Every once in a while, someone comes up with a good idea that could further the enjoyment of a particular genre. Sometimes, that idea makes its way to reality. Most of the time that idea winds up falling flat on its face for typically fundamental reasons. Rarely is a developer given a second shot at making the idea a success, and even more rare, is that second shot becoming a success. This is one such story.

Innerloop's first attempt at an expansive, realistic, tactical-shooter, Project IGI: I'm Going In did more than make a mere ripple in the pool of FPS games PC gamers were being offered just a few years ago. Utilizing an engine that was originally developed for flight simulation games, Project IGI promised to offer the largest playing areas ever found in a FPS to date. And that it did. However, as impressive as this feat was, the game was slightly lacking in a few key areas. While, at the time of its release, Project IGI offered top notch visuals, it severely lacked decent AI and, to the complaint of many, save points. The missions were difficult, and by nature, very long. The developers supposedly heard the outcry of gamers everywhere, and supposedly set out to fix these fundamental flaws. Supposedly…

David Jones (not Davey Jones, though he may as well be a Monkee) has been called upon once again to further the war on corporate terrorism. As one of the elite members of the secret Institute for Geotactical Intelligence (IGI), Jones will be trusted upon to execute missions the world over, with success being the only option. With over 30 weapons at Jones' disposal, and real-time reconnaissance courtesy IGI headquarters, this one man army can only succeed.

Getting Right Down to it

I assume most people that played the first IGI game would be as welcoming as I was when we first heard of the pending sequel. Not because the first game was great, but because the idea was great. By now, the tactical-shooter has been done to death, but the idea of "vast landscapes" giving the game a far more open feel than any other shooter still offered itself as a novel approach which the first game gave many a taste of. In theory, the game developer had all the community opinions needed (being as large and as dedicated as it was) to improve upon what it had created, and in theory, the time. In theory…

IGI: I'm Getting Irritated

In theory, Innerloop has spent the last 2 years adding multiplayer to IGI, totally disregarding the issues that kept the original from being a grade 'A' title. The only apparent concern they addressed seems to be the issue of save points in the single-player campaign. The A.I., as horrible as it was in the first game, seems almost more so now. Once spotted, enemies will quickly pick the player off from distances far beyond the accurate reach of most automatic rifles. This factor alone makes IGI2 much more difficult than it needs to be, making the new save feature, not a mere welcome addition, but an utter necessity. If you thought Project IGI: I'm Going In was difficult, then be prepared to furnish the cost of a new keyboard and mouse, as you will undoubtedly permanently pound down many of the keys in frustration, and hurl your optical mouse as far as its tether allows. (You should see the distance a wireless mouse can get.-ED)

The game offers some 19 different single-player missions, and a handful of multiplayer scenarios. Both modes offer the aid of a map computer, helping the player navigate between key locations required to complete a given mission. The computer is also useful in determining exactly what your objectives are, and in the case of the single-player campaign, a means by which to save your progress. Each mission has a certain allotment of saves available, depending upon the difficulty mode, but progress can be saved at any point the player chooses. Jones and his multiplayer kin can carry a limited amount of equipment and weaponry at any given time, such as one primary gun, a single side-arm, and one explosive type. In the case of multiplayer, the player can purchase items and weapons at any one of their spawn locations or pick up weapons dropped by fallen enemies and teammates alike, whereas Jones (single-player campaign) is confined to the weapons he finds or starts a particular mission with.

IGI: I'm Graphically Inept

The graphics for IGI were a cut above the rest… about 2 years ago. Innerloop apparently decided to minimally revamp the engine in the visual department, and stick with the retro 2000 look. Character models probably have the lowest polygon count of any game released this year, and textures just as bland as they were in the original. IGI suffered from mysterious terrain popping, which seems to have been addressed in only the single-player game. The multiplayer somehow inherited this problem, possibly due to constraints of such large locales combined with additional players. The weapon models are about just as attractive as the rest of the game, putting them on par with the capabilities of much older engines. Ouch!

IGI: It's Good if… your deaf

And the news doesn't get any better here: The sound is your typical stock FPS clip, with weapon sounds as accurate as Hollywood has led us to believe. The sin here is its execution. Either EAX wasn't working on my rig, or it was totally implemented incorrectly. Everything sounded as if it was right up in my face. Whether an enemy was sniping from a tower 100 yards away or shooting at point blank range, there was absolutely no discernment in relation to volume or distance. The only implication of environmental processing seemed to be occlusion.

Though this is more of an A.I. issue, it was sonically annoying to hear – repeatedly – an enemy announcing that he was throwing a grenade. Because of the lackluster audio performance, it was near impossible to pinpoint, or even roughly locate, the direction the voice was coming from! Yikes!

IGI: I was Gaming Instantly

Controlling IGI2 is pretty much your standard FPS fare. Everything is more or less bindable, making almost any control scheme possible. Non-typical features added are the ability to lie flat (even in multiplayer), and the ability to peek around corners or above cover. Innerloop took a novel approach to peeking. There is one single key bound for peeking, with direction of the peek controlled with the mouse. It is highly effective, and actually quite easy to get accustomed to.

The only gripes I have concerning the controls are the actual translation of actions. I personally can not stand games wherein the players strafe speed is less than the forward/reverse speed. Sure, it probably lends itself to a more realistic nature, but it highly detracts from the feel of the game. The other issue is the very un-intuitive grenade throwing scheme. It is near impossible to gauge distance, though I imagine with a LOT of practice, one could get it down.

Single-Player Overall

This is by far the most unforgivable aspect of IGI2: Covert Strike. The story is highly unexciting, the characters are highly forgettable, and the A.I. is highly unintelligent. Added to that are the nonsense missions that occupy the single-player campaign space. Yes, the expansive environments are… expansive, but most of the time, they feel as if they are so huge just because they can be. Just because an engine allows one to make a map the literal size of Texas does not mean they should! There were numerous times I found myself guiding Jones through acres and acres of enemy/objective free land, for minutes on end, only to finally be quickly executed once civilization WAS reached - only to do it again because I did not save halfway through my journey. AHHHH!!!

One would hope that the A.I. would reflect some level of decent programming, especially since so many games have been released over the last few years that contained it to astounding degrees. The A.I. in IGI2 comes off as if it was cheating most of the time, with enemies pulling off maneuvers that the coders decided not to allow the player to do. Enemies will strafe while shooting automatic rifles (or any weapon for that matter) at a distance of 50 yards or more, and hit Jones with darn near every shot. This is impossible for the player to do, as the targeting reticule grows exceedingly with the slightest movement, making accuracy only possible at a stand still. A.I. will also perform stupid stunts, such as constantly lobbing grenades (and openly announcing it) in small interior quarters, long before Jones even considered entering. And, where do they get an endless supply?

About the only cool gimmick of IGI2's single-player campaign is the Thermal Imaging Device. Jones can easily spot human threats, even through walls, making it easier to successfully gain unnoticed access to buildings and rooms. Being able to shoot through most walls makes the device even more attractive, though you cannot shoot while the device is employed.

Multiplayer Overall

After an overly irritating single-player experience, I was reluctant to turn to IGI2's multiplayer offering. How good could it possibly be, with what hell I had just witnessed by myself? After a few rounds of not having a clue what my mission objectives were for the team I chose, and totally lost on the massive maps, I started to get a handle on things. Here's briefly how the multiplayer pans out:

Teams must either defend or sabotage/steal key points or locations for a particular map. As the attacking team, each objective must be carried out in order. Only after completing one objective can the team focus their energies on the next. The defending team is responsible for keeping the attacking team from completing their objectives in the allotted time. Each team has several spawn locations which can be chosen prior to actually spawning. These locations also offer the player the opportunity to purchase weapons when ever they choose. Weapons can also be purchased prior to spawning while in spectator mode. Just as one would expect, money is made by making kills or completing objectives. When a player is killed, they have the option to get right back into the action, but at a cost. Each passing second of death lowers this cost of respawning, eventually reaching $0. This is a unique twist that works out quite well. If your team members can wait a little longer for reinforcements, then by all means, waiting until the counter reached $0 is your best bet so that the money can be better spent. But in a pinch, respawning immediately may be necessary to keep the offending team from completing their objective.

The overly large environments lend themselves to multiplayer quite well. Though joining a server with anything less than 10 people can get quite boring, as the maps are just too big for anything less. It's a shame that Innerloop didn't include smaller maps for lower player servers, and also as much a shame that the game only supports a maximum of 16 players. As large as the maps can be, it is almost a travesty that 32 players or more isn't the max.

The multiplayer aspect shares the same graphical and aural sins that the single-player missions contain. The game just looks and feels outdated, though this is rarely the tell tale sign of a bad game.

Overall, the multiplayer is growing on me. It is quite the polar-opposite of the single-player excuse of a game. It's been a while since I kicked my Counter-Strike habit, but I could see myself really getting into IGI2 if the community takes off to any degree. Though at the moment, finding a server with enough people playing to make it enjoyable is a bit difficult. The game is still new, so we may see a bit more growth as far as audience is concerned, though I won't hold my breath.

Final Word

Innerloop has certainly let down the portion of their community that hoped for an immersive, brilliant, playable single-player experience. The only saving grace of this game is of course the multiplayer aspect. While a cooperative mode was rumored, it has yet to see light of day. If you're looking for something a little different than, but similar to Counter-Strike, this may be the ticket. If you're looking for a great single-player game, or have no Internet connection play multiplayer games, then by all means, pass this one by. Nuff' said.

Fun Factor: 6 – Concerning the single-player campaign: No fun to be found here. Concerning multiplayer: Shows promise depending on community support.
Gameplay: 5 – Please don't make me play the single-player again!
Graphics: 6 – Retro 2000 graphics. Yuck!
Sound: 6 – Positioning and volume issues. Annoying A.I. rants. Devoid of any form of musical soundtrack.
Value: 5 – The only obvious value of this game is the multiplayer. Unfortunately, the single-player debacle brings the overall score down a few points.

Related Links:

Codemasters (Publisher)
Innerloop (Developer)