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PC | Strategy | Act of War: Direct Action

Boxart for Act of War: Direct Action
Act of War: Direct Action 13 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.5
  • SOUND: 3.0
  • CONTROL: 3.5
  • FUN FACTOR 3.5
  • AVG USER SCORE n/a
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.8

Review: Act of War: Direct Action

Review by DJDINOBOT | 03/28/2005 | 18:28:51 PM PST

Act of War is an RTS techno-thriller with a laborious plot, but strategy junkies will still find much to love.

Act of War: Direct Action is a modern-day RTS that takes as its premise the notion that a shadowy Consortium is manipulating the price of oil through terrorist attacks and military actions. As commander of the elite Task Force Talon, you must put a stop to the Consortium's sinister plans on 14 different maps. Once your skills are honed in the single player campaign, 17 skirmish maps await for up to 8 players.

Killing One Person Is Murder&
Act of War's strategic gameplay maintains many RTS standards. The ability to enter and control buildings takes on added significance in Act of War's many destructible urban environments, as they provide cover for otherwise vulnerable units. Snipers can take up positions in windows and on rooftops alongside anti-armor troops. While it's great fun to fight house-to-house for control of a San Francisco city block, it can be hard to tell whether you're actually making progress or not. It also means that there are more places to lose units when rounding up the troops after a major skirmish. Another nice touch is the zooming camera, which brings you right down to the soldier's eye view of the action with excellent graphical detail. It creates a pleasant change of perspective from the standard overhead view, though the camera can be hard to control in areas with tall buildings or canyons.

&Killing 100,000 Is Foreign Policy!
The single player campaign does a good job of gradually introducing new gameplay concepts and putting them to use. Unfortunately, the great gameplay is saddled with a ludicrous story (complete with overacted FMV cut scenes and techno-fascist iconography). Once you're comfortable with Act of War's gameplay mechanics, skirmish mode is much better than the campaign. The audio is effective but uninspired, with mediocre voice acting and lots of gunfire and explosions. Story and sound aside, Act of War: Direct Action is an enjoyable game with great graphics and cool new tactical features to tempt RTS fans.