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Review from ign.com:
"Sometimes all you need is a well-crafted game of giant robot destruction."
Review from the Jagu-Dome:
"..for fans of the IS series you couldn't ask for a better sequel. For those who are
new to the Iron Soldier universe, you'll find a solid mech game with good controls,
graphics and sound."
Preview from ign.com:
"Iron Soldier appears to have everything going for it -- some nice graphics, good
sound quality and promising gameplay."
The third installment of Iron Soldier series is an all new, graphically enhanced, feature rich version that provides the ultimate in Mech-Combat challenge and enjoyment. Features 25 single player missions, two player cooperative and duel modes, more battlefields, enhanced destruction effects, and much more!
And which of you know of the first 2, OH OH! I Do! And for any other of you Atari Jaguar fans out there (and no one better be laughing) who have played the first two games I salute you. For all of you who dont know the first 2 games in this series, let me tell you the were absolutely incredible. People laugh about the old crappy Jaguar but after you play this game you might think twice. The jag had some pretty good games, just terrible support. Well, enough about that. Bottom line, this game concept was fantastic on an old system, and when i mean fantastic i mean like to this day the single best mech-game i have ever played, and so on a better system (graphically anyways) this game should be beyond belief. Particularly because from what I've heard they have kept the concept relatively untouched with only a few improvements, which is good, because the game was reasonably uncomplicated and had a very simple presentation, unlike too many mech games these days, and it offerd a ton of depth. So then, what have we learned? A) the Atari Jaguar was a very good system and B) this game has an extremely hi kick a** potential so you should probably buy it. at least rent it, you will be hooked.
Iron Soldier 3, like its predecessors, is also a 3D giant robot sim, but it benefits from appearing a little later in the polygonal game. Despite the fact that it's running on a wimpy 32-bit system, IS3 looks good, controls well, and generally presents a conventional, but nicely polished game of stomp-around-and-blow-up-puny-things. Comparisons to Armored Core, the resident king of the genre, are a little imprecise, given AC's third-person perspective and generally more arcade-ish style of gameplay, but at this point I'd say Iron Soldier stacks up pretty well. While there aren't as many customization options, those who prefer the slower, first-person Mechwarrior style of game may want to keep an eye out for IS.
For a game that's rather popped out of nowhere, Iron Soldier 3 has some impressive production values. The game opens with a very well-done and amazingly long CG intro, full of exploding tanks and derailing trains and other giant robot stomping action. All three of the game's mechs get starring roles: the anthropomorphic Iron Soldier, the spindly little reverse-articulated Satyr Walker, and the mid-range CE-Tech walker. Later in the game, there are even more cool CG sequences, filled with real and imagine military hardware - giant robots thunder about while A-10 attack jets buzz about attacking them.
Once you get in your Soldier and set out on your mission, you're dropped into a fully realtime world. It's a little blocky here and there, but the framerate is very smooth, and you can blow up just about everything: warehouses, fuel tanks, buildings, water towers, the whole bit. The explosions are great, throwing off smoke, debris, and ring-shaped lighting effects, with varying levels of intensity depending on what you destroy and how serious you are about destroying it. For example, when you swat one of the attack helicopters that's harrying your Soldier, it reacts differently depending on how you attack it. Pepper it with some rifle fire and it'll spiral to the ground and crash; settle things with a high-explosive rocket and it'll go up all of a piece, spraying shrapnel in all directions. Leveling skyscrapers is even more fun - although you need a fair amount of firepower to get the job done, watching all the polygonal chunks fall to the ground in a cloud of fire is immensely satisfying. The best way to get the job done, though, is the classic giant-robot style. If a column of tanks is giving you a hard time, set a collision course and stomp them flat. You'll take a little damage, but the kick is worth it.
The 25 missions are built around various objectives. In some cases you'll have to destroy a particular target or collect particular items - other missions simply demand that you blow up everything that moves. In any event, a little extracurricular destruction is always a good idea, since features of the environment may hide ammunition and other powerups. If there's nothing within arm's length to blast, some of the mechs are also equipped with a jetpack for hopping around the battlefield quickly, and the selectable arsenal lets you equip your robot with up to 15 different weapons. The console doesn't sport many surprises, but there is a nice little zoom window in the bottom-right corner that presents a close-up view of your target area. It's very handy for long-range rifle shots.
The mission mode isn't all there is, though. If you just want a little mindless destruction to pass the time, the arcade mode offers a one-player game or two-player split-screen, allowing you to choose between a horizontal or vertical split. Armored Core's customization mode may give it the edge in the multiplayer arena, but given the speed of Iron Soldier, it could still compete - we'll see after more extensive playtesting. In the meantime, we've got more stomping and destroying to do.
-- David Smith