Name: Tom Clancy’s EndWar
Genre: Real-Time Strategy
Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, PSP, PC (Reviewed on DS)

Just about every major title seems to get a DS port these days. Unlike many console games that make the transition to the DS, a portable version of Tom Clancy’s EndWar actually made sense. Even though there’s a pretty good amount of RTS games already available on the handheld, EndWar, and its futuristic war setting, had the potential to stand out amongst a sea of fantasy-based titles. Instead of capitalizing on the opportunity, EndWar disappoints on just about every level.

EndWar is about as traditional as you get when it comes to RTS gameplay. The console version took innovation to a new level, implementing voice-controlled squads instead of point and click war mongering. Even though the DS has a microphone built in, the developers of the handheld version decided to go with the bland stylus-activated command-input approach. Come to think of it, you don’t even actually need to use the stylus, but it does make pointing and clicking a bit easier. In standard RTS fashion, units have a certain amount of movement and attack squares, or in this game’s case, hexagons. I hoped the game would play with a more table-top oriented hexagonal system where there were more sides to worry about defending than the traditional front, back, right, and left. Then the first conflict started, and my hopes were dashed rather quickly. Despite the game maps looking different from other RTS games, it plays just like every other game that came before it. Why the portable version couldn’t have taken chances like its console brethren is beyond me, but it sure would’ve been nice to see this game do anything new.

No DS owner will boast about the graphical output on the system. While many AAA titles make the most of the handheld’s power, many games available on the system don’t quite pack a pixilated punch. Sadly, EndWar falls into the category of games that , if you only looked at screen shots, you would think came out on the Genesis or Super Nintendo instead of a current system. There’s a negligible difference in the way the different types of ground troops look, with vehicles being the only sprites rendered with any true variation in their design. While the 90+ maps the game offers have variety in their layouts, the scenery (buildings, foliage, landmarks) populating the landscape are as generic as they come. It may not seem like a big deal, but once you spend hours staring at the map screen, you start to pick apart why things don’t look better or more varied. Once you actually engage an enemy force in battle, a brief animation is shown on the top screen. It’s neat the first time you see it, but again, seeing it over and over again will only serve to remind you how poor the game really looks.

While the single-player does give players a pretty lengthy, if standard, game, there are some decent multiplayer features as well. Probably the only thing this game does right is to offer a fairly robust (for a DS anyway) map editor. Not only can you share these maps when playing with a friend, but you can store up to 32 on the cartridge, giving you plenty of chances to prove your level-making prowess. This option is only available with local connections, and again, left me wanting the game to give just a bit more so it would stand out. EndWar does give players medals for meeting certain requirements (think Xbox Achievements) during a conflict, but I’m not certain they are much of a reason to replay completed missions, particularly on the higher difficulties where the computer AI tends to get frustratingly difficult. I’m all for a challenge, but there comes a point where it doesn’t become fun anymore, and this game has its share of missions like that.

Tom Clancy’s EndWar could’ve established itself as a must-own game had it done anything better or more stylishly than predecessors like Advance Wars. Instead, DS owners are given another RTS that brings nothing interesting to the table, and can get easily lost among the dozens of other games it shares so many similarities with. Frankly, this game isn’t even a must for Tom Clancy junkies. In translation to the DS, the game seemed to lose the style and flavor one would expect from a Clancy series, and along the way, lost any chance of be a fresh RTS IP on a system cluttered with games that are actually trying to stand out.

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