Act: War World [by Third Wave Games]

Game Review: War World: Tactical Combat
Release Date: August 2005
Developer: Third Wave Games
Genre: Action
System Requirements: Windows Me/2000/XP, Vertex Shader 1.1, Pixel Shader 1.3 capable graphics card
Players: 1-8
Price: $24.95


Does being big really matter? The developers from Third Wave Games don’t seem to think so-- in War World, your mechanical fighters are only three meters tall, mere dwarves in comparison to their giant brothers from typical mech games. This international team led by former Rare employees created a hybrid of lightning-fast action and tactical gameplay, making War World a title interesting to both FPS gamers and old school mech aficionados.

More Quake than Armored Core, more Mechwarrior than Zone of Enders, War World features hectic gameplay similar to modern-day first person shooters coupled with unmistakably Western-looking mech designs viewed from a 3rd person perspective. As a mech pilot strapped in a Wave Chair, you'll be controlling your combat machine from a comfortable distance and duking it out with up to seven opponents in a world completely dedicated to armed conflict. At your disposal there are two primary weapon types (lasers for sniping and mini-guns for close-range combat), three secondary weapon types (homing missiles, mortars and mine launchers), as well as a couple of familiar gadgets like energy shields and boosters.

Obviously, mech games aren't that well-known for their stories - the fans are usually more than satisfied with innovative mech designs, some degree of customization and a fun versus mode as an addition to the main game. War World is different since it basically switches the importance of single player and multiplayer modes; it is created primarily with multiplayer action in mind. Though it features two single-player game types (a series of 100 deathmatch levels and a custom mode, which is more or less like setting up a game against FPS bots), what works best and is most fun in War World is the experience of playing the game against other people.

A clichéd trinity of fighting games: the fast runner/light hitter, the all-rounder and the walking tank, the three mech chassis you can choose differ in speed and handling, health points and the maximum ammo amount. The disappointing fact about them is that they all have the exact same number of weapon hardpoints, and weapon mass doesn't even exist as a statistic, so no matter what you equip them with, the handling will be the same. Of course, this leads to somewhat less imaginative setups in multiplayer games which can be countered by choosing a cash limit for the players' mech loadout, but this is rarely done, and even then, the loadouts are very similar.

As for the weapons and ammo, they contribute to the gameplay quite a bit. Everything's rechargeable using ammo packs that are scattered all around, and each time someone dies, the player and the NPC enemies both drop a health box so you always know you'll be in a decent condition right after you kill someone—if you can get to it before someone else grabs it first, of course. Combined with levels full of ledges, plateaus, wall niches and uneven terrain (they very often feel like paintball courses and are probably the best War World feature next to the graphics), such incentives make multiplayer matches dynamic even without elaborate team goal mechanics.

But no matter how good the existing features of War World may be, it's hard to shake off the feeling that something important is still missing. Is it the story mode? Is it the gameplay depth commonly associated with mech games? Or is the feeling simply there because, after a while, you come to expect certain things from certain genres? Spoiled by titles such as the Armored Core series and dazzled by the quality of what you see when you start War World, it's easy to wish for something this game is not - the ultimate PC mech sim.

Graphics: +
War World exhibits an amount of graphical polish seldom seen amongst indie games. The mech animations are as smooth as they get (with a special mention of the waist-turning movement while strafing, reminiscent of the robot animations from Skeleton Krew), the weapon effects are vibrant, yet non-intrusive and the scenery, though a bit static, shows just enough variety to instil hope of possible mission packs inspired by different level environments.

The mechs themselves look like something out of a gritty, retro-industrial vision of the future, their components having a strictly utilitarian look instead of the common emphasis on animé-esque curvy sleekness. But it's not done to such extent that they resemble alternate-history machines (like Ring of Red designs, for example). Stretching your imagination just a little bit, you could even see them as a part of the combat arsenal in a slightly different version of today's world. All in all, the graphics are almost impeccable, and without the annoying Windows cursor used to navigate through the main menu, it wouldn't be hard to convince yourself that you're playing a very pretty-looking console game.

Sound: +
From the light and agile Panther to the heavily armoured Leviathan (which looks like it should cause thunderous earthquakes when it jumps from a ledge!), all mechs sound vastly underpowered. Not due to the lack of sound effects, mind you - there are landing sounds after a jump and the usual assortment of whirrs, clicks and whizzes while walking and turning around. What's missing are the jumping sounds, the hydraulic noises your machine should, but doesn't make while struggling to lift its heavy chassis off the ground. Instead, there is complete silence. It's very clear that you're not playing as a 50-meter tall hulking beast but still, even if the mechs are slightly smaller than usual, more prominent and better placed sound effects would have added to the feeling of controlling something heavier than a typical FPS protagonist.

The futuristic music is up to standards and (every bit as cheesy as they sound) the "tough guy voice" clips signifying the beginning and the end of each round are also strangely endearing, somewhat borrowing their aural aesthetics from games like Mortal Kombat. Hopefully we'll hear more of them if actual mission goals and other strategic combat features are ever implemented.

Gameplay: +
If you're at all familiar with the WASD setup, you'll pick up the controls in a matter of minutes if not seconds. Much better than the usual console controls consisting of all the gamepad buttons as well as a few sub-menus, War World keymap allows you to concentrate on the on-screen action at all times. No matter what your playstyle is, your chassis choice (and a nice multiplayer feature meant for people who enjoy the classic feel of mech games - the health boost), will enable you to enjoy the game at your own pace.

Value: -
Buying a game is, as always, a bit of a gamble, but if you're a fan of multiplayer shooters and don't mind the community-based development, it looks like the odds are on your side with this one. Too bad it doesn't come in a box (download only, for $24.95) - War World is one of those games that would actually look good in it. There is also the added benefits of a console-like "we'll publish it when it's done" development cycle.

Currently, the development of War World is almost completely based on community feedback. It might sound like a dream come true for the community in question, but when provided with a feedback channel and a developer eager to hear the community voices, everyone's a game designer. The best case, of course, is the development team having enough sense to carefully sift through the ideas offered, accepting only those that will lead to a quality game regardless of their popularity. But it's easy to lose focus and make some dubious design decisions under pressure from the fan crowd.

Still, the patch-based updates don't seem that bad in light of the newest patch (1.06) - it features a small, but possibly significant step towards a proper mech customisation shop, the ability to choose your chassis colors, a new team deathmatch mode, and a few minor gameplay-related additions. It looks like the updates will be very frequent, with some of the features planned in the near future being a couple of currently undecided single-player modes (a story-based campaign is, according to the developers, highly unlikely as it would prevent them from adding "all the other cool things people are asking for"), a completely new map, and LAN support.

Concept: -
As a "mech-lite" game, War World should strive to achieve a delicate balance between an all-out shooter and a game of, as its subtitle implies, tactics. However, the scales are heavily tilted towards simplification of both the interface and the gameplay. It's a really great thing if you like frag games; in that case, a mech-skinned FPS could be right up your alley, but don't expect a fully fleshed-out resource management minigame or a mechanised paperdoll to mold as you see fit. At least not yet.

Fun: +
Though very fun and replayable in the multiplayer mode, as soon as you go offline, you're met with little more than a coffee-break game with extremely nice graphics. However addictive and it might be to watch the enemy mechs explode into tiny little pieces (accompanied by a really satisfying sound of machinery falling apart), there's unfortunately not much point in playing the single player mode; the 100 "levels", all played on the same multiplayer maps repeated over and over again, offer absolutely nothing substantial to strive for. They're reasonably fun for a while, but sooner or later you will reach the weapon max depending on your loadout choices, and past that, there's no mech customisation whatsoever.

Overall: "Try"
Much less frustrating for the average gamer than most mech games, but at the same time less engaging and complex, War World is a story mode and some tweaks away from a perfect ten. It's a game with far too much potential to stay an ordinary fragfest, and hopefully, Third Wave Games will realize what a gem they nearly created (and what they can still turn War World into). Sure, the history of independent games released half-done for the sole reason of pleasing their forum fanbase might lead to the conclusion that such a development of events is unlikely, but this time, let's hope for the better - it's what War World deserves.
Added: October 29th 2005
Reviewer: Damjan Flegar
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