That said, it's still a pretty decent strategy game on the PSP, and I found the main campaign surprisingly addictive, even if the combat system in place didn't feel particularly deep in the long run. EndWar features three different sides in conflict, Europe, Russia, and the US, in a series of events that set off World War 3 (or, y'know, the EndWar). The story itself never really grabbed my attention, and found myself less interested in the different sides and the reasons for the conflict as the game progressed, and I was far more engrossed in actually playing the game then listening to talking heads rattle on about the different politics in play before each stage.

When you begin the game you'll be introduced to most of the mechanics thru a few tutorials, which do a great job of explaining everything you need to know to get started. It's easy enough to select and control units, and there's not a whole lot of menu navigation to get bogged down in outside of just selecting a unit, moving it, and then selecting one to attack. There are a few different phases during a turn, one to move, and one to attack. Also, since the idea behind the game is that you're commanding the units remotely thru a satellite connection, not everything is actually occurring in real time. What this means, is that you might issue a command to attack a unit that's already started to move, so you need to be aware of what's going on with your opponent at all times, so as not to waste your own turns, or set yourself up for some quick failures.

There's a variety of units to pick from, all coming from the simple ground, air, sea style of units seen in other strategy games. Within those types there are different infantry, tanks, boats, subs, and so on, each with particular abilities like increased speed or firing range, usually making them ideal against another particular unit in a rock/paper/scissors type of format. It's not quite as pronounced as something like Fire Emblem, but after a while you get an idea of what units should generally be facing off against each other.

There's a bit of strategy in moving your units around and how you place them on the field as well, which actually reminds me a bit of Yggdra Union. If you're able to line your units up properly on the field you can chain together an attack, and also create a defensive line that makes it impossible for the enemy to pass by unless it destroys an opposing unit (or you choose to move it later). Also, there are different bases that you either control or are neutral on the map, which can heal units, and sometimes with enough resources you can create new units to deploy on each mission. Controlling the neutral locations because a key part of the game, oftentimes revealing surprise back up units to deploy right away, giving you an edge if you're feeling a bit underpowered.

The maps are based on real world locations to an extent, so you'll be dueling it out in actual cities, occasionally with recognizable landmark to check out. However, I found the maps to be a bit too identical in the long run, and there wasn't enough variation to make me care about where I was fighting, which once again detracted from the actual story at play. The actual design, like enemy placement, barriers, and bases never felt off, just the visual aspect of each map felt too much alike from location to location.

The units in play suffer from a similar fate, and while it's easy to tell the difference between tanks and army guys, they all kind of look like toys as opposed to actual soldiers and vehicles, with a candy coat of bright color paint to make them stand out on the field, and I'm guessing to make them super visible on the small PSP screen. It feels a bit more like a game or Risk than I'm actually plotting out the possible end of the world, and I could never really get immersed into the setting.

Likewise, the music never won me over either, what little of it there seems to be. There's quite a bit of VA work involved, but the actual soundtrack seems to be lacking, and when it does kick in it feels awfully generic for the most part. It's hardly ever something you'd switch the sound off for, but it's nothing that will stick with you for very long.

All together, EndWar is a decent enough PSP title that's bogged down by some lackluster visuals and audio. The core gameplay is a lot of fun though, and it's well worth checking out considering there's not a whole lot of RTS style action on the system, but it's not going to draw in players that have no interest in the genre to begin with. Definitely fun while the single player campaign lasts at least, and it'll actually keep you busy for a bit if you plan on going thru the various difficulties. Give this one a rent at least, just to see what you think.