arvesting gold, lumber, Tiberium, or whatever just slows things down. Building infrastructure is for those Sid Meier games. World in Conflict doesn’t mess around with any of that garbage, and it’s better for it. You had better get to know the offensive and defensive capabilities of every unit at your disposal – not to mention how they deal with different types of terrain – because no economic wizardry is going to save you here. Lightning-fast tactical combat is all World in Conflict does, and it does it amazingly well.

In similar fashion to Bungie’s outstanding Myth series from a decade ago, World in Conflict manages to create compelling combat despite narrowing its scope down from real-time strategy norms. The game approaches semi-realistic modern combat as if it were StarCraft; most units have one offensive and one defensive ability, and the simulation doesn’t try to get too deep. Beyond tanks having heavier armor in the front and infantry getting stealth and cover bonuses in the woods and being able to garrison buildings, you don’t have to worry too much about small details.

So what’s so great about a tactical RTS that keeps it simple? In World in Conflict’s case, it’s that everything else about the game is done so skillfully that translating strategies from your head onto the battlefield is almost effortless. In combination with the painstakingly crafted maps, game-changing support abilities, and well-balanced rock-paper-scissors unit relationships, this makes for some of the most fluid and intriguing RTS battles I’ve ever immersed myself in.

The aforementioned support abilities are pyrotechnic delights. Deploying napalm strikes to clear out pesky infantry from a forest is great. Dropping paratroopers behind enemy lines to harass his reinforcements is likewise awesome. But there’s nothing better than bottling up an enemy force and proceeding to drop some long-range artillery or an airstrike on them to clean house. These powers are constantly available, since you earn the necessary points by destroying enemy units, and it’s rare that you’ll see a scenario or match where they don’t play a major role in deciding the outcome.

Though the single-player campaign attempts to tell a story, outside of a few shockingly powerful images of a suburban America ripped to shreds by warfare, it’s not the game’s strong suit. Even the excellent voice actors can’t salvage anything better than mediocrity out of the staid dialogue. As is customary, though, the offline content is enjoyable enough while it shows you the ropes that will save you from certain destruction later on in multiplayer.

Online play is solid enough to have the potential to develop the kind of community that keeps Age of Empires II running strong to this day. The Massgate online service is vastly better than crappy server browsers, and the gameplay is brilliant. With World in Conflict’s wall-to-wall quality and strong online offering, don’t be surprised to see this at the top of the running for Strategy Game of the Year.