"WORLD IN CONFLICT" - PC - VIVENDI GAMES
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What it is: A real-time strategy game that rolls back the calendar to 1989 and imagines a Soviet invasion of Europe and the United States, igniting World War III.
Why you'll want it: Stunning visuals, especially if you have powerful new graphics chips. Developer Sierra touts the game's "complete destructibility" and the ability to use nuclear weapons. Slick interface makes game accessible to novices, and it also ditches resource collecting, one of the more tedious aspects of the genre.
Reality check: Requires a pretty powerful computer to get all the graphical bells and whistles.