| Atari | Imagitec | "The Battlemorph Genre" |
I-War was one of the later releases by Atari and was developed by Imagitec, who have been involved in several prior Jaguar games. The genre is similar to what you'd find in the Cybermorph series of games, which would be finding the needed pods to complete the level, which I have become very fond of. I-War has 20 levels of play with a bonus level following each level you complete. There are five views to choose from, though I generally stick with one of them (#1). You also get your choice of crafts, each with different levels of shielding and speed.
The game opens with a basic opening screen with a neat spinning Imagitec logo, and an impressive techno type tune. You are then immersed with a wide variety of options, many of which already forementioned. Then you get into the game. The graphics are texture mapped and look pretty good. The graphics have polygons (ex. enemies) and are done pretty well. Also, when you blow up an enemy the effects are very nice, with the pieces of the ship flying all over. In all the graphical package is very good, though my only complaint is the graphics at times could use maybe a bit more color, just to keep things from getting a bit too gloomy!
The music is superb in I-War! A very upbeat techno type music, certainly the music is a strong point and to be commended! The effects are also very good, the guns, explosions and all are done very well. As always, Imagitec did a fine job here, as they have earned a reputation for doing.
The play is good for the most part. You have a wide variety of different items and weapons to pick up, along with a full line of enemies to contend with. Certainly the folks at Imagitec did a nice job creating a variety of items in I-War. The control is pretty good, though needless to say you are restricted to remain on the ground due to the use of a hovercraft. The framerate in I-War tended to range, it was good at times, though as you became immersed with a ton of enemies in the same area or were close to a huge enemy you will experience a bit of slowdown regarding the framerate. Still, overall, not too bad here.
I have gotten into I-War and have enjoyed it quite a bit. If you are into this genre you may very well find this game quite worthwhile. This game certainly has its fair share of flaws, but I have enjoyed it nonetheless. So if you like this genre, you may want to give it a try.
