World War I was mistakenly called “the
war to end all wars”. In Iron Storm, it’s the war that never ended.
If that sounds bleak, dreary, and
tragically bloody, then you’ve got your finger right on the pulse of
DreamCatcher/Wanadoo Edition’s latest first person shooter (FPS). The
game is set in 1964, but in an alternate reality where the first world war
was never resolved. In the 50 years the conflict has been waged,
the ravages of war have become the only lifestyle many have known, and the
technology of war the single largest global economic factor.
As the game opens, we learn that the
Russo-Mongolians, led by the despot Baron Ugenberg, have created a new
weapon which will not only be disastrous for Allied soldiers, it will also
financially cripple the coalition called the United States of Western
Europe when this product hits the stock market. In the wake of yet
another mass assault ending in slaughter, it is decided that the only way
to stop Ugenberg is with a lone wolf mission to infiltrate the research
facility. Enter Lieutenant James Anderson, a grey haired, grizzled
veteran and living legend of the war. As always, only the best get the
toughest assignments, but fortunately for Anderson, he’s got us to make
the difference.
Despite the elaborate background
narrative, and a story that’s occasionally pushed forward by various
cutscenes, make no mistake - Iron Storm is all about action. What the
story does, of course, is set up a unique environment for running and
gunning. The alternate history spin was clever, and although there is
very little that ties in to its World War I origin, the atmosphere of the
game seems perfectly suited to a relentless, ongoing war. The settings
are dirty, battered, and gritty, and even weapon design is all substance
and no style – exactly what you’d expect in times where survival is the
sole focus.
Iron Storm’s graphics are very effective,
even if the subject matter can’t be considered attractive. Washed out
browns and greys are the order of the day, but whether in “modernized”
trenches scarred with blood, the bombed out remnants of a war-torn city,
or the cold steel interiors of a military train, the locations are
appropriately rendered. While not overly detailed, the backgrounds are
crisp, and weather effects add some appreciated variety. The game’s
custom engine performed admirably, as the action ran smoothly even in
heavier firefights, and the load times were minimal. The majority of
cutscenes are depicted nicely, although the initial mission briefing is in
an entirely different format, and is grainy and muted. If there’s a
reason behind that decision, it still eludes me, but ultimately it’s of no
consequence.
Sound effects are equally impressive in
Iron Storm. The thunderous crashes of mortar shells nearby, perpetual
gunfire in the distance, or choppers hovering overhead help provide a
great sense of realism (well, not the realism of actual war, but you know
what I mean). The enemies all utter phrases in Russian (which are
translated in subtitles), which is a nice touch. The few English speaking
parts are all done convincingly. Unfortunately, Anderson himself never
says a word, other than the opening narrative. This is a matter of taste,
I realize, as some players prefer to play the role as “themselves”.
Still, as the game seems intent on establishing Anderson’s reputation, and
intermittent transmissions keep referring to you as “James”, I’d have much
preferred some verbal input to make Anderson seem more involved.
Although I called this game an FPS, Iron
Storm can be played in either first or third person perspectives, and
toggling between them is as simple as a keystroke. Kudos to developer 4X
Studio for including this option, particularly as the third person
perspective controls smoothly and looks terrific. Regrettably, there is
very little reason to use the third person view. The only practical
benefit is the additional peripheral vision it provides, but this is only
useful in the game’s wide outdoor areas, which are few and far between.
In combat, targeting is far easier when seeing through Anderson’s eyes,
and since most of the game IS combat in confined quarters, the third
person view is largely ignored.
One feature the third person view showed
clearly was the weapons placement on Anderson. Unlike most shooters,
which allow you to lug around an arsenal large enough to equip a regiment,
Iron Storm opts for a slightly more realistic approach. Anderson has
different weapon “slots” where various weapon types are stored, and he can
carry only one weapon type per slot – one per leg, and two strapped to his
back. This requires you to make some tough decisions along the way about
which weapons to keep and which to discard, since you can’t keep them
all. At some points, these decisions will need to be strategic, while at
other times it’s merely a matter of preference.
Weapon types, despite the opportunity to
create some purely fictional arms, are standard shooter fare. From
the stealthy sabre and silenced pistol, to a wide variety of rifles (many of
which have much-needed sniper scopes), to heavier hardware like rocket
launchers and machine guns, there is really nothing new here. However,
each weapon has its own look, sound, and feel, so it was fun to
experiment. The addition of a lethal “mustard gas” grenade and a
non-lethal poison grenade that causes disorientation were probably the
only newcomers to the lineup. One quibble partly stems from the fact that
the manual includes no information at all about the weapons. Instead, it
refers to the official website for information, which is the first time
I’ve ever experienced that kind of buck-passing. With no printed
reference for the weapon models, and many weapons looking similar on the
ground, it took quite a while before I learned to recognize which weapons
were which as I played. It was a minor annoyance, but so easily
avoidable. On the plus side, capturing mounted artillery and turning the
tables on the enemy was immensely satisfying!
Enemies consisted largely of different
soldier types of differing abilities. Each showed decent AI, as they
would dodge for cover to reload, and keep moving to make themselves more
difficult targets. They were good shots, but not flawless ones, which
felt reasonable. Particularly formidable were the rare armoured soldiers
with exploding bullets, and the well concealed sharpshooting snipers.
Still, the humans were the easiest opponents compared to the automated
turrets, tanks, helicopters, and speedy vicious Dobermans, many of which
were “booby trapped” with explosives.
I had been forewarned of the difficulty
of this game, and I can safely agree that this game will provide a
challenge even for experienced gamers. I played on the Normal difficulty
level, but Easy and Realistic (commonly known as “flippin’ HARD”) options
are also offered. Part of the challenge was due to the fact that there
was no portable health kit, which was sorely needed. These kits were
scattered (sparsely) throughout the game, but occasionally when you didn’t
need them, so not being able to carry one was disappointing. Add to that
the impossibility of escaping most turrets with NO damage, and it wasn’t
unusual to get Anderson trapped with not enough health to bypass a
turret. Fortunately, the game allows you to save anywhere, and the quicksave should get plenty of use. If you’re the type of gamer that
forgets to save sometimes, Iron Storm will auto-save at various stages for
you, although these aren’t overly frequent.
Nevertheless, although challenging, I
found the game to be fair, and aside from a handful of scenarios, I wasn’t
faced with too many patterns of die & reload. The only thing missing was
a directional damage indicator such as Soldier of Fortune employs, because
it was more than a little frustrating to get pegged off mercilessly by a
sniper you couldn’t locate. In those cases, I basically had to sacrifice
myself for the purpose of scouring the landscape for the hidden culprit.
As with any shooter, a certain degree of
puzzle solving also comes into play, mostly involving overcoming
environmental obstacles. And in keeping with the current trend, Iron
Storm also incorporates some stealth elements – two of which even included
surrendering some or all of my weapons. While this added a change of
pace, I didn’t find it particularly well implemented here, as there was no
real way to gauge stealth effectiveness (until my cover was completely
blown). Still, I felt relieved and gratified when my sneaking was
rewarded by finally recovering a weapon, so the change did serve its
intended purpose.
One drastically underused aspect to the
game was the presence of allies. This was all the more surprising,
because in the earliest moments of the game, Anderson joins other soldiers
in a brisk conflict. Granted, once behind enemy lines, the likelihood of
being assisted by your fellow soldiers is diminished, but it was
disappointing not to experience it again after such a promising start.
Iron Storm is rather short, as I’m sure I
finished the single player game in 10-15 hours. That isn’t a complaint
for me – I’d much rather 15 hours of engaging gameplay than have something
artificially lengthened. On the other hand, I was enjoying the game, and
was a little sorry to see it end so soon. The game is split into 6
overall levels that move to different locations. Each level is fairly
linear in terms of overall mission objectives, but the maps themselves can
often be explored randomly. Periodic instructions for the next task are
received audibly from Anderson’s (female) commander, and clues can be
obtained through the enemy’s media devices. The majority of these
communiqués, unfortunately, are far too vague, and without even a map
feature(!), periods of getting lost and not knowing exactly what to do are
likely. While definitely not insurmountable, my own preference would have
been for a slightly tighter approach. It’s a tough balance, I know, but
this game didn’t quite get it right.
For gamers looking to stretch out the
experience, multiplayer is available for up to 16 players either by
internet or LAN, and includes deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the
flag modes, plus a variation of the latter called isolation case.
Technically, the game was perfectly
stable even without the available patch. The interface and controls
consist entirely of tried and true FPS conventions, and anyone even
remotely familiar with shooters will pick up the game quickly and easily.
There is no tutorial, and while there’s a brief opportunity to adjust to
the controls and grab some weapons, once the action starts for real,
you’ll find yourself in tough almost immediately. Given this fact and the
overall difficulty of the title, I wouldn’t recommend it to genre rookies.
Iron Storm struck me as a fun, successful
game that missed an opportunity to be great. With just a little more
polish, and a more creative use of the innovative subject matter, this
game could have ranked with the likes of Medal of Honor in today’s
war-themed gaming market. The action is tense, well paced, and delivers
solid, consistent thrills. My only real regret is the potential
squandered by not exploiting the alternate history concept to its
fullest. As it is, the game plays out as a good generic shooter with a
fascinating concept. There are better games available, but don’t overlook
this unheralded title if you’re seeking a little blood pumping (and
spilling) excitement.
Final score: 77%
Played on:
Win XP
P4, 2 Ghz
512 MB RAM
GeForce 4
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