WorldShift - Game Review

One Different Strategy

We can look at WorldShift as one different strategy on the market. Creating it, the developers had two things in mind. First of all, they knew that games need to be fun and attractive, and second – easy to understand.

If we look back in time and follow the development of the strategy genre, we will notice that the games are just getting better and better. World War II theme games have been replaced by World War III or even by intergalactic wars. The artificial intelligence is much more complex and the strategies themselves are harder and harder. Will these changes attract or send back the common computer gamer? I’d say the second.

Of course, an experienced gamer may enjoy the new features and the complexity of the new strategies but the market doesn’t consist only in players with 10 years of gaming experience. Actually, we find that WorldShift is really not a simple game. We have to understand that easy to learn doesn’t mean the game provides no challenge. Building bases and gathering resources are now the minimum thing you have to do. Instead this the game offers lots of attractive and dynamic battles.

The Humans, The Tribes, and The Cult

Each faction is completely different from the other two. There is a two-tiered unit system, with stronger officer units and then more common basic units. Each of the races has its own general commander, four officers - your army core.

If we look closer at The Humans, their main character is called Lord and he plays the well known ’tank’ role – he has high hit points, armor and he can force the enemies to attack him. Additionally, he can inject himself with a serum that restores his life. The Tribes, they have their High Priest. Only by the name we could say that he’s a sorcerer. Although he is very weak, he has powerful healing abilities. When he is on his own, he strikes his enemy with the force of lightning and frost. Last but not least is The Master, the leader of the extra terrestrial race know as The Cult. He can use a powerful plasma shield that allows him to steal his enemy life forces while healing his own units. In addition, he can use lots of area of effect abilities to damage his enemies.

The Officers

They might be not as powerful as the general commanders but they are still very strong units. We have the Guardian for the tribe’s casting invisibility and the Manipulator who can heal his own units by summoning a dark tornado that shoots healing beams. All these commanders and officers, in combination with the smaller units who also have their own abilities, consist of your own army and allows you to create different sort of strategies to lead you toward the ultimate goal – Victory.

Universal Customization

The feature that makes WorldShift such an attractive and original strategy game is the possibility of modifying every single aspect of the three existing races. During the game, for example, you will find items and relics. After the mission, you can assign them in your so-called Ability Grid which is unique for all the factions. Every item or artifact can only be used on the corresponding slots – some are for your commanders, others for the officers etc.

The more you play, the better items you will get and the more powerful you will be. The items and relics vary in quality, characteristics and bonuses and believe me they are really quite a lot! The greatest ones are the hardest to get, so you may need an ally to get one of them.

There are also lots of talent builds for your races, and it is you who decides how the race will be developed. Will you prefer higher hit points or higher critical chance? It all depends on you. Beside the single player and skirmish matches, there is this so-called “Cooperative PVE” mode. A group of players can form a team to fight even harder mobs and mini bosses, every player will have to take his role and do his job perfectly in order to succeed. Those mini bosses keep the above mentioned best relics.

Final Words

WorldShift is a very well looking game. Vivid and colorful with detailed effects, it is really a pleasure for the eyes. The soundtrack is mainly composed by Enigma and Deep Forest which contributes to the overall feel. If you want to try something different, WorldShift is your game.

Game Requirements:

- 2 GHz single core CPU

- 512 MB RAM (1 GB for Windows Vista)

- DirectX 9.0c compatible video card with 128 MB of video memory. (GeForce 5600+)

- DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card to enjoy the full sound effects.

- Keyboard and mouse

- 3 GB of hard drive space