I-WAR. Pretty good.

[Cobra Kai]

Ok, this is a fairly new addition to my collection, and I've just had a chance to play it for a couple of hours. I like the premise of being in a computer, kinda like Tron, and the environments are pretty cool I think, you get walls that have silicon chip textures and stuff. Most of the graphics are quite simple I guess, but it works for me. I'm a sucker for sled games anyway, I've always liked Sled Storm and Assault Rigs, so I'm going to be a little lenient with my critisism of I-War, compared to other people probably.

 

It has a pretty good soundtrack, with some tunes almost sounding reminiscent of Tempest 2000, which is a good thing. The control is tight and responsive, and your sled turns and moves fast, which is another plus. The game has 5 different camera angles, but seriously, the first person view is the only workable one. 3rd person camera views on most Jag 3-d games just don't work, note Club Drive as the worst offender.

 

The action is fast paced with plenty of enemies to kill, and it has a good assortment of enemies to boot. Firepower isn't a problem in this game either, I find the assortment of weapons to be adequate, and your main laser is a fine piece of equipment once powered up.

 

One flaw is that you can't strafe, this causes you to take alot of damage while shooting baddies. Another flaw is the camera views, they suck, except for the first person view where the game plays rock solid. The control on the bonus stages is nothing like the control during regular stages, it's alot harder to control your ship in the bonus rounds, since your flying or something.

 

All in all this is a good addition to my collection, and I'm gonna leave this one in the Jag for awhile I think. I'd like to try the 2-player mode, but most of my friends think Jag games suck, and just shrug it off when they see it. How is the 2-player mode? Does it run good, and is it fun?

[Mendon]

Thanks for the review. I haven't picked up I-War yet and was curious as to what others thought of the game.

 

Thanks again

 

Mendon

[JagMX]

ive raved about this game before, i think its a great game, i spent many hours playing this game my first run through and many more hours after i was done, its a great game in my opinion -

[+Sauron]

Let me post a different opinion, then.

 

I-War is a shining example of a "mediocre" game for the Jag. Bland environments, dull and repetitive gameplay, and crap controls (IMO, of course) lead to a game which I simply can't stand to play for more than 20 minutes at a time. The environments are what really kills this game, though. It's next to impossible to identify an enemy until he's right on top of you, which then leads to taking massive amounts of damage trying to evade his attacks. Also, don't even think about trying to take a sharp or close turn anywhere near a corner, as you will most definitely get stuck. I agree with Gunstarhero's assessment regarding the camera, so I'm not just trying to disagree with everything.

 

Having said that, I don't think it's a bad game, per se. It just doesn't do anything that hadn't already been done better elsewhere. It's a good game to pick up for cheap if you can find it; just don't expect to be blown away.

[Tyrant]

I love it, but I agree its not perfect. The outside above camera can be useful, I dont remember if you get the crosshair or not, but if not you can just shoot a couple of laser blasts and aim that way. The advantage is you can better work out where your moving, which is a problem in games with un-textured floors. Enemies can be hard to spot, unless you know what your looking for, and the environments are excelent, but spooky, something about some of the levels, especially when you've killed everything, is very haunting and opressive.

 

Imvho tho I'd have to rank it as one of the good games, not the best, but very good. Once you've got used to its controls and worked out how to move arround, its fun. Once you learn how to spot enemies and read the map, its really fun.

[kevincal]

I found a cool glitch in this game in one of the earlier levels although I can't remember the exact on at the moment. Anyway, I used one of the launch pads to launch myself into the black and you just fall endlessly into the black hole. The way you can tell you're falling is becuase when you shoot our laser you can see it moving upwards pretty fast. Anyway I thought it was kinda neat

[ZylonBane]

Gunstarhero should report back on I-War once he hits the higher levels. Ahh, nothing like running around in circles through dozens of rooms trying to find that one switch or obscure little passageway to the last target.

[Tyrant]

Gunstarhero should report back on I-War once he hits the higher levels. Ahh, nothing like running around in circles through dozens of rooms trying to find that one switch or obscure little passageway to the last target.

 

Very spooky feeling that... I feel terribly trapped and locked into this giant computer world... which is exactly what your ment to feel so they did a great job on the atmosphere imvho.

[Cobra Kai]

Gunstarhero should report back on I-War once he hits the higher levels. Ahh, nothing like running around in circles through dozens of rooms trying to find that one switch or obscure little passageway to the last target.

 

I definitely know what your getting at, as I can already tell that I will face that later on. But hey, look how many games use this technique these days. Any 3-d platform game, like Banjo Kazooie, and even Grand Theft Auto 3 uses the same method to accomplish goals. You go back and forth, back and forth, over and over the same territory to find items.

 

I haven't gotten very far yet, so I haven't encountered that problem too much, but if it gets too bothersome, I can do an updated review of the game. But so far, this game shows some promise!

 

@Sauron: It's nice to see someone dislike a Jaguar game based on gameplay, and not on an anti-Jag bias