(No surprise then, that the story was penned by blockbusting thriller hack Dale Brown.) If it really was a film it would be macho action fluff of the worst kind, but as a game it's a very different story. The plot reads like one of those embossed military paperbacks your dad reads, full of power-crazed Russian tycoons plotting to overthrow governments and terrorists attacking oil rigs in the desert. Marrying old-skool RTS action with an explosive cinematic storyline, Act Of War is perhaps best described as Command & Conquer goes to Hollywood'. It feels like it works, and 18 months on, Act Of War: Direct Action is still capable of holding its own in a scrap.

It's classic RTS gaming that takes the C&C template and lovingly rips stuff out and replaces it with its own grand style.

The absurd, overblown plot is a perfect shroud for a game that still looks good and plays well - even if more than a little dwarfed by Company Of Heroes. Despite having perfectly good televisions, it was unexpected and thrilling to see proper faces make words on our monitors.Įven today, with the Source engine giving us ever more realistic winks and smiles, Act Of War's news-report opening and military cut-scenes do something no engine can properly mimic pure, ham-handed macho human bullshit It's brilliant, and whether you enjoy them sincerely or with irony, either way, they get you in the mood for this excellent RTS game. Apart from turning your PC into the least efficient CD player in the world, one benefit of CD-ROMs was the introduction of FMV cut-scenes into games. Multimedia Used To mean a CD player and a free copy of Encarta.

Act of war direct action cd key