Tom Clancy’s EndWar – Essentials (PSP)

The handheld version of Tom Clancy’s EndWar is a hex based turn based strategy game similar to the Battle Isle series. The game takes place in the 2020s and a conflict has arisen between the three big powers of the world: Europe, USA and Russia. The single player mode allows the player to play through one campaign for each of the powers. There is also a multi player mode for two players and a map editor that allows for user created maps.

Gameplay consists of two phases: action and movement. When one player is in the movement phase the other is in the action phase. When the phase ends the commands are executed, first the actions and then the movements. This means that units only can move if they first survive the attacks of the enemy. The player has access to both land, air and sea units depending on the mission. The units get experience points when damaging and destroying enemy units. More experience points leads to more powerful and robust units. To get more units the player can capture buildings such as depots, airfields and harbors which can produce a few more units. They can also be used to repair damaged units. Another building is the HQ. When this is captured the player loses the mission. After losing a mission in the campaign mode it’s possible to ask for reinforcement units when retrying the mission.

Special tactical manoeuvres of the game include blocking and jamming. Blocking means that the movement of a unit gets limited when its route is threatened by an enemy unit. Jamming involves surrounding an enemy unit with more than one unit which leads to a combat bonus. The bonus depends on the position of the units. Placing a friendly units directly behind the enemy for example leads to a 50% higher bonus. Different units have different capabilities in combat. For example airplanes can only attack other airplanes but not land or sea units. Some units such as the artillery have a larger range and can attack units that are several hexes away from them.