Gary Grigsby’s World at War: World Divided PC

Gary Grigsby's World at War: World Divided for PC is a sequel to Gary Grigsby's World at War – a turn-based strategy game which received the Origins Vanguard Unique Game of the Year Award. World Divided introduces several changes that might be considered revolutionary for the genre.

Mechanics

The first creation of the programmers from the Matrix Games and 2BY3 Games studios placed the player in the role of a leader in control of one of five superpowers taking part in the World War II. The player was able to influence the fate of the world through deciding about supply lines, the industry, the overall amount of production, as well as gathering resources, moving the armies and choosing where to battle the enemy. Furthermore, the player was free to adjust the difficulty level and the amount of details present in accordance with their preferences and individual skill level. The sequel enriches the original game with several aspects that are new to the genre. In World Divided, a wide set of factors that can influence one's odds of success in the campaign gets extended with elements such as espionage, an opportunity to break the enemy's codes and claim their technology, political perturbations, or the necessity to take diplomatic action in relations with neutral countries. Such novelties affect both the speed of gameplay and what actions are actually taken by the player – one has to take so many factors into account, that it is impossible to be applying one strategy over and over again. From now on, the player needs to become more flexible in terms of the way they apporach the execution of their goals. Thinking even further ahead will also be necessary.

Gary Grigsby's World at War: World Divided for PC constitutes a unique mixture of historical facts and events which never left the sphere of hypothesis. The player encounters many elements based on historical truth and those get revealed gradually alongside progression. Simultaneously, the player has a lot of freedom as it comes to shaping the course of war. For instance, as the leader of the United States, one can send their troops to Europe in the initial stage of the conflict, or instead invade the Far East in order to bring Japan to its knees sooner. In case of Germany, instead of attacking the Soviets, the player can bring the British to the ultimate end for example.

What is very interesting, the game also brings a fictitious scenario set just after the end of the Second World War, when the Soviet Union faces a coalition comprised of western countries. The Soviets' enormous army is to fight here the better-equipped Allies, who also have better technical support at their disposal. This scenario can be played directly after finishing the core campaign. As a result, the player is required to think ahead and plan their actions, taking the future conflict against a current ally into account.

In total, the game brings four tutorials, three campaigns, as well as five separate scenarios.

Last updated on 10 March 2011