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War World (video game)
Encyclopedia
War World is a 3D
mech combat simulator game developed and published by Australia
n company Third Wave Games (who are made up of former Rare
alumni who have been involved in the development of such games as Banjo Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64
, and others). It was released on Microsoft Windows
in 2005, and 2008 for the Xbox Live Arcade
service.
galaxy known as WarWorld. This planet has been under perpetual conflict throughout its known history over various reasons (ranging from religious differences to territorial disputes to blood feuds between different sects of the inhabitants). However, eventually the largest groups of these people would form into corporate entities and would establish several neutral cities on the planet in the hopes of establishing commerce with the outside galaxy. When the game first starts, 7 of these city-states will have already been formed exporting all sorts of variants of their warlike nature from mercenaries to military hardware to gladiatorial arena games using mechs. The player assumes the role of one of these arena competitors as they fight their way thru various battles with competing clans or mech pilots in the game.
games even though the game is classified as a Mech sim much like the MechAssault
series of games. Despite this, some commonalities can be found between the two sims such as collecting powerups and some interface design choices. The gameplay focuses on Teamwork and Squad
based FPS
tactics throughout the entire experience. Mechs are designed in a garage interface at different intervals depending on what type of game you're playing at the time. Within this interface, players can purchase mechs and spare parts using currency earned called credits. Credits can be earned over the course of a single player game or dictated based on the requirements set up ahead of time on a multiplayer game.
War World has the single and multi player options, and includes game modes such as "capture the flag
" and "team deathmatch".
stealth function that allows them to disappear off an opponent's radar screens. However, this does not make a unit invisible to sight and can be spotted normally even with the stealth option turned on. In addition, a unit can be altered in terms of paint or color scheme in order to change its appearance.
There are five different mech units in the game (as of Version 1.9.02) that a player can choose from; the Panther 770, the Python KX5, the Thunder B-2, the Assault T1000 and the Leviathan.
The game also features dropships - combat cargo planes that can deliver new mech units to the battlefield over the course of a match. Typically in single player mode, they will be seen flying over the entire arena attacking the player and dropping in new units. A dropship has multiple minigun like turrets all around the vessel that fire low damage rounds at various intervals (depending on the difficulty level) and has twice as much armor as the Leviathan mech. Mechs are unloaded from the rear of the plane through the use of a drop down ramp that folds out. As of version 1.9 these are only controllable by the AI
and not by players.
. Positive points mentioned have included the fast paced gameplay (which is uncommon for mech sim games), vibrant graphics, appropriate sound effects, and solid multiplayer gameplay all of which fitting on a 148 MB
download. Negative issues mentioned have typically focused on the repetitive nature of gameplay and balancing issues with some of the different mechs and weapons.
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
mech combat simulator game developed and published by Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n company Third Wave Games (who are made up of former Rare
Rare (video game company)
Rare Ltd. is a British video game developer located in Twycross, Leicestershire. The organization was founded in 1982 by brothers Tim and Chris Stamper as a company called Ashby Computers and Graphics Ltd. and published games under the name Ultimate Play the Game. They developed games for 8-bit...
alumni who have been involved in the development of such games as Banjo Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64
Donkey Kong 64
Donkey Kong 64 is a platform game, developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in North America on November 24, 1999 and in Europe on December 6, 1999. The game is a follow up to the Donkey Kong Country trilogy on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System...
, and others). It was released on Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
in 2005, and 2008 for the Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
service.
Story
The story revolves around a planet within the Milky WayMilky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
galaxy known as WarWorld. This planet has been under perpetual conflict throughout its known history over various reasons (ranging from religious differences to territorial disputes to blood feuds between different sects of the inhabitants). However, eventually the largest groups of these people would form into corporate entities and would establish several neutral cities on the planet in the hopes of establishing commerce with the outside galaxy. When the game first starts, 7 of these city-states will have already been formed exporting all sorts of variants of their warlike nature from mercenaries to military hardware to gladiatorial arena games using mechs. The player assumes the role of one of these arena competitors as they fight their way thru various battles with competing clans or mech pilots in the game.
Gameplay
Gameplay is similar to the Tribes first-person shooterFirst-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
games even though the game is classified as a Mech sim much like the MechAssault
MechAssault
MechAssault was the first BattleMech video game published for the Xbox. Developed by Day 1 Studios and published by Microsoft, MechAssault was initiated when Denny Thorley of Day 1 Studios approached Jon Kimmich of Microsoft about developing an original BattleTech game built from the ground up to...
series of games. Despite this, some commonalities can be found between the two sims such as collecting powerups and some interface design choices. The gameplay focuses on Teamwork and Squad
Squad
In military terminology, a squad is a small military unit led by a non-commissioned officer that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition this organization is referred to as a section...
based FPS
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
tactics throughout the entire experience. Mechs are designed in a garage interface at different intervals depending on what type of game you're playing at the time. Within this interface, players can purchase mechs and spare parts using currency earned called credits. Credits can be earned over the course of a single player game or dictated based on the requirements set up ahead of time on a multiplayer game.
War World has the single and multi player options, and includes game modes such as "capture the flag
Capture the flag
Capture the Flag is a traditional outdoor sport generally played by children, where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base...
" and "team deathmatch".
Mech units
All mech units in War World share certain commonalities that can be termed as a unit's stats. These stats include Armor (or the amount of health a unit has before dying), Jump (how high a unit can jump without the assistance of a thruster), the speed of a unit, a multiplier to how much ammo each weapon on the unit has (based on the weapon's baseline stats), and the cost of a unit in terms of credits (the currency in the game). All mechs come with a radarRadar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
stealth function that allows them to disappear off an opponent's radar screens. However, this does not make a unit invisible to sight and can be spotted normally even with the stealth option turned on. In addition, a unit can be altered in terms of paint or color scheme in order to change its appearance.
There are five different mech units in the game (as of Version 1.9.02) that a player can choose from; the Panther 770, the Python KX5, the Thunder B-2, the Assault T1000 and the Leviathan.
The game also features dropships - combat cargo planes that can deliver new mech units to the battlefield over the course of a match. Typically in single player mode, they will be seen flying over the entire arena attacking the player and dropping in new units. A dropship has multiple minigun like turrets all around the vessel that fire low damage rounds at various intervals (depending on the difficulty level) and has twice as much armor as the Leviathan mech. Mechs are unloaded from the rear of the plane through the use of a drop down ramp that folds out. As of version 1.9 these are only controllable by the AI
Ai
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
and not by players.
Reception
Reviews for this game have been mostly positive. Critics have cited the hybrid nature of the game, making comparisons of this being a combination of a mech sim and a first-person shooterFirst-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
. Positive points mentioned have included the fast paced gameplay (which is uncommon for mech sim games), vibrant graphics, appropriate sound effects, and solid multiplayer gameplay all of which fitting on a 148 MB
Megabyte
The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
download. Negative issues mentioned have typically focused on the repetitive nature of gameplay and balancing issues with some of the different mechs and weapons.