I-War

"It's no Iron Soldier...and it certain isn't Cybermorph..."

Without too much of a bang, I-War hit the Jaguar scene with some high hopes in mind, but rather ended up giving a small whimper when stacked against other titles of the same type. You’ll find that I-War has little or nothing to offer that you haven’t played before in Cybermorph or even Battlemorph and you’ll see that the visuals and audio that you have presented to you are below average. Although the game has a couple of interesting points, most of what you have is mind-numbing boredom that doesn’t have an end in sight. If you’re into the tank games that send you through futuristic landscapes, filled with bright explosions, then you’ll find I-War to be the first stop onto something much better.

The story that you find in I-War is nothing that is too important and you’ll find that it fits the same block that most other futuristic games seem to have. In the distant future, all of the tasks that have been handled by human beings are now completely automated by a huge computer system. Mutant data files have now overrun the system and it is up to you and your virtual tank to run through and eliminate the mutant datapods, thus saving the human race from total destruction.

-The Game Play-

From the start of the game, you have three choices on the types of tanks that you can use throughout the game. Each one has a small attribute to them, but you’ll find that the Heavy tank is the best one to use simply for the fact that you can use all of the weapon upgrades. You’ll find that there are plenty of things to shoot at from the start, and that you’ll want to go from place to place as quickly as possible without taking on too much damage. When you select your weapons, you have to work with what is available and you’ll have to go toe to toe with several different enemies in the process through trial and error of said weapons.

The areas that you go through are actually rooms in a large complex and all you have to do is clear the rooms of enemies and infected datapods. Once you’ve managed to do that, then you can move from place to place on transporter, which will allow you to switch rooms and propel you into battle. However, when you get into the game, you’ll find that you’re outnumbered in the later rooms and you’ll end up taking heavy damage that is unfairly given to you simply because you have to blast what is in your way in order to move. The further you get, the harder is to find a safe point and at times when you use the save points, you’ll find that they change your weapon armament in a bad way.

Control really isn’t that hard, and the worst thing that you’ll be dealing with is the slow movement of your tank in larger rooms. The layout of the armament and how you use it really isn’t all that hard to work with, but you’ll see that if you’re trying to use the different number pad features, it can get a little confusing in a full-scale battle. Most of what you have in the control portion is just moving your tank, so anyone who has played a game of this type, or played the Cybermorph games will find that the control here is so easy to work and beginners should have no trouble figuring it out.

-The Visuals-

Visually, I-War is a little flat and the polygon usage is quite outrageous in terms of explosions, enemy designs and otherwise. You’ll find that there isn’t much here that will impress you and in fact, the visuals will tend to slow down if the action gets too hot and heavy. These small problems will lead to bigger ones in the future when the battles get heavier and there is nothing to see because a simple explosion blanks out the entire screen. Environments are designed with pop-up in mind and you’ll see that there isn’t much to them other than the size of the rooms, so don’t look for anything special or different from room to room as most of it is the same.

-The Audio-

The audio is actually one of the saving points that I-War has to offer in which the same people who designed the Tempest 2000 soundtrack also created this one. The techno style soundtrack is great to listen to and will really keep you in the theme and mood of the game, but tends to fall into the background when the battles get into high gear. The sound effects aren’t all that bad either, with plenty of laser blasts and explosions that will rock the speakers. However, I’ve found that when the action gets too intense, you’ll find that the sound effects all but disappear into the background without a fight.

-The Verdict-

I-War is a game that has very little going for it that hasn’t been done in a better fashion before. Considering that the game play is essentially Cybermorph but in a driving fashion, there are a couple of things here that could be done better. The visuals are huge and filled with polygon, but you’ll see that polygons are in an overkill fashion. The audio is the saving grace as is the control, but those two aspects means nothing to the game play portion of the game. If you’re a collector, then pick this up to add to the collection, but if you’re a casual gamer, you might want to save your money for something more intense and better presented like Iron Soldier.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 09/30/02, Updated 09/30/02