5/04/2005
Bad News, Good Video Games
'Act of War,' new 'Splinter Cell,' 'Narc' offer twists on real problems
By Tom Loftus
Columnist
MSNBC
Updated: 3:44 p.m. ET April 22, 2005
"Act of War: Direct Action" kicks off with videos of terrorist attacks, riots against high oil prices and slimy oil executives pow-wows.Are we playing a game here, or watching the evening news? As the planet heads to hell in a hand basket, game developers, ever the optimists, are busily mining the bad news for game ideas.
advertisementdocument.write('When this works, gamers reap the benefits of a thrilling story and more exotic locations than a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue photo shot. When it doesn't, well, it's still not as depressing as the evening news.Three recently released video games have the action bouncing from Lima to unknown urban streets populated by crooked cops. "Act of War: Direct Action"As the title indicates, the energy crisis fueling the plot in this old-fashioned strategy game won't be solved with car-pooling. Like "Command and Conquer" and "Warcraft," "Act of War" is a real-time strategy game where play revolves around using available resources to build a military infrastructure, including things such as factories and oil refineries. You then use this infrastructure to create ant-like armies and tanks that you take to do battle against enemies assembling just beyond your field of view.The enemies in the single-player version are the "Consortium," a shadowy army of terrorists who may or may not have a role in the energy crisis. Players assume the role of the U.S. Army or Task Force Talon, also U.S. military but in tighter clothes
