Iron Storm (computer game)
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| Iron Storm | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Dreamcatcher |
| Publisher(s) | Wanadoo Edition |
| Release date(s) | 2002 (PC), 2004 PS2 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: M (Mature) |
| Platform(s) | PC, PS2 |
Iron Storm is a First-person shooter video game published by Wanadoo Edition in 2002. Set in an alternative history in which World War I never ended, it takes place during the 1960s and focuses on an Allied soldier's missions to help end the war between an American/Western European alliance and a Russo-Mongolian Empire.
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[edit] Plot & Setting
The game is set in an alternate 1964, in which the Great War never ended. The Baron Nikolai Alexsandrovich von Ugenberg seized Mongolia in an uprising during the Russian Revolution in 1917, and later invaded Russia itself to crush the Bolsheviks. His plan was to establish his Russo-Mongolian Empire, stretching from Vladivostok to the Atlantic Ocean.
Western Europe and the United States formed the United States of Western Europe alliance to counter Ugenberg's plan. Instead of the Great War ending in 1918, it was extended beyond half a century.
The Western Europe-United States (or, the Alliance) quickly saw that they would not be able to finance the war by conventional means, so they decided to put the armies on the market, creating a market for war. This way, the success of the war depended on the war itself.
The player takes on the role as Lieutenant James Anderson, only 19 when he joined the Alliance, and now a legend among the soldiers in the field. To help James in the war, Cecile Newcastle is there to guide James in and out when he is behind the enemy lines. Colonel Mitchell is the commander of the operation, and it also appears that he has friends who are both rich and powerful in this war.
[edit] Factions
[edit] Russo-Mongolian Empire
[edit] United States of Western Europe
[edit] The Consortium
[edit] Historical similarities
Iron Storm's story is not completely fictional. Baron Ugenberg is a loosely based on Baron Roman Ungern von Sternberg, who ruled Mongolia during a short time in the 1920s, except he was defeated in reality, while he conquered half the world in Iron Storm.
[edit] Gameplay
Contrary to most war-FPS games, which are set in World War II, Iron Storm displays a mix between old World War 1-siege tactics, such as trenches and mustard gas, World War II weapons such as the machine gun, mortars and missile launchers as well as modern technology influenced by the Vietnam War, such as helicopters, headphones and laser, along with mines, unmanned robot-turrets and tanks.
The game is relatively difficult; the player character cannot take much damage before dying, and there are many enemies equipped with one-shot kill weapons such as sniper rifles or anti-tank rifles.
[edit] Full Plot Synopsis
Players take the role of Lieutenant James Anderson, a jaded American special forces soldier. At the beginning of the game, Anderson is given orders to infiltrate behind the Russo-Mongolian lines and destroy a secret weapons research factory where the Empire is developing an atomic bomb.
On his way to the factory, Anderson battles through the war-torn countryside, in the process killing the Empire's three best fighters, the Siberian Zahkarov brothers. Anderson is captured by enemy forces at the factory, but manages to escape and destroy the factory in a massive explosion. Anderson escapes on an armored train, which takes him directly to the Empire's headquarters, the Imperial Palace in Berlin. He decides to attempt to assassinate Emperor Ugenberg and end the war once and for all.
However, before he can accomplish his objective, the Imperial Palace is stormed by American Black Ops soldiers led by Colonel Mitchell, who proceed to kill everyone they can find (including trying to kill Lt. Anderson). Anderson eavesdrops on a conversation between Ugenberg and Mitchell over the palace's security system, and learns the entire truth behind the war.
It turns out that the American military-industrial complex, an organization known as the Consortium, has been secretly funding the Empire in order to prolong the war, in order to profit from Europe's steady demand for American war material and support. Mitchell sent Anderson to sabotage Ugenberg's atomic bomb research, because the Consortium had no desire for a nuclear war that would destroy the world. Feeling betrayed by the Consortium, Ugenberg decides to make peace with Europe, so that he will leave behind a legacy as a peacemaker rather than a conqueror, "bringing hope to millions of homes". Desiring that the war should continue indefinitely, Mitchell kills Ugenberg, since peace would jeopardize the Consortium's continued profits.
Anderson breaks into Ugenberg's private sanctuary, and has one final battle with Mitchell's second-in-command. He then boards Mitchell's assault helicopter.
The door on the helicopter closes, and as it takes off and flies into the horizon, a loud death scream is heard. It is left ambiguous as to whether Anderson has overpowered Mitchell and taken over the helicopter, or if Mitchell has killed Anderson (although the relatively downbeat tone to the ending seems to suggest Anderson's death).
The game ends with a televised Russian news report, telling the Russian public that Ugenberg has been killed by Allied soldiers, and that the war will continue in memory of his name. An advertisement for a new type of machinegun that is expected to raise the stock market then airs.
The game ends with the following quotation: "There is no greater naivety than the belief in the patriotism of capital. A capitalist may be a patriot, capital is not." - Victor Cambon.
[edit] Response to the game
[edit] PC version
Iron Storm was first released in 2002 for the PC, but was not well received due to bugs and instabilities within the game, relatively dated graphics, and the lack of special effects. Beyond this, many gamers had problems with the sound which often turned into a scratching noise that made the game unplayable with the sound turned on.[citation needed]
While patches for the game were released, they did little to improve many of the game's issues and the sound problem was never fixed.
[edit] Playstation 2 version
Iron Storm was re-released in 2004, in the UK market, for the PlayStation 2 console, under the name World War Zero: Iron Storm. by Rebellion Developments. While few things were added to the actual gameplay, the graphics were updated and many bugs from the PC version were removed. Beyond this, some new weapons were added, including the flamethrower and the minigun.
The Playstation 2 version of Iron Storm was then ported back to the PC by Reef Entertainment. Like the Playstation 2 version, this version of the game was released solely in the UK market.
[edit] Sequels and spin-offs
The comic magazine 2000 AD is stated to be working on a comic set in the Iron Storm universe. The date of release for the comic is not yet set.[1]
The first person shooter Bet on Soldier has been described as a spiritual sequel to Iron Storm by the game's developers. Many of the people who worked on Bet on Soldier had previously worked on Iron Storm. Although it is never explicitly stated that the two games take place in the same fictional universe, they share many of the same themes and plot elements, and even similar character and weapons designs.
