The next time out, our crew was smart enough to roll out with a balanced array of forces, demonstrating the real-life truth of combined-arms effectiveness. Artillery and air softened them up, followed by armor that pounded them into submission. Infantry dug in to strategic positions and quickly granted us the tactical points we so desperately needed.

The tactical points earned us bonus aerial bombing runs, paratrooper drops, artillery strikes and, finally, the most crushing element of the game: the tactical nuclear bomb. Nukes will shred nearly everything within their enormous radius, and lay waste to the terrain, making it useless for cover. 

While not as photo-realistically ambitious as Command and Conquer 3, World in Conflict's battlegrounds became scorched and blown apart when contested by opposing forces. Still, they seemed stark and sterile compared to the smoothly animated units, strangely familiar banter and polished backdrops of C&C 3.  However, WiC 's core game is playable and surprisingly balanced for an extremely early version (pre-alpha), but due for some serious elbow-grease. Added detail to the famous environs would be welcome (it's the USA, after all), on top of better dialogue and music.

We'll certainly be keeping an eye on World in Conflict. The developer, Massive Entertainment, plans on rolling out a demo before the year's end that should brighten our holidays. Sadly, it won't be filling our stockings; the game ships in the spring of 2007.