Makes you do what it says on the tin. Or maybe box.

Being brought up watching all those Arnie movies, you can imagine I had a little anticipation for this hopeful game from Eidos. Imagine a gun toting trained killer tackling a Soviet Russian force in there hundreds and them some all by yourself, with the only additional aid from a lovely operator called Anya. If it could sound any more like Metal Gear Solid it would if only it had some form of stolen Nuclear Weapon. But wait! That’s exactly what the game is based on. Although, the game takes numerous routes to make the gamer think otherwise.

As David Llewellyn Jones you have to tackle a number of bases in different missions, of which are heavily guarded by patrolling guards and sometimes the odd tank. You are handed nicely with a supply of weaponry; as the game goes on, you slowly uncover a mischievous nature of using SAMs (Surface to Air Missile) for destroying a sniper to save the agonising walk. Among the weaponry you first uncover a trusty Glock, then comes an AK47 powerful and quite loud. Next comes a list of various bullet or rocket spatters depending on the mission. Such as the superb M16 including inbuilt rocket launcher which is similar to the one seen in Terminator 2. Other weapons come in the forms of SPAS, which is a deadly combination of shotgun and machine gun.

Starting off you are handed an easy training mission. You start off by creating a player and difficulty selection. Even on easy it’s quite tough. The very first missions are simple in their attempt, being a little travel through a base to a truck for example.

As you progress you uncover that having the alarm raised can be costly cut to the success of the assignment. You are first given a swift debriefing, including some nice sequences setting off the mission. Anya giving Jones instructions to do and what to be aware of.

The game’s strategies work perfectly. No matter how many failures they’re always that maxim to set it rolling again, “oh, just one more go”. The missions give just enough triumph without being tedious, as each mission inserts you into precarious predicaments. Such missions as finding a man on a train (Priboi is the fellas name) isn’t so hard when there’s a bunker and sniper in the way. Using a M16 you can secretly take out single troops while being careful not to trip the alarm and set that bunkers’ firing machine gun off.

There are familiarities to associate with; the way there is always an alarm and once raised the troops are more punctual and always ready to fire. Or how you can use oil filled barrels to cause a huge explosion. You can shoot down security cameras and snipe from water towers. You can hack computers and pick locks. There are many little cute things in this game. It has a resistance which is sometimes annoying, but also blo0dy addictive.

Since downloading the demo, playing for months then buying the game (finally) I have enjoyed the game exceptionally. So have dad and little brother Carl. I bought this game from softwarefirst.com for £19.98.

Graphically the game looks ok, in high resolution the frame rate drops but makes sniping easier. The sound is ok; music is basic but adds a tenseness to the play, and voices are fine too, acting is pretty convincing, if not from Anya, then from the number of other characters.

The AI of the game is very persistent, although the characters look identical and shout the same old “YOU!”, or “STOP!” every time. When they hold a Shotgun they do hurt you pretty bad. Whenever you down some Russians you can pick up their ammo, or gun. The medic packs are laid in specific places, such as Health bunkers. And you might find an odd grenade here or there.

The faults are quite easy to point out. The constant attack from troops seems real but often they are either too dumb or too clever. The final levels are the most difficult, making the learning curve exceptional. The AI is pretty good but sometimes not brilliant. Such times as when they stand still and allow you to attack with a flying rocket isn’t exactly real.

The graphics can be a little flickery, as you zoom in with a sniper or binoculars you can see little cracks in buildings. And the lift scenes have some pretty bad collision detection; where a lamp sits firmly out of a wall while the lift floor passes through it. The ground textures are a bit flat and pretty dull. You won’t need an exceptionally fast PC to run the game. But for serious players a resolution of over 1152x864 will uncover more detail. You should note that a sniper gunshot in the arm is enough to fell the troops. There isn’t any Geo-Mod from Red Faction, only bullet holes and thankfully they do pass through wooden bunkers!

The only difference between this and those Arnold movies is there are no camouflage paint to hide you mug in the trees and surrounding environments while sniping.

The game is titled as simple as possible, Project IGI, or Project I’m Going In. As a gamer you must tackle all missions by entering and exiting a base or sometimes several bases to complete a set mission, which is set in a list of objectives. Your allies will often contact you, though this is reduced to little Text Messages at the top of the screen. Sometimes the game will deliver a surprise, such as a helicopter crash landing or even train crash from persistent Russians.

For most missions there are only a few ways to complete it. As you try and try and retry again you’ll need to be courageous enough to try alternative routes, some taking you the most successful but also precarious ways through.

For your health you are given a “blood” graph, which reduces with the hits from enemies or explosions. Jones’ performance isn’t affected at all by the wounds.

I have so far got through 12 levels, and the game appears to have 14. The story has unfolded with a number of striking poses. You might have to save a hostage from the entire base to stop them getting crucial information from him. Or you need to escort the guy through death-ville. Whereupon you are attacked from all sides while teetering through a kaput street.

The landscapes surrounding the bases look quite amazing; you can see for miles and miles. Sometimes on the later levels I thought I could simply walk up a mountain rather than turn on a generator for a cable-car by passing through three bases; unfortunately it took me about 10 minutes just to get to the bottom of the mountain, at which point I fell down a vertical drop. Other obstacles stop you from trying cheaty routes, like landmines.

There’s nothing better in the early mornings than sitting your a5s down on the floor with a Minimi and 100 bullet clip, raising the alarm and waiting for troops to arise from bunkers, all the while you attack them as they open their doors!

To conclude the review I feel it will appeal to all age groups, me, my little brother and dad each enjoy this tremendous game immensely. True the AI is a bit quirky at times and the graphics can be a strain on pre Pentium !!s or AMD K6s PCs. It won’t appeal to “quick thrill seekers” who enjoy nothing more than a rampant go on Quake III over the net, but for all it’s efforts it results in an extremely playable and realistic game. And at £19.98 the most played game I ever owned. Add to that a generous story line, which extends the –8 hours that Metal Gear Solid takes to complete one base and adds the fun weapons last!!

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V.G. Plus Review New!!

FACTS
Developer: Interloop Studios
Publisher: Eidos
Format: PC CD-ROM
System Requirements: 300MHz Processor/higher; Windows 95/98/ME; 64Mb RAM; Direct X.7 [Included] Graphics, sound cards or higher; 4x CD-ROM drive; Min. 500Mb hard disk space; Keyboard + mouse.
ELSPA rating: 15+ OK! (Blood level selection for younger gamers)
Paid Price: £19.98 softwarefirst.co.uk
Genre: Action/Adventure
Casework & Software: Good images, although not exactly a looker on the shelves. Installation takes 15 minutes for a LG 52x CD-ROM.

GAME (percentages are how much they account for overall score)
Story:4/5 ☼☼☼☼○ 10%
Length:5/5 ☼☼☼☼☼ 20%
Gameplay:5/5 ☼☼☼☼☼ 40%
Graphics:4/5 ☼☼☼☼○ 15%
Sound:4/5 ☼☼☼☼○ 15%

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SCOREBOARD

Play Review:60% 5/5
Video Game Plus Review:40% 4.6/5

Total;
4.84/5 Highly Recommended
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