I-War (Independence War) (1997)

[DesolationStone]

Steam
GOG
Why in the world does nobody seem to know this game? I've only found one walkthrough (this one), little information on wikipedia and literally the only way to find it on google is to write "I-War (videogame)" or "Independence War (videogame)" because the engine thinks you're searching for God of War or the American Independence War! On this (and other) forums I've only found a thread about his sequel (which seems more open and commercial focused than this one). By the way, this game is a dream come true. Manage and control not a fighter, but a corvette with subsystems, sensors, maintenance and repair equipment... Newtonian physics, realistic setting (despite the lame AI subplot), etc. The only problem at the moment is the repetitive nature of the gameplay, where most of the time you'll be using the same weapons and the same tactics to defeat enemies, but only the missions that require you to use your brain and physics make this game a real must for anyone passionate about the genre.

 

[cpmartins]

Steam
GOG
Why in the world does nobody seem to know this game? I've only found one walkthrough (this one), little information on wikipedia and literally the only way to find it on google is to write "I-War (videogame)" or "Independence War (videogame)" because the engine thinks you're searching for God of War or the American Independence War! On this (and other) forums I've only found a thread about his sequel (which seems more open and commercial than this one). By the way, this game is a dream come true. Manage and control not a fighter, but a corvette with subsystems, sensors, maintenance and repair equipment... Newtonian physics, realistic setting (despite the lame AI subplot), etc. The only problem at the moment is the repetitive nature of the gameplay, where most of the time you'll be using the same weapons and the same tactics to defeat enemies, but only the missions that require you to use your brain and physics make this game a real must for anyone passionate about the genre.

I've played both of them. Excellent simulation of actual Newtonian physics, i.e., you can go full sanic and never stop. Of course you won't be actually able to hit anything if you do that.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Both 1&2 are great. On the same level as freelancer, starlancer, wing commander and freespace.

 

[DesolationStone]

Unfortunately there are some compatibility issues and unresolved bugs. For example, the engine can't support high frame rates, so if you play at more than 100fps, for some reason you'll do 0 damage to enemy ships. The only workaround is to force v-sync from the video card's control panel, but there's another problem: one of the unfixed bugs is that when your weapons overheat, they also do 0 damage to enemies. Another personal problem is that the game is sometimes not very clear about the objective of the mission, and the tutorial didn't cover all the mechanics.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Meh it's OK. But I-War 2 was miles better. One of the first mainstream games to take advantage of these fancy new 3D "graphics card" thingamajigs with their Glides and shieet.

The phones, pads, pods and os's that stole the name never lived up to it tho.

 

[DesolationStone]

Excellent simulation of actual Newtonian physics

A year before Half Life, this game already had a physics puzzle. The one where you have to act as a catapult to transport some cargo still blew my mind.

 

[DesolationStone]

Meh it's OK. But I-War 2 was miles better

From what I know, these are two completely different games.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Meh it's OK. But I-War 2 was miles better

From what I know, these are two completely different games.

They were.

It's like comparing Dune to Dune 2.

 

[Cassar]

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

i enjoyed, truly enjoyed, 2, even for just grinding portals, until i realized that loot is "zone/story locked". i had hundreds of tons of every goods, except that single one needed to build the next stealth engine. thrown away and never looked back.

 

[DesolationStone]

I must say that the missions in this game are getting more and more original and interesting.

In one mission, I was waiting for a fuel shipment to arrive, only to discover that instead of fuel, the silos were filled with dozens of fighters waiting to ambush me.

In another, a desperate enemy fleet attacked our fuel base for supplies, so you could try to destroy them with a frontal assault or, more tactically, retreat and then let the fuel silos explode.

Despite all this, the problem is still the same: if you fail the mission, you have to travel tens of thousands of kilometres, listen to the dialogue, undock, dock and then fight again.

After a while, you'll be more than tempted to write "darkgoat" and use cheats.

 

[potatojohn]

Great series, probably the best space game series ever.

The first one has a better aesthetic, but is brutally difficult. It feels rewarding to finish a mission though.

The second one is open world and more fun.

 

[DesolationStone]

but is brutally difficult

Yes, I've to skip a lot of missions because they are too difficult and I'm tired of seeing the same cinematic or dialogues over and over again

 

[DesolationStone]

I'm nearing the end, the plot is starting to get interesting, and I had to skip a physics puzzle-based mission that was both so amazing and so impossible to complete.
This game needs a remastered, a mod, anything, something, it's a shame that has been forgotten.

 

[Angthoron]

I love I-War and I-War 2.

Also, on the off-chance he's around, summoning DraQ

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

Good news everybody:

https://i-war2.com/news/181-dagda-and-wolf’s-lair-bugs-fixed-after-21-years

 

[luj1]

Both 1&2 are great. On the same level as freelancer, starlancer, wing commander and freespace.

Which one is your favorite among these?

 

[DesolationStone]

I've finished the game. Nothing to say: superbe gameplay, but in the end the only differences between the first and the last mission were the introduction of the fighter and the remote control missile. Less than zero variation, the same battles and manoeuvres over and over again. Only a few puzzles add some variety.

 

[DesolationStone]

Now I have to play the 18 missions of the expansion pack

 

[DesolationStone]

Now I have to play the 18 missions of the expansion pack

Okay, it seems a lot better already: the font for the dialogue is more readable, you can now choose and see your armaments before the mission, the characters of the crew are more characterized, etc.
If I read correctly, there is also a checkpoint system in the game, but I don't know how it works.

 

[DesolationStone]

https://youtube.com/channel/UCOusU44xItIlh4a5NtwDbKA With my great surprise I've founded a youtuber who it's making a walkthrough of both I-War 1 and Defiance, good!

 

[DesolationStone]

Unfortunately, Defiance has far more bugs and glitches than the original game: in one mission, my entire wingman decided to kill himself for some reason. It's a shame, because otherwise it's much better than I-War in every way.

 

[DesolationStone]

Finally, here an entire complete walk-through of I-War. In the description of the video there are even some tips for make the game running smoothly on modern system

 

[Endemic]

Was a fun game, but very unforgiving in the original campaign if you didn't take the right action at the right moment. Defiance fortunately had mission checkpoints to reduce tedium.

 

[DesolationStone]

Was a fun game, but very unforgiving in the original campaign if you didn't take the right action at the right moment. Defiance fortunately had mission checkpoints to reduce tedium.

I never found any checkpoints in Defiance