World in Conflict is a Real Time Sress (or Strategy, depending on your take) which I had the chance to beta test recently, and I think I can say that it plays like no other RTS I've gotten my hands on before - and it takes a good RTS to impress me. No longer do you command an entire army, but merely a small group of units depending on which role you take - Infantry, Armor, Support, or Air that is dependant on your reinforcement points.

Reinforcement points are a set number at the beginning of the match, being split between available and unavailable points. Unavailable points slowly shift over to the maximum available points over the course of the match, rising whenever one of your units is killed, then becoming available again. It's a good idea to keep a few points in reserve so that you can immediately reinforce if a unit is knocked out of the action.

It takes a few ideas from C&C:Generals with it's Tactical Aid system. The more you do to further the advancement of your team, the more points you get to spend for Tactical Aid. This is the only area where you'll get any non-helicopter air support, with options ranging from a small napalm strike all the way up to a massive carpet bombing. Also available are minor vehicle/infantry reinforcements, artillery strikes, and tactical nukes.

In game voice chat is built in, and it can be both a blessing and a curse. It can be extremely helpful in coordinating attacks with other players, but on the flip side, nothing is more annoying than hearing "Moooommmm!! I'll take the trash out later!" Fortunately, there is an option to completely mute individual players via the score/roster screen.

I could go on and on about the different details of the game, but it would take a long time to put it all down. Suffice to say, it's an innovative idea to an old genre, and the graphics are amazing. One small "fluff" thing that I will highlight is the unit chatter. Should you get this game, zoom down in to ground level near your units and see what they have to say.