A shoot’em-up / action video game First and third person views In an alternate world Due out in October 2002 on PS2 and PC Eastern Germany, March 1964. The Great War has been raging for 50 years now. All you have ever known is the madness of the front lines and of men butchering each other. Suddenly, you are given a mission which, if successful, could put a stop to the carnage. Shoot ’em-up and action are the best means of restoring what everybody has long since forgotten about: peace. Synopsis 1964. The Great War has been fought for 50 years now. The occidentals and Russo-Mongols forces are confronting each other on both sides of a front line that appears to be right in the middle of Europe. Mankind seems to be condemned to eternal warfare... The head of the immense Russo-Mongol Empire, Baron Roman Ungern Sternberg, also known as the Mad Baron, dreams of an independent pan-Mongol state, a Central Asian empire to rival Genghis Khan’s and which would be the first step towards a worldwide empire. “If the madness and corruption of mankind continue to threaten the divine spirit in man’s heart, to shed blood and to prevent all moral progress, then the Asian state must put an end to this destructive process and establish a sure and lasting peace”, he said. This megalomaniac is apparently developing a top secret tactical weapon which would enable him to win the war and realise his dream: to be the ruler of all humanity. His scientists are currently experimenting with atomic fission... Weazel, nicknamed Wiz, an officer of the Western forces who was born in the mud of the trenches, is given the mission of penetrating behind enemy lines and infiltrating the Baron’s research complex. His aim: to search out and destroy heavy water samples. However, there is quite a surprise waiting for him in the factory... Gameplay: The gameplay in IronStorm combines shoot ’em-up, action and reflection. The player undertakes an infiltration mission and must possess combat skills as well as stealth if he is to survive as he penetrates behind enemy lines. Depending on the circumstances, the player can choose between first and third person views. The player must pass through 6 worlds in a Germany ripped apart by the front line: the Friedrich line (the Western front), the Anton Denikin line (the Russo-Mongol front), Wolfenburg (an enemy-occupied town), the Mad Baron’s heavy water factory, the “Tzar Ivan” armoured train and the Reichstag in Berlin. The player must face different types of enemy, all of whom have different fighting styles and AI: Kazakh troops, Sturmpionners (soldiers of the “Deutsche Reichskorps”, Russo-Mongol allies), Siberians, Cadets from Baron Ungern’s bodyguard and, especially, Consortium agents. Wiz must also watch out for all the dangers of a real war: machinegun bunkers, snipers, mines, tanks, aerial bombardments, muddy trenches, dogs carrying mines which are trained to attack the enemy, etc. The player’s weapons consist of a Russian short sabre, a Heckler & Koch MP-6 “Wotan“ assault pistol with a silencer fitted, a Remington M910 “Bull’s Eye“ shotgun, a M203 40mm “Clovis“ grenade launcher, fragmentation and smoke grenades, and antipersonnel and magnetic mines. And let’s not forget his best friend, the Simonov K-s 12 “Snayperskaya“ Russian marksman rifle, equipped with a telescopic sight which doubles its range in ‘sniper’ mode. He can also use mounted weapons (for example, heavy machineguns and mortars). Alternative history: between reality and fiction. The game takes place in an imaginary environment that has been inspired by real events. IronStorm takes real elements from the First World War (trenches, barbed wire fences, mines, gas warfare...) and combines them with more modern elements from the Second World War (radar, penicillin, automatic weapons, tanks...) as well as elements inspired by the Vietnam War (helicopters, lasers, electronics...). The development team has taken great care to create a realistic environment, one which includes well-known items but also some much lesser-known ones: vehicles, weapons, uniforms, communication and warning systems, animals living in the trenches, protagonists’ nationalities, etc. Developers also get inspired from the movie «Iron Cross » from Sam Peckinpath to reach this level of realism. Particular care has been taken with the creation of sound effects representing warfare, and the end result is worthy of the landing sequence in “Saving Private Ryan”. For example, the sound engineers came up a dozen or so sounds to convey the impact of bullets into different materials: wood, flesh, iron, concrete, mud, etc. Genre : shoot’em-up/action game Modes : solo and multi-player (16 on PC, Lan and Internet / Modes : Death Match, Team Death Match et Catch The Flag) Publisher : Wanadoo Developer : 4X Studio Release date : October 2002 Platforms : PS2 - PC