Reviewed: January 28, 1999
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Atari
Developer
Digital Image Design
Released: January, 1999
Genre: Action
Players: 4
ESRB: Teen
7
9
9
7
8.4
System Requirements
Okay...okay, aside from the title and all the innuendoes on the back of the box, Wargasm is a Serious Battle Simulator. I've been playing Wargasm, from DID (Digital Image Design), for several nights and I must say, this game is highly addicting! I normally do not get into War games, RTS games, or military sims. I find them too long, complicated, and boring, but Wargasm takes all three of these genres and combines them for one helluva intense battle simulation.
The first thing I noticed was the lack of an intro movie. While this was shocking, it didn't really bother me once I saw the game. The entire game looks like an intro movie, and since there is no real story or plot behind the game, a movie would have looked forcibly added anyway, so we are better off without one.
Wargasm is a military action sim that allows you control over 3 basic combat elements; Tank, Infantry and a Comanche Attack Chopper. You control these units through a 2D Strategic Map View or from first-person 3D.
The tank simulation is incredible once you figure out the controls (more on that later). The physics model is accurate to the point where your tank will bounce over rough terrain and you can watch the treads kick up dust in the desert sand. If you have a Force Feedback joystick then you get to feel these jolts as well. Multiple views including a nice zoom scope on the gunner view allow you to watch the action from almost any angle.
The soldier is one of the coolest concepts since Spec Ops. Not only is he toting a small arsenal of bombs, a machine gun, and LAW rockets, he just looks cool in his helmet with HUD visor and red laser targeting scope coming out of his assault rifle. You even have the ability to twist him at the waist so you can run and fire in different directions (much like the turret of the tank).
The Comanche is a fast attack chopper with plenty of firepower to take on a small army, which is what you usually have to do. Mastering the touchy controls of this craft is tricky, as you have to allow for momentum, even after you let off the controls. Plus, you have to master the fine art of point the nose to the ground for many of your attacks runs.
There are detailed and intense training missions for each of these elements, which gets you ready for the next step - Instant Battle.
Instant Battle is pure "Arcade". They put you in the middle of a map with all sorts of enemies surrounding you. You will have an objective like "Blow up 10 Tiger Tanks" and "Find the Exit". Then you get a countdown clock that starts ticking. Each enemy you kill puts more time back on the clock so you must race around the map looking for the objectives while killing non-mission critical enemies just to keep the clock alive (much like Carmageddon). Each map will require multiple replays (unless you are a gaming god) just to FIND the exit then plan the best route to that location while taking out the required enemy objectives.
World Wide Web War is the Campaign Mode of Wargasm. You get a world map with all of the continents that you can pick in any order you choose. Each continent has several mission zones of various terrain. Complete each zone to conquer the continent. The missions are both offensive and defensive, such as "Defend your base for 10 minutes" while the computer throws wave after wave of tanks and choppers at you.
The graphics in this game are stunning! I have never seen so many polygons being shuffled on my screen ever. The landscape is some of the best terrain I have ever seen on a computer game. There are a few minor problems though.
Running with the Diamond Viper 550 (which the readme file "says" the game supports), you CANNOT run in 32bpp color. Well you "can" until you bring up the MAP screen. At that point you'll have to reboot from a locked up computer. Lowering the colors down to 16bpp (as suggested in the readme) will allow the maps to work, but you get all sorts of funky black triangles while zooming and directing your troops around the map. You also get black triangles in the world map where data screens would normally appear. Apparently the Viper 550 (or the game) cannot handle transparencies so it just blacks out parts of the screen - not good in the heat of battle.
Switching to my Monster 2 combination in SLI mode gets me the same 1024x768 resolution at 16bpp and I get full features and functionality in the menus and maps, but then the 3D game screens are washed out and too bright even with gamma turned all the way down.
Some of the visuals in this game are too gorgeous for words. It has all the flash of Incoming but remains very realistic. I'll be driving my tank over rolling hills with soldiers running around and other tanks firing and choppers sending rockets down at me with smoke trails. Suddenly a tank next to me will take out an enemy A-10 Tank Killer and it will spiral to the ground and explode in a fireball - all of this is going on within a single screen and at incredible frame rates. Run over a soldier and your view-port turns red with blood then the red droplets will stream off to the side as you accelerate your vehicle.
Realistic, 3D, EAX, A3D, loud, awesome, are all words that can be used to describe the amazing sound effects in this game. Even your commander during the training missions sounds great with his Aussie accent. As you are sneaking up behind a pair of tanks to plant some bombs he is "whispering" your commands adding tension and realism to the entire scene.
You can hear the choppers coming in from behind you (if you have 3D audio) before they even appear on your HUD and incoming missile fire whistles all around you. Explosions are deafening and you really get the feel you are in the middle of a major battle.
I'm never been much of a fan of CD-Audio music, mainly because it causes my game to pause as it changes/restarts tracks. The music itself is great in WARGASM. Lots of classical stuff that fits a military sim perfectly. Those of you who have seen the movie Excalibur will recognize some of the music taken from that movie as well as other popular war movies. There isn't a lot of variety so it will start to get repetitious after awhile. But since it's CD-Audio, just pop in your own favorite battle music and conquer the world while listening to Metallica, NIN or whatever you like.
Now for the bad news - control (or rather a lack thereof). Who dropped the ball on this one? Five preset control schemes - all of which pretty much stink and NO WAY to configure the controls the way YOU would like them. Supposedly a patch is in the works to fix this glaring oversight, but until then, "controlling" this game is over half of the difficulty factor.
Wargasm is massive, with several missions on each continent plus the Instant Battle missions. I'm not sure if you would ever want to replay the WWWW portion of the game, but the Instant Action missions all have High Score screens and only take 10-30 minutes each, so those will provide some arcade-like diversions and add significant replay to the title.
You can go online and play Wargasm on the Internet but there is no real strategy involved - you simply pick, Tank, Chopper or Soldier and enter a free-for-all deathmatch. You cannot control multiple troops or units so it basically becomes a "Military Quake".
No matter which mode of play you choose, you can control the action from the 2D top-view map or double-click any of your units to assume their role in stunning 3D 1st person (or chase-view) game play. The 3D action is some of the best you will ever see. The Tank Sim portion of Wargasm is better than any dedicated Tank Sim game released to date. The soldier is really cool with a small arsenal of weaponry and a cool ATC he can hop in and ride over long distances. The chopper is fast and reminds me of G-Police - maybe because of the "fly through these rings" training missions like G-Police used.
In the WWWW missions where you have over 20 units to control, you will find it hard to get into the 3D views for long periods of time. I found that controlling the action from "above" until things calmed down then getting inside a tank or soldier worked best. The AI of your units and the enemy are pretty good. If you point your unit to its objective, it will take the best route there and fight anybody along the way.
This game is a LOT of fun and has tons of eye candy and intense battle action. Multiplayer is very lacking and without a complete rewrite of the game I can't see it getting any better. Controls are horrible but once those are patched this game will be a "must have" for any Desktop General out there who like to get into the thick of battle.
Overall, Wargasm is an exciting action sim with great graphics and sound. The weak controls and multiplayer bring it down, but not so much it becomes a major issue. Action fans won't want to miss out on this one.