Independence War Deluxe Edition

Pros • easy to control • new 18-mission campaign • great graphics -- now at 800 x 600 resolution • robust training program • only $30	Cons • only Glide (3Dfx) 3D hardware support • can't save where you want • no multiplayer support
Bottom Line While they may not have addressed some of the beefs with the original I-War -- namely a lack of multiplayer and Direct3D support -- Independence War Deluxe Edition is a fantastic value-priced space sim for your beloved CD-ROM collection 1998 Was a banner year for space sims. One that gotoverlooked by gamers in North America was Independence War. Well, Infogrames is giving us another shot at it with the newly improved, expanded and repackaged I-War Deluxe. At the reduced price, it is a great bargain.

It’s hard to dispute 1998 was a banner year for space combat sims with such stellar offerings as Interplay’s Descent: Freespace, Origin Systems’ Wing Commander: Prophecy and, arguably the best of all, Independence War from Infogrames. While the latter went on to sell over 300,000 units worldwide, only 50,000 copies of this critically-acclaimed game were purchased in North America.

Luckily, for fans of the original, the lukewarm sales of Independence War (I-War) on this side of the pond didn’t deter Infogrames and developers Particle Systems much as they’re back again with Independence War Deluxe Edition, a value-priced bundle featuring the original game and an entirely new campaign, dubbed “Defiance”.

As in the first I-War, these extra eighteen missions also take place in the year 2268, but now the gamer plays Edison Hayes, a young Indie captain, who fights with his new crew against the Commonwealth Navy in a hijacked 160-meter long Dreadnought-class Corvette. Halfway through the campaign, Hayes learns more about the forces behind this intergalactic war from his mentor and realizes the Commonwealth may not be the real adversary to be concerned about. The Defiance campaign will surely please fans of I-War for its well-thought out and varied (albeit linear) missions, entertaining cut-scenes to help propel the story along, and new features, as well. For novice gamers or newcomers to the genre, a very robust training program will get budding pilots on their feet in no time.

These new gameplay additions include a loadout screen to chose what weapons may be best for the task at hand, two new weapons (a hull-mounted Gatling gun and a Sniper Particle Beam cannon with adjustable zoom), the ability to give individual commands to wingman and more ships and stations. All of the changes were implemented due to feedback collected from vocal I-War gamers since last year.

Unfortunately, two major beefs with the original game remain. Firstly, there is still no multiplayer mode. Sure, 60+ solo missions including the Defiance campaign is quite a lot to tackle (and considering many of them can be quite challenging…especially towards the end), but it would’ve been a blast to log on and play against real human opponents. Let’s hope Particle Systems will add this to I-War 2 (if it’s in the works, that is).

Next, while the graphics are quite impressive in hardware mode (and now with an 800 x 600 resolution option), there is only 3D support for owners of Voodoo cards (excluding Voodoo Rush boards). This is a shame as the graphics in I-War Deluxe Edition are simply superb, with highly-detailed spacecraft, impressive nebulae and better explosions than the original game. Moreover, the hardware mode also increases the frame-rates significantly. There’s no excuse for a Glide-only game in this day and age. There is no word of a Direct3D patch as of yet. Sheesh.

Lastly, while the back of the box claims there are now in-mission save points, it doesn’t tell you they’re automatic save points. In many cases, the automatic saves were not where I would have saved the mission. I guess it’s better than no save points, as with its predecessor, but I recall one frustrating escort scenario in particular where I must have restarted the mission a dozen times.

Despite these minor shortcoming, Independence War Deluxe Edition is an asset to any space sim lover’s CD-ROM collection. For the price of a little more than an expansion pack (the game is $29.99 U.S. or less, plus a $10 rebate for owners of the original game), you can have a fully-patched, complete game with an extra campaign to indulge in.

But don’t take my work for it -- test-drive the new Defiance mission by downloading the free playable demo at http://www.independencewar.com/f-deluxe.htm.

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