I am previewing a Beta build of the U.S. release, but have completed the European version. Since the US. release major differences are mainly cosmetic and don't affect simulation functionality to a great extent, you can read this as a review, for at least the European version. When released, I will give it a rating.

The design philosophy in I-War strives for realism in a field populated with backwards rationalized explanations (you know, no flight model = some sci-fi buzz words). This Sci-Fi game is more on the level of a military simulation than any before it, especially in the area of "flight" model when in the realm of known physics, and has "believable" speculations for faster than light capability, weapon, and shield technology.

For comparison, the overall feel of the combat action is much like a WWII Pacific Theater naval engagement, from surface engagements to carrier operations. There is a very high level of interactivity with objects and environment, exploited to the fullest in the diverse and complex missions you will be sent on. I guarantee you will be humbled by the difficulty level in some of these (read that as HARD).

Basic Specifications

I am running a Beta build of the US (3DFX) version on a 233 MHz Pentium with a Voodoo 1 card. I think that may be as low as you would want to go as far as system muscle... but I am a real frame rate nut. I-War comes with two very nice manuals, and a poster. Inside the attractive triple width jewel case you will find three CD's. The first holds the files that need to be installed to the hard drive, and the rather inspiring intro 'movie'. The second and third hold the mission data.

Starting Up Your Starship

After you install the game files, you are shown a great movie that gives the background story. This intro is just smashing and quite long, with very fine detail in every frame. Once it finishes, you are back to your desktop, and I dare you not to start up the sim and see if the sim is like the movie ;-) . After swapping the install/movie CD and putting disk two in, you can start the game proper. On the version I have, the I-War start-up menu has three items: start the sim in software render mode, Voodoo, or Voodoo2.

Click for 800x600 under V2

The Simulation Shell

After a couple of logos, a streamlined interface comes up with four choices: Roster, Immediate Action, Options, and Credits. The best way to get into the game is through the Roster. There is a place for six persona to be made for the sim. Once you name your character, you are taken to the Career History screen. The screen is separated into three general areas: Mission Choice, Mission History and a button area.

Click to continue . . .

The history screen shows the missions you have completed and your performance for the selected mission. You can replay any mission from your history, and it will continue from that point making a new history from there. The Mission Choice window shows up to three missions that you may attempt next. There are branches in the mainly linear mission tree, so the ability to replay your career from a point before a branch addresses repeatability somewhat. And if the mission you picked is too tough, you can generally pick another mission choice and at least not be stuck endlessly on one mission. Your career starts with optional training missions which I suggest that you master, covering maneuver and ship systems plus weapons and basic combat.

You can also fly Immediate Action from the main screen. This drops you into the sim universe against endless hordes of enemies until you die. After a point wingmen show up to help, and a rearm ship will show up too. You can go anywhere in the sim universe in this mode, and it is quite fun to just jump around and look at the different star systems and their planets. With either method of play, choosing a mission in Career mode or flying Immediate Action, after a brief security check (load time) at the bridge hatch you are allowed to take your seat at your command station.

The Simulation

Once in the sim proper, after a nice bit of 2D virtual romping around the bridge, you land in the commanders station and sit through your mission briefing. The briefings are detailed and the animation is quite good. Hitting F1 brings you to the pilots couch and the first view of the I-War universe. I finished the European version using just software rendering and was floored by the graphics.

With Voodoo, or Voodoo2, the graphics are even better. The ships now have more polygons and are very nicely done. Explosions, missile trails, particles are all there, and each star system has its own personality with different colored nebula tinting the complex light modeling. Flying the training mission is a good way to take the ship out and see how she feels. In the complex flight mode, you can feel inertiae and momentum as the big ship slews around a bit.

There are two basic flight modes: Assisted and Free. With Assisted, by far the most common mode, the ship fires its thrusters to always place the velocity vector on the forward or z axis of the ship. What that means is the ship tries to fly like a fighter, constantly firing its lateral and belly thrusters to keep the main engine in line with the desired vector, and keep forward movement.

In free mode, the pilots' input simply points the nose, spinning the craft on an axis and manually firing the main engine or retro z axis thruster to affect course. This is good for spinning around and flying backwards while firing at your enemies or strafing a larger ship. You can also maneuver when the LDS drive is active but to a limited extent, and weapons are not available.

This is a complex and deep flight model. Example: a set of thrusters can be knocked out and suddenly, no yaw in the left direction! Anyway, I doubt if the flight model deals with gravity and probably cheats here and there with scale, but it is convincing within the scope of the simulation, and is quite a blast to maneuver in combat.

Go to Part II