Many of the events discussed in this video are tragically, no longer merely “alternate history”. If you’d like to donate to badly needed relief efforts in Ukraine, a list of resources to do so can be found here: www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/donate-relief-to-ukraine/
@@Narsilion098 As in it essentially winning a localized conflict against the whole NATO (partially by proxy, partially by actual NATO personnel on the ground and partially by unprecedented funding since WWII)? Yes, incompetent. :)
It had completely passed me by that the liberation of Seattle was not the end of the war, and in fact it would expand even further afterwards across the rest of the world. Makes things ripe for a sequel but it's been seventeen years. RIP to the people who didn't play the game before it was removed from Steam, though it is still on GoG.
Eh not really. The invasion of Seattle was definitely the last hail mary of the Soviet Union. Economic instability and stagnation combined with a failed joint venture with China makes it incredibly likely China just says "fuck you" and leaves the war. Not without cause, since the US Pacific fleet likely still exists, and the Soviet navy never really existed to project force past their shores, so the Chinese forces who got into puget sound are likely going to surrender to a ship or risk drowning when the US and Canada plaster them with AShMs. Considering the rest of the Soviet bloc was, in polite terms, various fucked economic situations, the war was not going to go for another full year. This is a perfect situation for Poland and Czechoslovakia to make their long longed for revolution against Soviet occupation. Soviet propaganda against NATO intransigence may have worked for the Russian public, but many of the other warpact nations absolutely would not have bought it. Is this fannon? Yes, but then against the game also did just handwave away almost the entire US navy from existence. (What happened to the 7th fleet? What about the US Pacific Fleet? how did China, with NO fleet worth mentioning, ship over enough military assets to reinforce seattle in the face of intense ongoing air and artillery bombardment of its port facilities by the US? No? No answer?) Finally, the Soviet Union lost several of its best divisons wholesale, including much of their best airforce assets, and probably their entire shipping fleet. Not part of it, all of it. I think that would probably tip the scales back in the US' favor irrecoverably. Yes, I have thought way to much into this game's world, I criticize it because I love it.
The marketing campaign was really effective with the twist moments that made it feel like WW2 only for the panout to reveal it was WW3 and a fight amidst quintessential American features. The jungle fight that turns out to be a mall, the soldiers clambering with a flag up a hill to what turns out to be a Burger King, they haven't left my mind to this day.
Don't forget the chaotic US airborne assault to retake Liberty, Garrison, and Ellis Islands, which in-game was mentioned as the first failed attempt before we come in to try a different approach.
Finland was pretty lucky in 1940, they were shredded in 1944 even with most of the Soviet Army pinned against the Germans. Finland is heavily overestimated just because of their performance in the Winter War.
His final stand makes ne eyes uncomfortably wet. The excellent portrayal of his crew and the final salute of the colonel paint and excellent conclusion to Bannon's arc (plus what we get from his phonecall to his mother).
@@nahuelleandroarroyo I actually made a tribute video to his last stand a couple years ago on my channel funnily enough. One of the most memorable video game moments of all time, to me. After seeing what a jerk he was in earlier missions it was a really impactful character shift.
Bannon, A child born into darkness, but towards the end, railed at the chains of his life, and the last second, became what he was always supposed to have been; Better than all the pieces of his life, put together. You did well son, it was an honor to serve.
My Father was a vehicle mechanic in the Ohio National Guard when the Third World War broke out in June 1989. He didn't get to work on the armored vehicles but most of the trucks humvees he worked on were shipped to Europe. When the Soviets invaded Seattle in that Fall his unit was deployed to Oregon and some of the vehicles he worked on were used in the Battle of Pine Valley and Cascade Falls. He never went into combat though, but he always said he would've done it had he needed too.
Really one of the best world war 3 stories ever. From the slow frozen front in Europe to the Russians only able to capture 1 city in the US as well as a fun a fuck game where you play tactifully instead of controlling the whole army, and memorable characters. Truly wish they got a sequel Edit: okay I know there’s still a lot of unrealistic shit for a a strategy game I understand I just meant like compared to some other ww3 story games. Saying best does not mean perfect
Not gonna lie, I am halfway through the video and already wondering what drugs the writers took to accept the need for these soviet succsesses with reality. Berlin seems realistic, but after that it just get's weird so fast. Did the soviets mobilize before they started the atack on west germany? But even worse is the total irrelevance of everything that isn't nato as anything but a cheap prize. The soviets just took finland? No one expected the amphibious asault? Iran and Iraq just rolled over? All of these nations had significant military power at the time.
Whatched the rest. And... All of south america allied with Nato? Side note: acording to soviet doctrine atacks on Soviet nuclear silos would triger nuclear amagedon. But who cares. Then the national guard get's overwhelmed "almost imediatly" in Seatle. Seatle is a big city. Taking a city against just light infantry is hell as long as the infantry has any will to fight. And I somehow doubt the americans during the third world war would have low morale during an atack on american soil. And where do the airforce troops come from? are those from the same ships as the units that lead the first charge? Or are those from flown in directly from russia? Also where did the planes start? Did the "unmarked cargo ships" include an aircraft carrier? And then the americans with free suply and reinforcement are exhausted, not the soviets that have to scavenge their suplies from the land and have no reinforcements? Why would china ever enter that clusterfuck? Perhaps under Xi Jiping or Mao, but it would have been ruled by eather Zhao Ziyang (who was austed in 1989 for suporting the tiananmen square protests) or Jiang Zhemin who was known for his non confrontational foreign policy. China can now also go up in nuclear flames, or grind itself down in the war. By not entering it, it might continue it's economical development and possibly outpace the US.
@@claasmachens3858 Its a game, if you want a realistic senario play arma 3. Does americans have such a low self esteem that you need to complain about games realism when it comes to their millitary power. We know america is and was during the coldwar a giant superpower and that the soviets did not have a navy. Even if its unrealistic its still a great game like battlefield bad company.
@@BS-vm5bt "Really one of the BEST world war 3 stories ever" I do not mind an unrealistic world in a game. But we are watching a chanel that complains about space ships of the dreadnaught class. So I will complain about uterly nonsensical worlds in the comentsection. And being entirely removed from reality is a significant problem for something being a good storry. If it had been called one of the best ww3 games I wouldn't mind.
I mean, Finland isn't known for its naval forces, it's known for trees speaking Finnish. Bypassing the trees and heading directly for the mostly coastal population centers is a decent move. Of course, the Soviets were never remotely good at amphibious operations, so it falls apart there.
One of those stories i always felt needed a conclusion. The atmosphere in this game was amazing. I still have my piece of the berlin wall that came with the collectors edition.
"War can be fascinating to watch on TV, but up close personally it's a whole other story. Imagine your office blown to pieces, your car thrown about like a discarded glove, and your friend lying on the street, his body torn to bloody shreds." -Lt. Parker Couldn't be more true today...
Without a doubt a favorite of my mine. "It was a rout. Our scattered forces headed to Seattle. To use a nuclear bomb on one's own country... it was insanity on a scale unmatched by even our own generals. It also destroyed what dreams we had left of ever achieving victory in America" - Captain Romanov
Finally the World in Conflict universe! This one is really fascinating and the game itself is excellent (And is free nowdays!). The video itself was excellent, covered everything desired in the large scale as the background, fronts, major events etc. Didn't know Finland was invaded as the ingame cinematics always showed Finland already as occupied so hey, learned something new as well. The music choice was also brilliant. Next, the EVE Online universe, but that's probably a megaseries or something for you.
@@vraelelda1582 a surprising fact for the people here: World in Conflict was made by the same guys that made The Division we have it on Uplay because Ubisoft decided to commemorate Massive Entertainment by giving away WiC some time ago
The world in conflict universe is entertaining. It starts off being insane, but only in a 'because of my specialist knowledge this is ludicrous' sort of way, and then just goes further and further off the deep end until you're in fanfic territory
I do feel the game gives the Soviets a bit too much of a break for the sake of balance. Things like logistics in the story never seem to factor in all that much.
@@BoltonForTheNorth Invading California with no supplies would never have worked. The US navy would also just be dominant in the pacific and Atlantic and even if Soviets slipped some units by (unlikely satellites would pick up the massive convoy of unmarked ships) they would die with no support in the United States. Finland also wouldn't fall that quickly and I imagine the Warsaw Pact states like Poland would be reluctant fighters and perhaps turn partisan as they WW3 as their chance to become free.
@@massengsle8779 You're absolutely right, in fact, the Soviet military never even had a real plan to invade the USA because they believed it was virtually impossible, or at the very least unsustainable for the reasons you mentioned earlier.
@@BoltonForTheNorth we've seen how shit the russian supply situation is for the ukraine war, now imagine the ussr trying to move dozens of times that amount of hardware and doing it across continents.
@massengsle8779 they didn't invade california, they invaded Washington... and I think you severely underrats the Soviet navy. Nato was powerful above sea, true, the the Soviets ruled under the sea. The Soviet typhoon class outperform everything America hade during the eighties.
@@TETRINO yeah I played the hell out of that multiplayer for long timea(even made a youtube video with WIC gameplay back then) , I've tried to get into games like this since then, but they don't seem as "right" as WiC was in terms of gameplay and fun.
@@mrhonkhonk6116 I think it would be more focused on europe since the asian theater would primary be naval battle. They could do a short campaign over the fall of korea and the defense of japan. Since korea would be overwhelmed no matter what and japan is a island nation wich would demolish any invading force before they land.
My dad was 16 when the Soviets landed in Seattle. He wasn’t old enough to serve, but my uncle was drafted and fought in Cascade falls when he was fresh out of high school.
That was beautiful, and brought back a lot of childhood memories. Although, I'm surprised that a few names didn't stand out like Colonel Jeremiah Sawyer, Captain Parker, Major Webb, and Colonel Orlov.
Is it the best "Conventional Cold War Gone Hot" scenario? Hell if I know. But it _is_ my personal favorite and a beloved one among many for good reason.
The only weak point is how the Soviets pushed such a force through tthe pacific without anyone noticing them load the ships, detected any empty bases, noticed an strange massive civ fleet and ludicrous amount of supplies to fight without resupply for multiple divisions, yes the US was surprised but the invading force from Seattle pushed too much into the US while USSR hold his own in Europe. The only front that has no backstory is pacific Asia, Japan and South Korea and very important stakeholders
IRL nope it's stupid for so many reasons one thing surprise attack on Seatle just didn't had right to work. Like they used cargo ships how on earth did they managed to deploy significant amount of heavy vehicles before taking over port? We do have hen and egg problem if USSR doesn't use unload cargo ships full of tanks and IFV then they can't conquer the city but they can't unload cargo unit city is conquered. How did China manged to break into ocean when IRL there are surrounded by islands with antiship missiles? China would need to at least win air supremacy over Okinawa in odder to break into Pacific. US push into Seatle didn't made sense as well, they would need ANY PLACE with look onto waterway leading into Seatle to block any attempt of reinforcing. US takes backs Port Townsend? game over. US takes Sequiem?game over etc. etc.
I love this video! The Alt-Hist of World in Conflict is one of the most interesting fictional WW3s. Red Storm Rising, and the Wingman novel series are the other two at the top of my list. If you've never heard of Wingman, I'd definitely recommend you give it a skim, it's a pretty wild product of its time.
i wouldve liked it more if they kept it more within the realms of reality like red storm rising, this game basically took that book and gigawanked the soviets to a hilarious degree
I'm listening to audiobooks about WW3 lately, which is a interesting scenario. - Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising - Harold W. Coyle's Team Yankee - Larry Bond's Red Phoenix - Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising - Mark Greany's Red Metal - P. W. Singer's Ghost Fleet There's more of course, but not necessarily as an audiobook, as physical copies.
Mad respect Templin for pulling this classic from the old days. Played this when I first came out on CD and some how I got the special edition with a certified peice of the Berlin Wall and a DVD of “Modern Marvels: The Berlin Wall” from the history Channel. Game was always nail biting with how limited your forces always were, and forced you to understand the timing of all your supports. And the story was always amazing to watch play out. More so when “Soviet Assault” was released.
1989 was clearly too late for the Soviets, the Reagan buildup was complete and Desert Storm proved how lethal the technological gap had become in stealth and night fighting. Soviet tanks would have gotten absolutely railed every night by NATO forces. The 60s or 70s was the time for this scenario. Late 40s and 50s the Soviets were too far behind with nukes and the US would just vaporize them rather than allow them to take over too much.
Americans would've lost if they didn't change their vehicle designs from the glass cannon mindset and the 80s shows. Love the 80s 😎 Soviet didn't overhaul their designs at all. Just minute changes. T-90 still have the same flaw as the T-64, just more pimped up.
@@orchirion The US military did not have a 'glass cannon' mindset. They were completely bought on massive technological overkill. There's a reason that US when from the M60 Patton to the M1 Abrams while the Soviets basically just kept upgrading the t-72 into slightly better versions.
@@BoneistJ Wanna explain the jeeps, Huey, aluminium m113, and more? Speed and firepower was the Americans favorite go to strategy at the time but the Vietnam war kinda taught them that killing more of the other guy than you're losing is not a sound strategy in the long run. Gotta fix that attrition rate. The Patton is barely better than the Pershing on where they placed their ammo so the 80s design really stepped away from those guaranteed metal coffins which is an amazing leap. Actually why do you believe they're not glass cannons back then anyway? Unless you're confusing my words with modern America or something. 🤔
This game was amazing, campaign was stellar especially as someone who lives in Seattle. And the online multiplayer was sooooooooo friggin good. I wish it was still going.
Must have been surreal seeing Seattle become the setting for a fictional battleground. How close was the game's recreation of the city, and aside from the Space Needle what were some of the key areas you could recognize?
@@ChenAnPin I don't live in the US but I remember comparing modern day google maps images to the in-game map and it's shockingly accurate. Pretty much all the waterfront and roads are accurately mapped, and a lot of the major buildings are as well.
Now that i see this video i really think we missed out on an "Pacific Storm" DLC with Chinese and maybe South Korean units. Shame it never got a second game to explore this setting even further.
My thoughts exactly.😂😂 Just makes me laugh at how much everyone used to overestimate Russia as a military threat. Just cause they have a lot of people doesn't mean they know how to use them.
Russia isn't the USSR, the eastern republics and the members of the Warsaw pact were instrumental in making the union a superpower because they were often the most developed and productive areas. Without those areas, Russia can only hope to be a shadow of the former strength of the USSR.
@@balinthehater8205 Still even with the whole USSR in one piece, the Soviets still could not hope to compete with the US in regards to production. The Soviets had only a few fighters/bombers at one point so to scare the Americans they flew them in a way that made them look larger in number, only to have the US produce more equivalent planes than the soviets suppsoedly had
@@balinthehater8205 yeah but considering how poorly they did in just about every conflict during the cold war, it doesn't seem like they would've done any better.
In my opinion, one of the high points of this universe is how real it felt, how the maneuvres and the victories and the defeats really felt they could've happened in real life had the Soviets or the US/NATO decided to make a move.
I have to respectfully disagree. Things I have a problem with: Did the soviets mobilize before they started the atack on west germany? Because were are nato counter preperations? Even the time they took to take west berlin should have been enough for significant defences in west germany. But even worse is the total irrelevance of everything that isn't nato as anything but a cheap prize. The soviets just took finland? No one expected the amphibious asault in sweeden? Iran and Iraq just rolled over? All of these nations had significant military power at the time. Then there is the fact that air raids on france got posible from marcai, but not from west germany. And the idea of an amphibious asoult over a distance of at least a thousand miles through along nato coasts... On the other hand all of south america allied with Nato? Side note: acording to soviet doctrine atacks on Soviet nuclear silos would triger nuclear amagedon. But who cares. Then the national guard get's overwhelmed "almost imediatly" in seatle. Seatle is a big city. Taking a city against just light infantry is hell as long as the infantry has any will to fight. And I somehow doubt the americans during the third world war would have low morale during an atack on american soil. And where do the airforce troops come from? are those from the same ships as the units that lead the first charge? Or are those from flown in directly from russia? Also where did the planes start? Did the "unmarked cargo ships" include an aircraft carrier? And then the americans with free suply and reinforcement are exhausted, not the soviets that have to scavenge their suplies from the land and have no reinforcements? Why would china ever enter that clusterfuck? Perhaps under Xi Jiping or Mao, but it would have been ruled by eather Zhao Ziyang (who was austed in 1989 for suporting the tiananmen square protests) or Jiang Zhemin who was known for his non confrontational foreign policy. China can now also go up in nuclear flames, or grind itself down in the war. By not entering the war, it might continue it's economical development and possibly outpace the US.
@@claasmachens3858Also how the idea that Soviets landed in Seattle would make it impossible to supply them. US would still have naval and air superiority, so sending ships or building big enough air bridge to supply would be impossible. And for them to take enough ammunition and other supply for three divisions for indefinite amount of time is also impossible.
Rest in peace Mark Bannon (July 13, 1957- December 21, 1989). He and his men decided to stay in Cascade Falls to buy the Soviets some time so that remaining units could escape before the nuclear strike. His heroic action will always be remembered.
One of my favorite games of all time. I replay it all the time. Great to see it covered. Wish Massive Entertainment was able to make more games in this setting.
World in Conflict is one of my all time favorite and most replayed games. I would have loved to have seen a franchise be born from this. I cant play the division without thinking about what could have been. Ending the video with title was **Chef's Kiss** My suspension of disbelief and my knowledge that this is a video game helps me look past this, but there was always One thing about the invasion of Seattle that always irked me is the fact that the entire PACNORWEST fleet is completely overlooked, besides a throw away line from CAPT Bannon about the container ships being "How they got past our Navy". Not sure about 1989, but there is at least 1 carrier strike group and other ships at Bremerton and Everett, and even if they used the container ships to slip past them they would have been able to sortie and counter attack the port of Seattle hard. I think my Head Canon is that there were some Akulas hiding underneath the the Shipping Vessels that broke off and hit the fleet in port in a Pearl Harbor style attack. Also The rest of the 3rd fleet at San Diego would have sailed north at flank speed to reinforce the fight against the reds. The Pacific Fleet would have had to have been nearly completely destroyed for this attack to have succeeded the way it did in the game. Almost all my comments on this channel being related to the US Navy is not on purpose I swear lol.
After a couple of listens I realize you wrote "The remnants of the Pacific Fleet" into the script. The institute has more attention to detail than the world's they explore... And that's what I appreciates about you.
"In 1989, the cold war was suppose to end. Instead, it became the first year of a new world, a World In Conflict" Chilling statement to end off the video.
I kinda like the idea of an alt-history World War 3, where the threat of MAD ended up being so strong that it was ultimately a bluff. No-one wanted to be the first person to nuke enemy territory, and that reluctance was so powerful that ultimately no nukes were launched at all, even when the Cold War turned decidedly hot.
This game was incredible back in the day. You could really micromanage units really well if you wanted to. That flashback mission was weird at first but it actually made the initial missions of the invasion of the US make more sense.
Firstly; love ya Templin! These are always fun; but sometimes a bit of a stretch... "If the soviets get incredibly lucky and slip an entire fleet past USPACOM" "If the allied elements are entirely completely caught off guard" "If the soviets get unexpected boons and previously unknown _enormous_ stockpiles of weapons, trained soldiers, supplies, and resolve are found..."
A call to devs , make a game based on current events please, we don't like war to happen . But these pieces of art awaken new generations about the dangers of such conflicts and immerse us in amazing stories and well designed games with a revolutionary features.
Honestly the russo ukrainian war is a war between 2 nations that have terrible militaries ukrainian Commanders do the same shit the russian Commanders do the average ukrainian soldier is more motivated tho but you cant win a war when corruption is so widespread the war will probably become frozen
@@FelipeCH-fn7sc you know i wrote that 1 year ago when the ukrainian military was making terrible mistakes And corruption was worse than it is now? Russia is a joke and every sane person knows that. cant win against the poorest and most corrupt nation in europe
The Soviet Union was not even in a position to carry out a large-scale attack on NATO in 1989. The war in Afghanistan consumed a lot of economic resources and the conversion to a war economy led to hunger in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was a tottering colossus in which signs of disintegration had already become apparent.
As someone who never heard of WiC until now, can someone please explain to me where Canada was during the invasion of Washington? I highly doubt we would just sit back and let Seattle be invaded
My guess is they were overlooked? I have no doubt the Canadians would get in on this. Even if the majority of our armed forces would be in Europe (we had units stationed in Germany, including a sizable air force).
They were tied up at Vancouver, which also saw landings. The USS Missouri, mentioned in this video, actually sank in a battle off of Vancouver Island, presumably in a joint US/Canadian fleet.
@@westrim ahh ok that makes more sense. The video made it seem like Vancouver was just vibing while a Soviet army group was casually taking over Washington
This was the only game I've ever pre-ordered AND bought the top level edition. And it was worth every cent, I still have everything decades later. I loved this game so much.
I don’t know… it seems to track, but the Soviet Union here seems to be replaced by a magical faction I do not recognise, the USSR *was* a real superpower, but the US along with combined NATO forces *has no equal* like the US has the single most powerful military force *ever seen on earth* (that we know of anyway)
@@owenlindkvist5355 you people seem to think russia and the soviet union are the same and have the same military or something, in 1983 the soviet union was more powerfull by itself than all of nato.
@@ГаврилоПринцип-х1л If you genuinely believe that the soviets at any point after the 70's were stronger than the US then I have some bad news for you. The USSR was spending nearly 1/3rd of its economy on its military, the US was spending 5-6%....
@@ГаврилоПринцип-х1л the Soviet Union had more tanks than nato but I’m terms of industrial ability, technology level, population, strategy, and morale they were worse than nato
Used to play this game a lot when I was in secondary school from 2009 to 2010. Was an absolutely brilliant strategy game that had absolutely brilliant graphics for its time!! Surprised there been no sequel!
I love this conflict because i am a resident of WA and seeing a battle in my area is very intersting. Unrealistic however. The pugent sound forces all waterways to funnel through a series of islands and jagged edges of the mainland so a naval landing would be very hard. Then there is the cascade mountains, which are absolutely huge! The perfect area for guerrilla warfare and impossible to fully attack through. Great video!
Thats literally what happens in the game. They're drawn into the Cascades, harrowed by National Guard and resistance fighters the whole way, roped into a trap, and nuked.
this is such a Soviet feverdream, thinking that the crumbling Soviet Union with a corrupt military could fight against a fully prepared Nato army, while also being able to conquer Iran and Finland on the side
11:43 - "The invasion of Seattle was a miracle of modern warfare. A military disaster for the US. Soviet Union had captured--" Me: "I know this! Burger King! The Soviets had captured the Burger King!"
Best rts I ever played, played it death, story was awesome, and all the people seemed like real people in the campaign, multiplayer was fun too! I loved playing support! Fuel Air Bombs were the best TA.
One of the first games I ever got on Steam because I played a demo of it when I was a kid. It's one of the best and most fun RTS games I've ever played with a good story. I hope one day we get a much needed sequel.
Best?? Good story? This game is pile of trash amount of Unrealistic scenario! This game made by Massive “Shit” to insulting Player’s iq and told “WhAt iF WolRd wAr ThReE HaPpEned BeTweEn U.S aNd U.s.S.r BUt GOinG UnREaliStIc” also how even Ussr thinking Invading Seattle would be good idea? Even then Ussr never make plan about Invading U.S…This game is should to be FORGOTTEN and no one should remember this pile of garbage (This is sarcas lol)
WiC is a great game that sadly I have never gotten past the tutorial on any computer because it bugs out on the opening cutscene of the campaign. As for the third world war depicted, I feel a lot of what happens past the initial start in Berlin stretches credibility. Finland for example my have been neutral but was very much prepared to go winter war round 3 with the Soviet Union in reality. If anything the soviet unions tactics here seem to be rooted more in audacity than practical sense and I suspect the situation will rapidly deteriorate for them in a prolonged war, their economy would already be struggling and war time pressure and trying to out produce and spend NATO brought the real world Soviet Union to ruin. To me unless this goes into full nuclear exchange the Soviet alliance slowly burns itself out.
Awesome game with a great story line, I wish they had a sequel to see how it ended. I played as the Americans then as the Soviets, it shows what the story is for each side.
It was always a rather silly concept in hindsight, considering the USSR's performance in Afghanistan, and Russia's performance in pretty much every conflict since.
This game is a hidden gem, the campaign is so insanely epic with the movie quality cinematics and the michael bay tier explosions in each and every mission, I'm sad it never got a continuation but happy it exists
@@SuperCrow02 it's almost a dead genre, I'm rly glad at least stuff like aoe2 DE is still getting content and aoe4 exists, but other than Microsoft studios idk anyone thats still making real rts games, I doubt we'll see another one with WiC's budget anytime soon tho
@@AngelSonevski Aliens: Dark Descent and Starship Troopers: Terran Command are two new RTS games that actually offer new forms of gameplay if you're looking for some new games. It's not like the old days, but the niche is still producing at least.
@@SuperCrow02 The aliens game is more XCOM than an RTS, no? And yeah I've played the Starship Troopers, its really fun but definitely feels soooo "budget" compared to smth like WiC, if you know what I mean, the game is budget as hell and plays nothing like the "AAA" rts of the past like AoE or SC, regardless though every new RTS release is nice to see
"They thought they could bully us into submission! They thought we'd give way and fold! But today, we'll show them that the Red Army bows to no-one! Today, we'll show them the might of the Soviet Union! Get to your vehicles, we go to war!" - Captain Nikolai Malashenko, June 3rd, 1989
Both the lore and gameplay of this game were marvelous pieces of art... Truly a shame it ended like this, without the chance to birth a well deserved and expected sequel.
My copy of this game was legitimately cursed, every time I played it something bad would happen, worse each time until it seemed so certain to me that I gave it away. A real shame because the game was amazing and I was good at it. The manual recently turned up in sealed boxes of my stuff from when I was a child, taped up before I ever had the game…
Such an amazing RTS from 2008. I remember playing the demo and hearing Alec Baldwin as the narrator for the first time. Instantly sold. The Soviet expansion pack was decent too. Damn shame Massive Entertainment got bought out and never made a sequel.
You voice did great with this video. World in Conflict is my favorite game. I just wish they make a 2nd one to see how it ends. How the war really ends.
Good? This is nothing but Hot garbage! This is unrealistic! How Soviet mobilize their army? How the fuck they invade Seattle very easily or how Soviet will resupply their soldier? This is nonsense and no one SHOULD love or even just play it! I will never touch this Trash! This game just nothing but for insulting Player’s iq about realistic world war… (This is sarcas or ironic jokes lol)
Greatest Strategy games ever?? What are you talking about? This game is nothing but pile of garbage! This game is too unrealistic that just make me vomit! I mean this game trying too hard to become realistic while being unrealistic as Fuck! How the fuck Soviet thinking that Invading Usa was good idea? And are everyone forgot that Nato combine Usa would be enough to crush Ussr and then even Ussr fleet would become rust by Allied warfleet…No one should love this hot Trash and I hope Massive shit just ashamed themself because they already making one of Worst Rts game i ever see… (This is sarcas lol)
My favorite part of the game was when the French officer calls his girl, only for us to find out the girl was his mistress 😅 The music in that scene founds kinda french, but the band is called Koop and are from Uppsala Sweden, its called Koop Island Blues.
Yep. Still one of my favorite games from when I was a kid though. (I’m originally from Seattle, and it’s still nuts to see that place a war zone in game)
No,soviet union and modern day russia dont even come close by comparison,nor any former warsaw pact country in general. Russia is a oligarchic backwater with mass corruption and deterioating economy,while soviets were a actual military superpower with ability to produce and invent their military eqiupment,not solely rely on propaganda or 40 year old stockpiles
@anidiot4243 To be fair, even at the height of their power, the Soviet Union could never have pulled this off. They simply didn't have the Naval power to project force across the world to North America, the Middle East, and Western Europe simultaneously.
The best part of this was the meaning it gave to 'Pray for Our Troops', which was painted on a billboard destroyed in the Cascade Falls nuclear strike. Do not merely pray for the survival of our soldiers. Pray they make the right decisions, and avoid the wrong ones. Bannon fucked up, but in the end even he did his best to make things right. While, on the other hand, Malashenko started out a role model but descended into madness.
The scenario in the game is more realistic than in the 1980s Red Dawn film but not much more realistic. For a more realistic scenario, which still gave the Soviet army a greater chance of success than I would give it, I recommend Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy. It came out in 1986.
"Spirits were high, and the men joked about how we would crush [NATO] in one fell stroke. But some didn't laugh. They had been to Afghanistan. They *knew* war." It's easily one of my favorite lines from the game and very relevant today. It's easy for talking heads or zealous recruits to say how easy war is, until you've seen it firsthand.
World in Conflict was such an amazing game. The campaign was glorious. Great characters, story, and music. The multiplayer was similarly amazing. Still remember the time our entire team pooled our tacpoints for three simultaneously nukes.
Amazing game?? Are you just insulting yourself? This game is just Pile of gargabe! This is just too unrealistic! How the fuck anyone thinking that Invading Seattle with small or medium amount of division would be good idea? Even then why the fuck Usa and Nato seems freaking incompetent? No one Should love this trash and everyone should hate this trash and whotnever Writter that having garbage skill of writting and make unrealistic scenario…Bleurgh this game is nonsense! (This is sarcas lol)
Many of the events discussed in this video are tragically, no longer merely “alternate history”. If you’d like to donate to badly needed relief efforts in Ukraine, a list of resources to do so can be found here: www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/donate-relief-to-ukraine/
what about explaining the Martians from war of the worlds
Could you please do the Tiberium Wars from Command and Conquer?
Luckily, russian army being competent is still alternate history.
@@Narsilion098 As in it essentially winning a localized conflict against the whole NATO (partially by proxy, partially by actual NATO personnel on the ground and partially by unprecedented funding since WWII)? Yes, incompetent. :)
Hey, could you do a video on Apex Legends/Titanfall’s symbols and logos? Sorry, it’s just one of my favourite franchises.
It had completely passed me by that the liberation of Seattle was not the end of the war, and in fact it would expand even further afterwards across the rest of the world. Makes things ripe for a sequel but it's been seventeen years. RIP to the people who didn't play the game before it was removed from Steam, though it is still on GoG.
It still even has multi player
@@victormontes7007 I thought the multi-player was shut down
Eh not really. The invasion of Seattle was definitely the last hail mary of the Soviet Union. Economic instability and stagnation combined with a failed joint venture with China makes it incredibly likely China just says "fuck you" and leaves the war. Not without cause, since the US Pacific fleet likely still exists, and the Soviet navy never really existed to project force past their shores, so the Chinese forces who got into puget sound are likely going to surrender to a ship or risk drowning when the US and Canada plaster them with AShMs.
Considering the rest of the Soviet bloc was, in polite terms, various fucked economic situations, the war was not going to go for another full year.
This is a perfect situation for Poland and Czechoslovakia to make their long longed for revolution against Soviet occupation. Soviet propaganda against NATO intransigence may have worked for the Russian public, but many of the other warpact nations absolutely would not have bought it. Is this fannon? Yes, but then against the game also did just handwave away almost the entire US navy from existence. (What happened to the 7th fleet? What about the US Pacific Fleet? how did China, with NO fleet worth mentioning, ship over enough military assets to reinforce seattle in the face of intense ongoing air and artillery bombardment of its port facilities by the US? No? No answer?)
Finally, the Soviet Union lost several of its best divisons wholesale, including much of their best airforce assets, and probably their entire shipping fleet. Not part of it, all of it. I think that would probably tip the scales back in the US' favor irrecoverably.
Yes, I have thought way to much into this game's world, I criticize it because I love it.
Gog is having a summer sale if anybody is interest in picking up the game.
@@ZeroDarkOmega you have to download a mod for it but its there
One of the most underrated strategy games ever made. Great soundtrack, killer voice acting, emotionally compelling story, this game has it all.
Same
World in conflict is a great game
Nuff said...just a great game
PERIOD!!!
All great games that deserve a sequel always have their developers shut down. World in Conflict and Homefront are notable examples.
And the modern warfare mod too. its incredible
Not only that a well thought out and balanced MULTIPLAYER!!!!
The marketing campaign was really effective with the twist moments that made it feel like WW2 only for the panout to reveal it was WW3 and a fight amidst quintessential American features. The jungle fight that turns out to be a mall, the soldiers clambering with a flag up a hill to what turns out to be a Burger King, they haven't left my mind to this day.
Don't forget the chaotic US airborne assault to retake Liberty, Garrison, and Ellis Islands, which in-game was mentioned as the first failed attempt before we come in to try a different approach.
@@ChenAnPin Ah yes, our approach, of LOTS of attack helicopters.
"Quickly defeated Finland" - suspension of disbelief: shredded.
All this showed was how well staying neutral in order to not provoke an invasion would've gone.
Seriously 😂😂😂 completely lost me there.
Well, it wasn't winter yet.
Well, they would have turned into guerrilla fighters and made the occupation a nightmare.
Finland was pretty lucky in 1940, they were shredded in 1944 even with most of the Soviet Army pinned against the Germans. Finland is heavily overestimated just because of their performance in the Winter War.
WiC had such good promotional materials. Pretty much everything Soviet assault related is absolutely amazing
It needed a sequel so bad. It deserved one.
Got the collector's edition back in the day, came with a piece of graffiti covered Berlin Wall (about the size of a large grape, but still cool).
IT is one of my favorite games to play.
@@blyatman5891 After recent 'special military ops' I don't think sequel will come out anytime soon----- big sad
@@DOSFS And ruZZian- Ukraine war, remember, the f.u. the operation completely.
One of the most underrated RTS games out there, I still think about Bannon to this day.
His final stand makes ne eyes uncomfortably wet.
The excellent portrayal of his crew and the final salute of the colonel paint and excellent conclusion to Bannon's arc (plus what we get from his phonecall to his mother).
@@nahuelleandroarroyo I actually made a tribute video to his last stand a couple years ago on my channel funnily enough. One of the most memorable video game moments of all time, to me. After seeing what a jerk he was in earlier missions it was a really impactful character shift.
Bannon the war criminal
Bannon, A child born into darkness, but towards the end, railed at the chains of his life, and the last second, became what he was always supposed to have been; Better than all the pieces of his life, put together.
You did well son, it was an honor to serve.
the man was flawed but he did his duty to the end
In Burger King we trust
Land of the free and home of the Whopper.
I would die for Burger King
Ramirez, grab that...oops, wrong game.
But not religiously of course hahaha 😅
@@Neoth40k BK has had more of a tangible impact than any God has.
My Father was a vehicle mechanic in the Ohio National Guard when the Third World War broke out in June 1989. He didn't get to work on the armored vehicles but most of the trucks humvees he worked on were shipped to Europe. When the Soviets invaded Seattle in that Fall his unit was deployed to Oregon and some of the vehicles he worked on were used in the Battle of Pine Valley and Cascade Falls. He never went into combat though, but he always said he would've done it had he needed too.
Really one of the best world war 3 stories ever. From the slow frozen front in Europe to the Russians only able to capture 1 city in the US as well as a fun a fuck game where you play tactifully instead of controlling the whole army, and memorable characters.
Truly wish they got a sequel
Edit: okay I know there’s still a lot of unrealistic shit for a a strategy game I understand I just meant like compared to some other ww3 story games.
Saying best does not mean perfect
A sequel would have been amazing!
This game and Tom clancys end war were fantastic!
Not gonna lie, I am halfway through the video and already wondering what drugs the writers took to accept the need for these soviet succsesses with reality.
Berlin seems realistic, but after that it just get's weird so fast. Did the soviets mobilize before they started the atack on west germany?
But even worse is the total irrelevance of everything that isn't nato as anything but a cheap prize. The soviets just took finland? No one expected the amphibious asault? Iran and Iraq just rolled over?
All of these nations had significant military power at the time.
Whatched the rest. And...
All of south america allied with Nato?
Side note: acording to soviet doctrine atacks on Soviet nuclear silos would triger nuclear amagedon. But who cares.
Then the national guard get's overwhelmed "almost imediatly" in Seatle. Seatle is a big city. Taking a city against just light infantry is hell as long as the infantry has any will to fight. And I somehow doubt the americans during the third world war would have low morale during an atack on american soil.
And where do the airforce troops come from? are those from the same ships as the units that lead the first charge? Or are those from flown in directly from russia? Also where did the planes start? Did the "unmarked cargo ships" include an aircraft carrier?
And then the americans with free suply and reinforcement are exhausted, not the soviets that have to scavenge their suplies from the land and have no reinforcements?
Why would china ever enter that clusterfuck? Perhaps under Xi Jiping or Mao, but it would have been ruled by eather Zhao Ziyang (who was austed in 1989 for suporting the tiananmen square protests) or Jiang Zhemin who was known for his non confrontational foreign policy. China can now also go up in nuclear flames, or grind itself down in the war. By not entering it, it might continue it's economical development and possibly outpace the US.
@@claasmachens3858 Its a game, if you want a realistic senario play arma 3.
Does americans have such a low self esteem that you need to complain about games realism when it comes to their millitary power. We know america is and was during the coldwar a giant superpower and that the soviets did not have a navy. Even if its unrealistic its still a great game like battlefield bad company.
@@BS-vm5bt "Really one of the BEST world war 3 stories ever"
I do not mind an unrealistic world in a game. But we are watching a chanel that complains about space ships of the dreadnaught class. So I will complain about uterly nonsensical worlds in the comentsection.
And being entirely removed from reality is a significant problem for something being a good storry. If it had been called one of the best ww3 games I wouldn't mind.
*hears that Finland lost in one day to an amphibious assault*
Well now I KNOW this is a work of fiction.
I mean, Finland isn't known for its naval forces, it's known for trees speaking Finnish. Bypassing the trees and heading directly for the mostly coastal population centers is a decent move.
Of course, the Soviets were never remotely good at amphibious operations, so it falls apart there.
Finnish army says WHAAAAAT?????
The entire idea that the USSR had anything remotely resembling the capabilities in this game while on the verge of economic collapse is pure fiction.
The Finns got absolutely DESTROYED in WW2 proper, the Finnish were honestly pretty damn pathetic once they had to face competent forces.
Soviet invasion of Finland
"simo hayha sends his regards."
One of those stories i always felt needed a conclusion. The atmosphere in this game was amazing. I still have my piece of the berlin wall that came with the collectors edition.
"War can be fascinating to watch on TV, but up close personally it's a whole other story. Imagine your office blown to pieces, your car thrown about like a discarded glove, and your friend lying on the street, his body torn to bloody shreds."
-Lt. Parker
Couldn't be more true today...
Without a doubt a favorite of my mine.
"It was a rout. Our scattered forces headed to Seattle. To use a nuclear bomb on one's own country... it was insanity on a scale unmatched by even our own generals. It also destroyed what dreams we had left of ever achieving victory in America" - Captain Romanov
Finally the World in Conflict universe! This one is really fascinating and the game itself is excellent (And is free nowdays!). The video itself was excellent, covered everything desired in the large scale as the background, fronts, major events etc. Didn't know Finland was invaded as the ingame cinematics always showed Finland already as occupied so hey, learned something new as well. The music choice was also brilliant.
Next, the EVE Online universe, but that's probably a megaseries or something for you.
wait what, woc is free? Where can you get it?
Same.
I have it on uplay... Don't know how I got it tho
is free?! where?!
@@vraelelda1582 a surprising fact for the people here: World in Conflict was made by the same guys that made The Division
we have it on Uplay because Ubisoft decided to commemorate Massive Entertainment by giving away WiC some time ago
The world in conflict universe is entertaining. It starts off being insane, but only in a 'because of my specialist knowledge this is ludicrous' sort of way, and then just goes further and further off the deep end until you're in fanfic territory
I do feel the game gives the Soviets a bit too much of a break for the sake of balance. Things like logistics in the story never seem to factor in all that much.
How so?
@@BoltonForTheNorth Invading California with no supplies would never have worked. The US navy would also just be dominant in the pacific and Atlantic and even if Soviets slipped some units by (unlikely satellites would pick up the massive convoy of unmarked ships) they would die with no support in the United States. Finland also wouldn't fall that quickly and I imagine the Warsaw Pact states like Poland would be reluctant fighters and perhaps turn partisan as they WW3 as their chance to become free.
@@massengsle8779 You're absolutely right, in fact, the Soviet military never even had a real plan to invade the USA because they believed it was virtually impossible, or at the very least unsustainable for the reasons you mentioned earlier.
@@BoltonForTheNorth we've seen how shit the russian supply situation is for the ukraine war, now imagine the ussr trying to move dozens of times that amount of hardware and doing it across continents.
@massengsle8779 they didn't invade california, they invaded Washington... and I think you severely underrats the Soviet navy. Nato was powerful above sea, true, the the Soviets ruled under the sea. The Soviet typhoon class outperform everything America hade during the eighties.
I loved this game back in the day! too bad they never made another one.
At least we had story DLC. The multiplayer was great too.
@@TETRINO yeah I played the hell out of that multiplayer for long timea(even made a youtube video with WIC gameplay back then) , I've tried to get into games like this since then, but they don't seem as "right" as WiC was in terms of gameplay and fun.
Imagine a sequel with the chinese and asian theater
you don't want an updated russian forces game in this day and age, trust me. it's inferiority would drive you bananas.
@@mrhonkhonk6116 I think it would be more focused on europe since the asian theater would primary be naval battle. They could do a short campaign over the fall of korea and the defense of japan. Since korea would be overwhelmed no matter what and japan is a island nation wich would demolish any invading force before they land.
My dad was 16 when the Soviets landed in Seattle. He wasn’t old enough to serve, but my uncle was drafted and fought in Cascade falls when he was fresh out of high school.
I remember listening to Danish soldiers small talk about American TV shows in this game. Love the details of the Nato forces
God, so many memories - this was the first RTS I ever played when I was around 10 years old. So lovely to run into templin covering it!
That was beautiful, and brought back a lot of childhood memories. Although, I'm surprised that a few names didn't stand out like Colonel Jeremiah Sawyer, Captain Parker, Major Webb, and Colonel Orlov.
From the Templins Institute PoV those names dont mean much, much of what we do in the game is just a cog
Or captain bannon
Or Romanov
Parker and Romanov were the MvPs of this alternative reality.
Parker!!!
World in Conflict, hit me with that nostalgia
Is it the best "Conventional Cold War Gone Hot" scenario? Hell if I know. But it _is_ my personal favorite and a beloved one among many for good reason.
In gaming? Jeah.
But there are also some fictional books written about that topic.
i.e Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising
@@Krusesensei Regiments is IMHO better but it's seriously underrated
The only weak point is how the Soviets pushed such a force through tthe pacific without anyone noticing them load the ships, detected any empty bases, noticed an strange massive civ fleet and ludicrous amount of supplies to fight without resupply for multiple divisions, yes the US was surprised but the invading force from Seattle pushed too much into the US while USSR hold his own in Europe.
The only front that has no backstory is pacific Asia, Japan and South Korea and very important stakeholders
IRL nope it's stupid for so many reasons one thing surprise attack on Seatle just didn't had right to work. Like they used cargo ships how on earth did they managed to deploy significant amount of heavy vehicles before taking over port? We do have hen and egg problem if USSR doesn't use unload cargo ships full of tanks and IFV then they can't conquer the city but they can't unload cargo unit city is conquered. How did China manged to break into ocean when IRL there are surrounded by islands with antiship missiles? China would need to at least win air supremacy over Okinawa in odder to break into Pacific. US push into Seatle didn't made sense as well, they would need ANY PLACE with look onto waterway leading into Seatle to block any attempt of reinforcing. US takes backs Port Townsend? game over. US takes Sequiem?game over etc. etc.
@@simon2493 🤓🤓
I love this video! The Alt-Hist of World in Conflict is one of the most interesting fictional WW3s. Red Storm Rising, and the Wingman novel series are the other two at the top of my list. If you've never heard of Wingman, I'd definitely recommend you give it a skim, it's a pretty wild product of its time.
i wouldve liked it more if they kept it more within the realms of reality like red storm rising, this game basically took that book and gigawanked the soviets to a hilarious degree
I'm listening to audiobooks about WW3 lately, which is a interesting scenario.
- Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising
- Harold W. Coyle's Team Yankee
- Larry Bond's Red Phoenix
- Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising
- Mark Greany's Red Metal
- P. W. Singer's Ghost Fleet
There's more of course, but not necessarily as an audiobook, as physical copies.
To date the greatest piece of entertainment set in a Cold War Gone Hot scenario
Mad respect Templin for pulling this classic from the old days. Played this when I first came out on CD and some how I got the special edition with a certified peice of the Berlin Wall and a DVD of “Modern Marvels: The Berlin Wall” from the history Channel.
Game was always nail biting with how limited your forces always were, and forced you to understand the timing of all your supports.
And the story was always amazing to watch play out. More so when “Soviet Assault” was released.
I love how attention is brought to the National Guard. So critical yet so overlooked.
1989 was clearly too late for the Soviets, the Reagan buildup was complete and Desert Storm proved how lethal the technological gap had become in stealth and night fighting. Soviet tanks would have gotten absolutely railed every night by NATO forces.
The 60s or 70s was the time for this scenario. Late 40s and 50s the Soviets were too far behind with nukes and the US would just vaporize them rather than allow them to take over too much.
Americans would've lost if they didn't change their vehicle designs from the glass cannon mindset and the 80s shows. Love the 80s 😎 Soviet didn't overhaul their designs at all. Just minute changes. T-90 still have the same flaw as the T-64, just more pimped up.
@@orchirion The US military did not have a 'glass cannon' mindset. They were completely bought on massive technological overkill. There's a reason that US when from the M60 Patton to the M1 Abrams while the Soviets basically just kept upgrading the t-72 into slightly better versions.
@@BoneistJ Wanna explain the jeeps, Huey, aluminium m113, and more? Speed and firepower was the Americans favorite go to strategy at the time but the Vietnam war kinda taught them that killing more of the other guy than you're losing is not a sound strategy in the long run. Gotta fix that attrition rate. The Patton is barely better than the Pershing on where they placed their ammo so the 80s design really stepped away from those guaranteed metal coffins which is an amazing leap. Actually why do you believe they're not glass cannons back then anyway? Unless you're confusing my words with modern America or something. 🤔
This game was amazing, campaign was stellar especially as someone who lives in Seattle. And the online multiplayer was sooooooooo friggin good. I wish it was still going.
Must have been surreal seeing Seattle become the setting for a fictional battleground. How close was the game's recreation of the city, and aside from the Space Needle what were some of the key areas you could recognize?
@@ChenAnPin I don't live in the US but I remember comparing modern day google maps images to the in-game map and it's shockingly accurate. Pretty much all the waterfront and roads are accurately mapped, and a lot of the major buildings are as well.
Can still play multiplayer through community servers
Now that i see this video i really think we missed out on an "Pacific Storm" DLC with Chinese and maybe South Korean units. Shame it never got a second game to explore this setting even further.
When was this
Japan IDF fighting alonside the Marines
Even a coalition of Israel (give me some sweet Merkavas)and some arab states would have been posible
Such a great game. It deserves far more attention than it gets and I sincerely hope it's developer is one day freed from Ubisoft dungeons.
Given current world events, this sounds beyond fantastical😂
Except Russia barelly made a dent on one former USSR state
My thoughts exactly.😂😂 Just makes me laugh at how much everyone used to overestimate Russia as a military threat. Just cause they have a lot of people doesn't mean they know how to use them.
Russia isn't the USSR, the eastern republics and the members of the Warsaw pact were instrumental in making the union a superpower because they were often the most developed and productive areas. Without those areas, Russia can only hope to be a shadow of the former strength of the USSR.
@@balinthehater8205 Still even with the whole USSR in one piece, the Soviets still could not hope to compete with the US in regards to production. The Soviets had only a few fighters/bombers at one point so to scare the Americans they flew them in a way that made them look larger in number, only to have the US produce more equivalent planes than the soviets suppsoedly had
@@balinthehater8205 yeah but considering how poorly they did in just about every conflict during the cold war, it doesn't seem like they would've done any better.
In my opinion, one of the high points of this universe is how real it felt, how the maneuvres and the victories and the defeats really felt they could've happened in real life had the Soviets or the US/NATO decided to make a move.
I have to respectfully disagree. Things I have a problem with:
Did the soviets mobilize before they started the atack on west germany? Because were are nato counter preperations? Even the time they took to take west berlin should have been enough for significant defences in west germany.
But even worse is the total irrelevance of everything that isn't nato as anything but a cheap prize. The soviets just took finland? No one expected the amphibious asault in sweeden? Iran and Iraq just rolled over?
All of these nations had significant military power at the time.
Then there is the fact that air raids on france got posible from marcai, but not from west germany. And the idea of an amphibious asoult over a distance of at least a thousand miles through along nato coasts...
On the other hand all of south america allied with Nato?
Side note: acording to soviet doctrine atacks on Soviet nuclear silos would triger nuclear amagedon. But who cares.
Then the national guard get's overwhelmed "almost imediatly" in seatle. Seatle is a big city. Taking a city against just light infantry is hell as long as the infantry has any will to fight. And I somehow doubt the americans during the third world war would have low morale during an atack on american soil.
And where do the airforce troops come from? are those from the same ships as the units that lead the first charge? Or are those from flown in directly from russia? Also where did the planes start? Did the "unmarked cargo ships" include an aircraft carrier?
And then the americans with free suply and reinforcement are exhausted, not the soviets that have to scavenge their suplies from the land and have no reinforcements?
Why would china ever enter that clusterfuck? Perhaps under Xi Jiping or Mao, but it would have been ruled by eather Zhao Ziyang (who was austed in 1989 for suporting the tiananmen square protests) or Jiang Zhemin who was known for his non confrontational foreign policy. China can now also go up in nuclear flames, or grind itself down in the war. By not entering the war, it might continue it's economical development and possibly outpace the US.
@@claasmachens3858Well said
@@claasmachens3858Also how the idea that Soviets landed in Seattle would make it impossible to supply them. US would still have naval and air superiority, so sending ships or building big enough air bridge to supply would be impossible. And for them to take enough ammunition and other supply for three divisions for indefinite amount of time is also impossible.
@@masaheimoi That was at least acknowledged. It took them half a year or so to actually have problems, buuuut they mentioned it.
@@claasmachens3858you're absolutely right. I adore the game but I'd never say that its 100% accurate.
God I remember this game had the most intense artillery strikes I had ever called down in a computer game it was so good
Rest in peace Mark Bannon (July 13, 1957- December 21, 1989). He and his men decided to stay in Cascade Falls to buy the Soviets some time so that remaining units could escape before the nuclear strike. His heroic action will always be remembered.
One of my favorite games of all time. I replay it all the time. Great to see it covered. Wish Massive Entertainment was able to make more games in this setting.
World in Conflict is one of my all time favorite and most replayed games. I would have loved to have seen a franchise be born from this. I cant play the division without thinking about what could have been. Ending the video with title was **Chef's Kiss**
My suspension of disbelief and my knowledge that this is a video game helps me look past this, but there was always One thing about the invasion of Seattle that always irked me is the fact that the entire PACNORWEST fleet is completely overlooked, besides a throw away line from CAPT Bannon about the container ships being "How they got past our Navy".
Not sure about 1989, but there is at least 1 carrier strike group and other ships at Bremerton and Everett, and even if they used the container ships to slip past them they would have been able to sortie and counter attack the port of Seattle hard. I think my Head Canon is that there were some Akulas hiding underneath the the Shipping Vessels that broke off and hit the fleet in port in a Pearl Harbor style attack.
Also The rest of the 3rd fleet at San Diego would have sailed north at flank speed to reinforce the fight against the reds.
The Pacific Fleet would have had to have been nearly completely destroyed for this attack to have succeeded the way it did in the game.
Almost all my comments on this channel being related to the US Navy is not on purpose I swear lol.
After a couple of listens I realize you wrote "The remnants of the Pacific Fleet" into the script. The institute has more attention to detail than the world's they explore... And that's what I appreciates about you.
"In 1989, the cold war was suppose to end. Instead, it became the first year of a new world, a World In Conflict"
Chilling statement to end off the video.
That mission where u defend the fake nuke counter measure was intense, and the officer that call the nuke on himself was quite emotional.
Bannon wasn't perfect, but when it counted, he put duty before everything else and died a hero.
I kinda like the idea of an alt-history World War 3, where the threat of MAD ended up being so strong that it was ultimately a bluff. No-one wanted to be the first person to nuke enemy territory, and that reluctance was so powerful that ultimately no nukes were launched at all, even when the Cold War turned decidedly hot.
This game was incredible back in the day. You could really micromanage units really well if you wanted to. That flashback mission was weird at first but it actually made the initial missions of the invasion of the US make more sense.
Hot-keying each individual helicopter to use its anti-armor weaponry on a specific target...oh those were the days.
One of my favorite RTS of all time
Thank you!
So glad you guys did this! This is my all-time favorite storyline and game!
One of my all time favorites.
BANNON!!!
Named after the main character in the Team Yankee novel.
Though I don't think that protagonist was THAT much of a putz.
Firstly; love ya Templin!
These are always fun; but sometimes a bit of a stretch...
"If the soviets get incredibly lucky and slip an entire fleet past USPACOM"
"If the allied elements are entirely completely caught off guard"
"If the soviets get unexpected boons and previously unknown _enormous_ stockpiles of weapons, trained soldiers, supplies, and resolve are found..."
A call to devs , make a game based on current events please, we don't like war to happen . But these pieces of art awaken new generations about the dangers of such conflicts and immerse us in amazing stories and well designed games with a revolutionary features.
2007 - people believe that Russia has the second best army in the world
2023 - people know that Russia has the second best army in Ukraine
Honestly the russo ukrainian war is a war between 2 nations that have terrible militaries ukrainian Commanders do the same shit the russian Commanders do the average ukrainian soldier is more motivated tho but you cant win a war when corruption is so widespread the war will probably become frozen
This is the USSR not Russia
@@SirAroaceeven so, even with the numbers by the ussr, corruptions, logistical issues, and their equipment problems plague even today on Russia
@@nuttmc4803Now try to explain the current Ukrainian invasion of the oblast of Kursk. Who was the Second World Power again?
@@FelipeCH-fn7sc you know i wrote that 1 year ago when the ukrainian military was making terrible mistakes
And corruption was worse than it is now? Russia is a joke and every sane person knows that. cant win against the poorest and most corrupt nation in europe
The Soviet Union was not even in a position to carry out a large-scale attack on NATO in 1989. The war in Afghanistan consumed a lot of economic resources and the conversion to a war economy led to hunger in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was a tottering colossus in which signs of disintegration had already become apparent.
That's how the whole war started. The USSR was desperate for resources.
As someone who never heard of WiC until now, can someone please explain to me where Canada was during the invasion of Washington? I highly doubt we would just sit back and let Seattle be invaded
My guess is they were overlooked?
I have no doubt the Canadians would get in on this. Even if the majority of our armed forces would be in Europe (we had units stationed in Germany, including a sizable air force).
Everyone forgets how much of an ally Canada is. It's a shame too considering their many historical contributions.
They were tied up at Vancouver, which also saw landings. The USS Missouri, mentioned in this video, actually sank in a battle off of Vancouver Island, presumably in a joint US/Canadian fleet.
@@westrim ahh ok that makes more sense. The video made it seem like Vancouver was just vibing while a Soviet army group was casually taking over Washington
@@westrim makes sense. No way in hell the Soviets would have let Esquimalt alone.
Feels good seeing World in Conflict getting some attention again.
This was the only game I've ever pre-ordered AND bought the top level edition. And it was worth every cent, I still have everything decades later. I loved this game so much.
As WW3 Cold War gone Batshit crazy scenarios go, this is by far the most well thought out and reasonable yet still ambitious example I can think of
Judging by the performance of the Russian army now, I don't think it was reasonable afterall.
I don’t know… it seems to track, but the Soviet Union here seems to be replaced by a magical faction I do not recognise, the USSR *was* a real superpower, but the US along with combined NATO forces *has no equal* like the US has the single most powerful military force *ever seen on earth* (that we know of anyway)
@@owenlindkvist5355 you people seem to think russia and the soviet union are the same and have the same military or something, in 1983 the soviet union was more powerfull by itself than all of nato.
@@ГаврилоПринцип-х1л If you genuinely believe that the soviets at any point after the 70's were stronger than the US then I have some bad news for you. The USSR was spending nearly 1/3rd of its economy on its military, the US was spending 5-6%....
@@ГаврилоПринцип-х1л the Soviet Union had more tanks than nato but I’m terms of industrial ability, technology level, population, strategy, and morale they were worse than nato
Absolute gem of an RTS. The multiplayer is still active, sustained by the community
Used to play this game a lot when I was in secondary school from 2009 to 2010. Was an absolutely brilliant strategy game that had absolutely brilliant graphics for its time!! Surprised there been no sequel!
I love this conflict because i am a resident of WA and seeing a battle in my area is very intersting. Unrealistic however. The pugent sound forces all waterways to funnel through a series of islands and jagged edges of the mainland so a naval landing would be very hard. Then there is the cascade mountains, which are absolutely huge! The perfect area for guerrilla warfare and impossible to fully attack through. Great video!
Thats literally what happens in the game. They're drawn into the Cascades, harrowed by National Guard and resistance fighters the whole way, roped into a trap, and nuked.
this is such a Soviet feverdream, thinking that the crumbling Soviet Union with a corrupt military could fight against a fully prepared Nato army, while also being able to conquer Iran and Finland on the side
It was made back in 2007. We didn’t know the Russians were so bad off then.
One of my favorite RTS games during college. Hopefully someday you guys cover Sins of a Solar Empire too!
It’s very funny how at least at the start the Soviets were pretty much always being reasonable in negotiation
Appearing in World in Conflict in 2007, and Metal Gear Solid 4 in 2008 ... nice to see that the USS Missouri is keeping busy in its retirement.
11:43 - "The invasion of Seattle was a miracle of modern warfare. A military disaster for the US. Soviet Union had captured--"
Me: "I know this! Burger King! The Soviets had captured the Burger King!"
Such an underrated game that had so much more to offer in both gameplay and narrative.
Russia invades Finland. To which they say, “Simo sends his regards. You might know him as ‘the White Death.’”
so glad you included the soviet assault narrative in here too! one of my all time favs. kills me we didn't get a sequel...
Best rts I ever played, played it death, story was awesome, and all the people seemed like real people in the campaign, multiplayer was fun too! I loved playing support! Fuel Air Bombs were the best TA.
One of the first games I ever got on Steam because I played a demo of it when I was a kid. It's one of the best and most fun RTS games I've ever played with a good story. I hope one day we get a much needed sequel.
Best?? Good story? This game is pile of trash amount of Unrealistic scenario! This game made by Massive “Shit” to insulting Player’s iq and told
“WhAt iF WolRd wAr ThReE HaPpEned BeTweEn U.S aNd U.s.S.r BUt GOinG UnREaliStIc” also how even Ussr thinking Invading Seattle would be good idea? Even then Ussr never make plan about Invading U.S…This game is should to be FORGOTTEN and no one should remember this pile of garbage
(This is sarcas lol)
Immerssion is immediately broken by the implication of russian competence
Absolutely. Also the fact that the Soviets didn't ever have a expeditionary force. Only one tailored to defense.
Plus their terrible logistics
In hindsight of recent event, this is exceptionally fantastical.
Gods i loved this game, i wish they would have released more dlcs,!
This was better than I thought it would be. A part 2 would be nice.
WiC is a great game that sadly I have never gotten past the tutorial on any computer because it bugs out on the opening cutscene of the campaign.
As for the third world war depicted, I feel a lot of what happens past the initial start in Berlin stretches credibility. Finland for example my have been neutral but was very much prepared to go winter war round 3 with the Soviet Union in reality.
If anything the soviet unions tactics here seem to be rooted more in audacity than practical sense and I suspect the situation will rapidly deteriorate for them in a prolonged war, their economy would already be struggling and war time pressure and trying to out produce and spend NATO brought the real world Soviet Union to ruin. To me unless this goes into full nuclear exchange the Soviet alliance slowly burns itself out.
Seeing American forces assaulting a Burger King held by soviet forces is the most entertaining thing ever
Awesome game with a great story line, I wish they had a sequel to see how it ended. I played as the Americans then as the Soviets, it shows what the story is for each side.
WiC, one of the best RTS-Games ever made
It was always a rather silly concept in hindsight, considering the USSR's performance in Afghanistan, and Russia's performance in pretty much every conflict since.
Russia =/= USSR, also the US also failed in Afghanistan
Besides Afghanistan, there isn't really any other Cold War conflict that the Soviets directly deployed troops into.
Bro one of the best PC games ever made. Did not expect to see it on this channel!!
This was one of my favorite Scenarios ever...
This game is a hidden gem, the campaign is so insanely epic with the movie quality cinematics and the michael bay tier explosions in each and every mission, I'm sad it never got a continuation but happy it exists
They really don't make RTS like they used to.
@@SuperCrow02 it's almost a dead genre, I'm rly glad at least stuff like aoe2 DE is still getting content and aoe4 exists, but other than Microsoft studios idk anyone thats still making real rts games, I doubt we'll see another one with WiC's budget anytime soon tho
@@AngelSonevski Aliens: Dark Descent and Starship Troopers: Terran Command are two new RTS games that actually offer new forms of gameplay if you're looking for some new games. It's not like the old days, but the niche is still producing at least.
@@SuperCrow02 The aliens game is more XCOM than an RTS, no? And yeah I've played the Starship Troopers, its really fun but definitely feels soooo "budget" compared to smth like WiC, if you know what I mean, the game is budget as hell and plays nothing like the "AAA" rts of the past like AoE or SC, regardless though every new RTS release is nice to see
"They thought they could bully us into submission! They thought we'd give way and fold! But today, we'll show them that the Red Army bows to no-one! Today, we'll show them the might of the Soviet Union! Get to your vehicles, we go to war!" - Captain Nikolai Malashenko, June 3rd, 1989
Both the lore and gameplay of this game were marvelous pieces of art... Truly a shame it ended like this, without the chance to birth a well deserved and expected sequel.
My copy of this game was legitimately cursed, every time I played it something bad would happen, worse each time until it seemed so certain to me that I gave it away. A real shame because the game was amazing and I was good at it. The manual recently turned up in sealed boxes of my stuff from when I was a child, taped up before I ever had the game…
About time we see some videos for this game!
Such an amazing RTS from 2008. I remember playing the demo and hearing Alec Baldwin as the narrator for the first time. Instantly sold. The Soviet expansion pack was decent too. Damn shame Massive Entertainment got bought out and never made a sequel.
Best comedy I've heard in a while.
As always, gorgeous job! Although... the plot is nuts😂
The Soviet Navy winning against the US + Royal Navy will never not be funny. Not quite as funny as an invasion of the US mainland, though XD
How did they even get in the Med? Didn't hear anything about Turkey falling
Turns out they couldn't even conquer their neighbor
You voice did great with this video. World in Conflict is my favorite game. I just wish they make a 2nd one to see how it ends. How the war really ends.
I really wish they'd make another one. This game was so good!
Good? This is nothing but Hot garbage! This is unrealistic! How Soviet mobilize their army? How the fuck they invade Seattle very easily or how Soviet will resupply their soldier? This is nonsense and no one SHOULD love or even just play it! I will never touch this Trash! This game just nothing but for insulting Player’s iq about realistic world war…
(This is sarcas or ironic jokes lol)
I still want a sequel. One of the greatest strategy games i ever played
Greatest Strategy games ever?? What are you talking about? This game is nothing but pile of garbage! This game is too unrealistic that just make me vomit! I mean this game trying too hard to become realistic while being unrealistic as Fuck! How the fuck Soviet thinking that Invading Usa was good idea? And are everyone forgot that Nato combine Usa would be enough to crush Ussr and then even Ussr fleet would become rust by Allied warfleet…No one should love this hot Trash and I hope Massive shit just ashamed themself because they already making one of Worst Rts game i ever see…
(This is sarcas lol)
My favorite part of the game was when the French officer calls his girl, only for us to find out the girl was his mistress 😅
The music in that scene founds kinda french, but the band is called Koop and are from Uppsala Sweden, its called Koop Island Blues.
I think the producers of the game were Swedish themselves so that makes sense.
@KillerOrca Massive entertainment is Swedish, So i bet that one employee heard this band when they went to university in Uppsala.
As someone who served this is truly hard to swallow knowing what I know. Hell you have first special forces group out of Ft.Lewis
I think we can safely say the chances of Soviet successes portrayed in the game were wildly optimistic.
Yep. Still one of my favorite games from when I was a kid though. (I’m originally from Seattle, and it’s still nuts to see that place a war zone in game)
No,soviet union and modern day russia dont even come close by comparison,nor any former warsaw pact country in general. Russia is a oligarchic backwater with mass corruption and deterioating economy,while soviets were a actual military superpower with ability to produce and invent their military eqiupment,not solely rely on propaganda or 40 year old stockpiles
@anidiot4243 To be fair, even at the height of their power, the Soviet Union could never have pulled this off. They simply didn't have the Naval power to project force across the world to North America, the Middle East, and Western Europe simultaneously.
@@Akapaco2 agreed on naval invasions part,but i could bet they Could reach to rhine and further
The best part of this was the meaning it gave to 'Pray for Our Troops', which was painted on a billboard destroyed in the Cascade Falls nuclear strike.
Do not merely pray for the survival of our soldiers. Pray they make the right decisions, and avoid the wrong ones. Bannon fucked up, but in the end even he did his best to make things right. While, on the other hand, Malashenko started out a role model but descended into madness.
The scenario in the game is more realistic than in the 1980s Red Dawn film but not much more realistic. For a more realistic scenario, which still gave the Soviet army a greater chance of success than I would give it, I recommend Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy. It came out in 1986.
YES. I love this game and I still play it every couple of months. Thank you for the excellent video!
Best RTS story and gameplay i played sad that it never got a sequel of the game with the introduction of the Chinese faction
"Spirits were high, and the men joked about how we would crush [NATO] in one fell stroke. But some didn't laugh. They had been to Afghanistan. They *knew* war."
It's easily one of my favorite lines from the game and very relevant today. It's easy for talking heads or zealous recruits to say how easy war is, until you've seen it firsthand.
2007, the times when Russia was seen as a threat, not a joke
Was always a joke, we just didn't get the punchline.
@@ItsjustAdam1165Sometimes I wish it had gone nuclear, just because - since everyone hated us, we should actually give them a real reason.
World in Conflict was such an amazing game. The campaign was glorious. Great characters, story, and music. The multiplayer was similarly amazing. Still remember the time our entire team pooled our tacpoints for three simultaneously nukes.
Amazing game?? Are you just insulting yourself? This game is just Pile of gargabe! This is just too unrealistic! How the fuck anyone thinking that Invading Seattle with small or medium amount of division would be good idea? Even then why the fuck Usa and Nato seems freaking incompetent? No one Should love this trash and everyone should hate this trash and whotnever Writter that having garbage skill of writting and make unrealistic scenario…Bleurgh this game is nonsense!
(This is sarcas lol)