Project IGI Review

I'm going in...all by myself.

With about a gaziillion military-based first-person shooters on the market today, new and innovative ideas within the genre have a kind of 'don't-ask-don't-tell' air about them. There just seems to be a real lack of original material. No One Lives Forever, with its humorous 60's spy-spoof flair, deceptive gadgets and horrible period-appropriate fashion sense, succeeded in providing FPS-gamers with a new and enjoyable way to look at their favorite genre.

Developer Innerloop uses the engine from their popular Joint Strike Fighter game to bring one of the newest additions to the FPS genre: Project IGI: I'm Going In.

As always, GR tells it like it is. IGI, the game with a retarded name, also has some significantly retarded enemy A.I. The gameplay is often very tedious and monotonous and Innerloop makes the biggest FPS "don't" of the millenium by NOT INCLUDING ANY MULTIPLAYER.

Yet somehow, IGI manages to whip out a mildly entertaining single player game. The long-range vistas (which are visually more impressive than those found in the Delta Force games, though less utilized) and the authentic weapons and functions seem to work…just barely.

You assume the role of David Jones, a former SAS member. David's mission? Traverse the game's 14 levels to track down and apprehend the criminal Priboi who has made off with some highly-radioactive, highly-explosive booty. The story is familiar but formulaic and lends nothing to the game.

Aesthetically speaking, Project IGI resembles a technologically enhanced Delta Force. The lion's portion of this military adventure takes place outdoors. That and the extremely well-done open vistas really liken this game to the DF series.

The fully furnished areas in IGI are what sets it apart from its DF counterpart. Someone actually remembered that rooms usually have furniture in them. The textures for both inside and outdoor areas are well executed. The game won't be winning any awards for revolutionary graphics, but it's more than sufficient.

The basic gameplay consists of your standard running and gunning. IGI would like you to think there is more to it than that, but there really isn't. A few so-called stealth missions are included, but they are pretty much just you versus an army.

Besides, the enemy A.I. isn't ready for true stealth. Heck, it's just barely ready for 2 on 2, not much more than that. These guys aren't very bright. I climbed a ladder to take out an enemy in a tower. My big clunky combat boots were embarrassingly noisy as I ascended the ladder. To my surprise, the guard, who stood right next to the ladder, was completely ignorant to the fact that he was about to die at the hands of a wannabe, clog-wearing assassin. Dummie!

At the beginning of most levels you start out with a machine gun, one pistol and a knife (binoculars and a map of the area are standard issue). But as soon as you send an enemy to that big boot camp in the sky, he drops his weapon, which you can now obtain. I don't care what they say about criminals that hijack nuclear warheads - as long as they continue to supply me with a means to kill their co-workers, they're okay in my book.

Irrefutably, the most enticing aspect of IGI is the weapons. You will find a plethora of real-life weaponry to choose from. Both semi and full automatic machine guns, such as Uzi's, SAW's and M16's complete with pump-action grenade launchers, are just a few of the tools gamers will use to defend themselves. But watch out for that recoil. Knowing how to compensate for the kick of each weapon can save your life.

Project IGI can be fun at times but there is no in-game save, so the fun very quickly turns into tedium. Having to beat each level in one fell swoop is obnoxious and unnecessary.

Also, the lack of a multiplayer (not even modem-to-modem is available) is just inexcusable. In this day and age, any FPS that even hopes to hold its own requires at least simple deathmatch, if not the add-on complexity of games like Counter-strike. Not including any multi-player whatsoever is a big mistake.

I bet Innerloop will release some patch to add multi in the near future, but it will come as too little, too late. In the crowded first-person genre, this one barely makes the grade.