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Official Statement Between reality and fiction, Iron Storm takes place in an imaginary environment that has been inspired by real events. Taking real elements from the First World War (trenches, barbed wire fences, mines, gas warfare), Iron Storm combines them with more modern elements from the Second World War (radar, penicillin, automatic weapons, tanks...) as well as elements inspired by the Vietnam War (helicopters, lasers, electronics...). The player undertakes an infiltration
mission and must possess combat skills as well as stealth if they are to survive
as they penetrate behind enemy lines. The gameplay combines shoot 'em-up, action
and reflection and, depending on the circumstances, the player can choose between
first-and third-person views. General Information Coming from the Great White North, Canadian developer DreamCatcher looks to break into the "first-person shooter" genre with its upcoming title, Iron Storm. With the recent popularity of war-themed first-person shooters like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and Battlefield 1942, Iron Storm is poised to enter the fray at the peak of a revival in war games. The game takes on a mix of elements from various popular FPS games and looks to combine them to achieve a unique product that will set them apart from the Red Factions of the FPS world. In Iron Storm, the first World War never ended and has continued on into the year 1964 where battles are still being fought between a Russian/Asian front and the United States of Western Europe. The war has divided Germany down the middle, with Russian/Asian forces on the one side and the U.S.W.E. - who you are fighting for at the front lines -- on the other. One interesting aspect of the story that is yet to be fully revealed is that the armies are somehow being financed through the stock market, with victories leading to rises in stock prices. Iron Storm promises the thrill of going "over the top", bursting out of a trench with a squad of your troops while fighting fortified machine-gun bunkers and dodging sniper fire. If executed correctly, this could create the type of single-player intensity found in multiplayer games like the Half-Life mod Day of Defeat. Throughout the game, you will be aided by your fellow troops in capturing various objectives and securing more information about the Russian/Asian forces. Additionally, the third-person element promises to make running amok over No Man's Land even more of an adventure. The third-person view will be similar to the one in Jedi Knight 2, affording you a much wider field of view but at a decrease in accuracy. Due to Iron Storm's lack of any powerful melee weapons like JK2's lightsaber, the view is used for a different purpose, mostly as a means of reconnaissance as opposed to an alternate fighting angle. Though
Iron Storm does not endeavor to bring many new elements to the first-person
shooter, it does look to be a very interesting game. By mixing and matching various
elements from a wide variety of themes and sources, Iron Storm should be
a delicious FPS stew if prepared correctly (Have a sandwich before writing
your next preview -ed.) Hands-On The weapons themselves are a mixed bag. The weaker weapons like the knife and pistol are virtually useless as far as full-on combat, instead being used mainly for stealth operations. The shotgun and sub-machine guns are a blast to use, if you'll forgive the pun. The shotgun lets out a satisfying crunch every time, though with only four rounds per clip, its use often becomes a demonstration in reloading. The sub-machine gun serves as your all-purpose street-sweeper, appropriate for nearly any combat situation; be it fighting off a squad of enemy troops who have broken your lines or infiltrating the kennels, the sub-machine gun's rapid rate of fire and 35 bullet clip work well. Should you want to take a slower, more careful route, look no further than the sniper rifle, which has some unique aiming characteristics that render it tougher to use than an AWP in Counter Strike and easier to use than the sniper rifle in Soldier of Fortune 2. If you have been running for an extended period of time and zoom the rifle, it won't focus until you've waited for your soldier to get his rest, and only then will it have pinpoint accuracy. It's a happy medium between the bunny-hopping antics and the never-quite-steady scope of SOF2. The game's alternative plot allows for other creative weapons technologies to be displayed in the game, including a bulky sub-machine gun reminiscent of Aliens, an enormous RPG and a plethora of different hand grenades. The latter come in a variety of flavors, from your garden-variety grenades to the incendiary grenades capable of turning groups of people into a set of match sticks, to the more elaborate nerve gas grenades which can kill or merely impair an enemy. These grenades are great for small areas due to the large blast radius and the amount of time that the gas lingers. There does not appear to be a gas mask in any form in the game however, which could add a whole new element to the multiplayer combat. Additionally, since the world history in Iron Storm is very much different than today's history, the technologies and tactics that have been developed are varied. Battles are still waged in trenches, but helicopters can be found flying overhead, peppering the field with machine gun fire and missiles. Action is fast-paced, and you never know when the next patrol might come along, or if some troops are going to break over the top of the trenches. Fighting alongside your computer allies is another great experience: in one situation, I was positioned behind a shelled building, sniping enemies while my allies stormed across the field at them. What I failed to realize until it was nearly too late was that the enemies also had a sniper who was copying me and sniping the rushing troops. I had to go back to my last save point because I couldn't bear to see my dead buddies strewn over the field; in all, it adds a new aspect to the game. The developers at DreamCatcher have an eye for detail. When in third-person view, you can see all the different weapons that you are carrying strapped to your body. It's no longer a mystery how you can hold nine different weapons, as they're clearly displayed slung around your neck, on your back or strapped to your leg. What's also interesting about this is the fact that when you change weapons, your character has to place the gun back on his shoulder before he unbuckles the gun attached at his hip. One thing I did find lacking was a good aiming reticle. The best one I've played with was the one found in Soldier of Fortune 2 which showed your widening range of fire and showed up clearly against the background. The reticle in Iron Storm doesn't change at all and at times is hard to distinguish from some of the lens flares; this and a few quirks in the controls are the only immediate downsides to the game. I don't believe that Iron Storm will be a massive hit commercially but I do believe that, with some work, it could easily be one of the best and most entertaining FPS games of this upcoming winter season. [ top ] |
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