Iron Storm

Review - Brand new history-altering FPS action from Wanadoo.

There is a saying in the film industry, the first fifteen pages sell a script and the last fifteen sell a movie. 'Iron Storm' certainly has the first fifteen pages nailed but it sure as hell hasn't got that movie magic.

The intriguing premise is that the first world war has dragged on for fifty years with the American and Occidental troops on one side (essentially the West) battling against the Russo-Mongol Empire (Cold War Russia and pals). War has become big business and stocks are traded in the latest killing machines. But it seems that the Russians have developed a new weapon that could shift the balance of power and it's your job to make sure that it never sees the light of day.

The game begins with so much promise and panache. You start just behind the front lines in a fortified entrenched position. You can hear the battle raging over the high reinforced walls and it has a production style that seems authentic despite the fantasy setting. There are medical bays and armouries that you tour briefly as a tutorial. Guards man the walls and doorways and as you head out you genuinely feel you’re leaving a safe harbour into the hell of no mans land. Once outside, the first few levels involve fighting your way through the enemy trenches to infiltrate the enemy base. There are a number of well-executed weapons at your disposal to accomplish this. You're equipped with a sword, pistol, shotgun, heavy weapon and sniper rifle. You may only carry one type of heavy weapon at a time but they have been well thought out and designed so you'll never be carrying one variety that is useless against a certain foe. Mostly you'll be switching between a fast firing machine gun that holds thirty bullets and a slower firing machine gun which holds ten rounds but is equipped with a scope and is more accurate. You can pick up any weapon that the enemy has so if you want to change you won't have to go far.

These early levels represent the best use of the setting that the developers have come up with. The trench warfare that characterised the first world war is exploited fully and there is sufficient variety and challenge so that it never feels forced. In keeping with some strong design elements you will be fighting throughout the day in these levels. Initially it is a bright sunny morning but you will fight through to see dusk and nightfall and have the weather go from snow to rain.

Later on you will infiltrate a camp to be taken into a nearby enemy held town. From here on in are the more staple first person levels requiring you to fight your way through the city streets and avoid getting your head shot off by the numerous snipers lurking in the windows. The graphical engine is not the most advanced out there but it is used to good effect and you will see bombed-out buildings, burning jeeps and the odd tank or two. The snipers are, of course, lethal but not as horrible as in some other games thanks to the laser beam they use to target with. For example at one point I opened a door outward onto a street and as I moved to the doorway I spotted an ominous red dot projected onto the door letting me know that now wasn't the time to stop and tie my shoes. There is something quite nerve wracking about being stuck in a room, seeing an innocent looking dot but knowing that there is a someone waiting with a high powered rifle to blow your head off.