Act of War: Direct Action
- March 12, 2008
- Eugen Systems
Get on Steam"Act of War: Direct Action" is a real-time strategy game centered around a suspenseful tale of global military conflict and terrorism. As commander of Task Force TALON, you must lead counterterrorist forces in battles against a shadowy Consortium, using modern military units and tactics. With high-end cinematic and video effects, the game offers an intense and immersive experience, both in single-player and multiplayer modes for up to eight players. The game's story and setting are inspired by real-world headlines and threats.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Act of War: Direct Action is a nostalgic RTS that successfully combines modern warfare elements with engaging gameplay, reminiscent of classic titles like Command & Conquer.
- The game features unique mechanics such as capturing enemy soldiers for resources and a variety of tactical options, making it enjoyable for both casual and hardcore RTS fans.
- Live-action cutscenes and a compelling storyline enhance the overall experience, providing a cinematic feel that many players appreciate.
- The game suffers from significant technical issues on modern systems, including crashes and difficulty running on Windows 10, which can frustrate players.
- Multiplayer functionality is essentially non-existent, limiting the game's replayability and social aspects, as online servers are dead.
- Some players find the AI pathfinding and unit management cumbersome, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences, especially in urban environments.
- story74 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its engaging campaign and live-action cutscenes, while others criticize the plot for being poorly written and overly serious, lacking the charm of more cheesy narratives. Despite its attempts at a gritty, realistic military sci-fi theme, many found the acting and dialogue to be subpar, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, while the campaign offers replay potential and interesting missions, the story itself is often seen as lacking coherence and depth.
“The plot is brilliant, I love this game!”
“The campaign is decently long, and the story at least holds enough interest to make it a solid title, with lots of replay potential.”
“It tells a thrilling story of power, politics, and terror of a possible near future due to the energy crisis.”
“The storyline and cutscenes are pretty hammy, too.”
“The plot is delivered by actors fresh off the back page of Craigslist in some of the most cringe-worthy and poorly written FMV imaginable.”
“The story is pretty bad, but this is an RTS, not an RPG; the acting from the various cutscene actors was actually terrible.”
- gameplay34 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized as a solid blend of casual and hardcore real-time strategy elements, featuring base-building, unit deployment, and unique mechanics like garrisoning and resource management through POWs and oil fields. While it draws inspiration from classic titles like Command & Conquer, it offers a mix of ambition and nostalgia with its live-action cutscenes and a somewhat quirky narrative. Overall, players find the gameplay enjoyable, though some mechanics may feel unpolished or require excessive micromanagement.
“Excellent real-time strategy gameplay.”
“Gameplay is a great mix of casual and hardcore RTS with the usual base building and unit deployment, except resources aren't found in deposits; instead, they are earned either from POWs or finite oil fields/banks/ammo bunkers.”
“A C&C style game, a good few years old now but still great; graphics, sound, and gameplay hold up well against other newer RTS games.”
“There is a lot to like here though - although there are no gameplay mechanics that really help Act of War stand out among the crowd, and while the cut-scenes with real actors may seem quaint by modern standards, there's a lot of ambition behind the game.”
“One minor flaw (gameplay loophole) is the game requires the player to clear out objectives in a required sequence.”
“However, that mechanic was really unpolished and required too much micromanagement, whereas EA wanted a fast-paced RTS game, and wanted it ASAP, so the whole feature was just cut down, instead of attempting to adapt it to actual gameplay.”
- graphics25 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered dated but still acceptable, particularly for its 2005 release. While some users note that the visuals may not compete with more modern titles, many appreciate the detail in unit interactions and battlefield effects, deeming them impressive for their time. Overall, the graphics hold up reasonably well, especially for fans of the RTS genre.
“The graphics are excellent.”
“Amazing story, visuals that hold up surprisingly well for a 2005 game, and arguably the most uniquely balanced and varied factions, each with clearly different playstyles and unit variety.”
“Its graphics are superb even by modern standards, and the realistic US Army faction makes Act of War what many gamers wished C&C: Generals had been.”
“Graphics are dated and some animations too, but it still has great detail with unit interactions, building functions, battlefield scarring, and no unit limit help make it still impressive.”
“A heads up, it is old, the graphics are not anything you'll be writing home about.”
“Sure, there were way better RTS games in terms of graphics (look at Men of War, for example), but I cannot call it ugly.”
- music10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many finding it either boring and forgettable or overly dramatic and reminiscent of mid-2000s film scores. While some players appreciate the soundtrack as fun, others criticize its repetitiveness and limited variety, leading to an overall perception of the audio as passable but lacking depth.
“Music is unobtrusive.”
“Audio is passable with mostly similar unit dialogue and the soundtrack is good but limited.”
“Really fun with a great soundtrack.”
“The soundtrack is boring and forgettable, though.”
“The music is the most overblown, pseudo-orchestral, mid-2000s 'oh my god it's Jason Bourne' style Hans Zimmer ripoff you can imagine.”
“The pause menu music renders me genuinely suicidal from how utterly repetitive it is.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is considered mediocre, with reports of stuttering and lagging issues. Additionally, the settings options are limited, lacking widescreen support, and the performance of the real actors has been criticized as subpar.
“The game optimization is solid, providing a smooth experience even on lower-end hardware.”
“I appreciate the attention to detail in optimization, as it allows for a seamless gameplay experience.”
“The optimization efforts really shine, making the game run efficiently without sacrificing visual quality.”
“The game optimization is alright, but the settings department is barebones and doesn't have widescreen support.”
“Too much stuttering and lagging.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is generally enjoyable, featuring nostalgic FMV cutscenes, but users report significant stability issues, particularly on Windows 10, with some describing it as "bug-ridden" and advising against purchase.
“A fun little RTS with FMV cutscenes from the 2000s, but it's a little buggy on my Windows 10 machine.”
“Bug-ridden, do not buy.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviewers note that the game's attempt at a serious tone often falls flat, resulting in a negative overall atmosphere that detracts from the experience.
“Everything tries to be serious, but the overall package gives off a bad tone and atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking any real depth or engagement.”
“Despite the game's intentions, the atmosphere comes off as forced and unconvincing.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is largely viewed as frustrating and tedious, with some elements feeling like low-quality imitations of superior titles.
“I am happy to report that the parts of it which aren't low-fidelity copies of far better games vary between infuriating and tedious.”
“The grinding feels endless and often pointless, making it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
“After hours of repetitive tasks, I found myself questioning why I was even playing in the first place.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -300 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's incorporation of Marvel Comics' imaginary units, particularly s.h.i.e.l.d., enhances its replayability, as players are drawn back to experience the content in light of the recent movies and TV series that have emerged over the past 15 years.
“Some of the imaginary units (S.H.I.E.L.D.) were taken from Marvel Comics, which gives the game a surprising replay value 15 years after its original release, especially with the numerous movies and TV series based on Marvel Comics.”
“The game lacks meaningful choices, making replayability feel pointless after the first playthrough.”
“Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to go back and play again.”
“The repetitive gameplay mechanics and lack of varied content severely diminish the game's replay value.”
