I can remember it now, in 7th grade (1988-1989) my mom had bought me one of those portable arcade games of Tron it had 3 mini games (bikes, Disk, and something else). This game was before I had Atari or anything else and I spent a whole lot of time on this game. Many years later and after I bought my jaguar I spot the game I-WAR on Jagu-dome. The graphics look so sweet but the review is poor, I just had to get this game and see what it was all about.

Story Line: The story line for I-WAR is barrowed. Twenty years of hard labor has constructed the world’s supercomputer, which the whole world depends on for life. Everything is going along just fine until one-day virus invests the computer. As owner of the game you have been selected to pilot your anti-virus tank and save the world (the supercomputer at least). This game has a new story spin on collecting data pods (Ala cybermorph). Not the best story to grab onto if your imagination isn’t that good.

Weapons of War: There are a good number of weapons and choices in I-WAR; I think it’s this Varity that saves the game a bit. When you start the game you have to select 1 of 3 tanks to wage war in the I-NET. The tanks are small, medium and large, once you select your tank you cannot change it unless you start over from the beginning. Each of the tanks handles differently; the big tank can hold a ton of weapons and has heavy armor but is the slowest of the group. The medium is just that and the small tank is very fast and tends to slide around a bit. The tanks can be equipped with the fallowing weapons you find along the way.

Weapons:

(Descriptions taken from instruction book)

A.I. Drone: Artificial intelligence droid that assists in attacking the enemy.

Auto Targeting: Makes better use of the cross-hair firing for more accurate shooting.

Mark 1 Lasers: Basic single shot, you tank is equipped with Mark 1 Lasers automatically.

Mark 2 Lasers: Dual shots for more destructive firepower.

Shield Unit: Activates shield around tank for a short period of time.

Mine Layer: Lay down mines for enemies to find.

Missile Launcher: A limited number used to guide in for the kill.

Plasma Cannon: Chargeable amplified proton shot.

Radar: Provides a map of the room so you can see where you and your enemies are.

Rear Gun: Switch to rear gun to kill enemies from behind (RayNET comment: This weapon is useless.. )

MK 2-3 Upgrades: Add additional firepower to weapons and radar.

Enemies: There are a ton, of different enemies from other tanks to mines to ships that fly overhead and drop bombs on you, the enemies all very in size, speed, aggression, shield and firepower.

Get into the game: There are 20 levels in I-WAR, the beginning levels start out small and then get larger and more complex as the game progresses. You will find yourself wandering around the 3-D computer worlds for hours. There are puzzles and traps to navigate not to mention the enemy. The level layouts are very good though it’s more of the same different color. Between levels you must fly (yes fly) your tank through a tunnel to get to the next level collection data pods and avoiding space junk to earn a free tank. The music and sound effects in the game rock and the control is good.

Here’s the problem jack: I-WAR is a well thought out and I would say a big production for its day. The problem as you may have heard is with the frame-rate.

When the action is hot things really slow down, I found that keeping your distance and firing at a slower rate keeps the frame-rate up a bit. After the rooms are cleared things move quick again.

Scores:

Graphics: 6.5 Graphics are good looking but can’t help the sometimes-slow frame-rate.

Fun Factor: 8.0 Not my most played game to say least but it is pretty fun if don’t let the frame-rate bother you.

Sound: 10.0 the tunes and sound effects are good.

Final thoughts: The box and the game graphics are pretty slick, the instructions as well. The game is your find the pod shoot and explore which is pretty fun if you can get past the up and down frame rate. Not a must buy game but if you’re a collector like me you know you will end up with this game in the end, find it for cheap.

-RayNET, RayNET@IX.NETCOM.COM