really speaks to the quality of the game. Few titles in the past have been so expertly crafted, with such a broad appeal, that they have actually convinced gamers to make the jump into unknown territory. In recent memory; “Advance Wars” showed gamers that turn-based strategy games were as addictive as they were complex, and “Guitar Hero” proved that rhythm games can be more than just dancing on a mat. Over the last few years, these games have not only defined their respective genres, but they’ve refined gaming as a whole. There’s now another title worthy of adding to that list, “Tom Clancy’s EndWar.”
“EndWar” takes the normally very complex, very niche genre of real-time strategy games and actually makes it accessible for your standard gamer – make that standard console games. Fortunately, Ubisoft Shanghai’s definition of accessible doesn’t mean dumbing the game down, or making it easier just to sell more copies. Their way of making the game accessible actually makes the concept, gameplay, and controls of the game less intimidating, while still retaining the crux of the RTS experience. In other words, “EndWar”’s appeal is unique enough that it should cross the line and appeal to gamers that have never before tried an RTS game, as well as longtime fans of the genre.