War Rock: reviewed By Matt Howcroft, 13/5/07
As the Title says, its name is War Rock, and It is in essence a freeware alternative to modern combat games such as battlefield 2. Before I get into details on the game, It is worth mentioning that it is still in open beta testing phase, so any faults mentioned in the review are most likely not permanent.
That said, upon loading up War rock for the first time, (after waiting for the hefty 600mb download to finish) I was extremely impressed with the professional quality that oozed from it. The menus are well finished and glossy, most of them extremely industrial looking with backdrops of grizzled looking soldiers carrying extremely dangerous weapons. Most of the action performed in the menus (IE character naming, video options etc) have sound effects tied to them, which while not necessary, are a nice touch. When you have set up your in game alias, and set up the video options to a level that suits your computer (note: the system set up section is one of the best I've encountered in a none retail game, as it allows users with older and slower, or more modern pc's to get the best out of the game they can), you can advance into the versatile playing field that defines war rock. The first thing i noticed upon entering the fray was how well finished and realistic character movements were. normally in Asian developed games, there is a tendency to stray into a a cartoonish appearance, which was happily absent.
The gun sound effects are powerful and realistic, explosions are full 3d effects
(rather than 2d sprites as is often seen in freeware games) and the physics are easily the best I've seen in a freeware game.
Now, don't get me wrong, don't expect a physics engine on a par with UT2004
or other advanced combat games, but for the price tag of £0 i was extremely impressed.
all character models have their own ragdoll animation, which, i have to say adds to the realistic feel. (theres a certain air of schadenfreude when you pelt a grenade at an enemies head, only to watch their lifeless corpse hang lifelessly against a burnt out bike with their dislocated limbs flapping in the heat and wind)
Not only is the on foot combat well oiled and flowing, you also get to use a range of vehicles, including helicopters of all types, jet fighters, tanks, jeeps, armored cars, motocross bikes and even stationary anti aircraft guns.
Unfortunately, this wide range of vehicles is something of a double edged sword, as once even the most talentless of players gets in a tank, the more grizzled and wily players on the map find themselves fleeing from a barrage of badly aimed, but still deadly shells and machine gun rounds.
the physics of the war machines are also strangely crude for such a well finished game. The on ground handling doesn't change despite what terrain your on, a grenade explosion is perfectly capable of flipping a 5 ton tank over onto it's side, and when jumping off a ramp on a bike, there is a strange feeling of weightlessness (and also the ability to turn while in the air in some cases :S) another problem is the lack of speed. In one open battlefield map, i found an enemy player almost catching up to me on foot while i was furiously throttling the gas on a 125cc dirt bike in an attempt to escape a heavily fortified base.
despite all the minor faults of this game, it is definitely one to download for those who either can't run bf2 for compatibility issues, or even those who fancy a more gritty, fast paced and generally light hearted alternative.
system requirements are as follows:
Minimum Specifications Recommended Specifications
CPU Pentium 3, 800 Mhz Pentium 4, 2.0Ghz
RAM 512MB or better 512 MB or better
Graphics Radeon 8500LE, Geforce MX400 or better FX5700 / ATI 9200
OS Windows ME, 2000, or XP Windows 2000 / XP
Hard Drive 950 MB 950 MB
Overall I give this game 4 stars, as it is simply the best I have played of It's type.
graphics: ****
sound : ***
ease of use : ****
Value: ****
Overall: ****
As the Title says, its name is War Rock, and It is in essence a freeware alternative to modern combat games such as battlefield 2. Before I get into details on the game, It is worth mentioning that it is still in open beta testing phase, so any faults mentioned in the review are most likely not permanent.
That said, upon loading up War rock for the first time, (after waiting for the hefty 600mb download to finish) I was extremely impressed with the professional quality that oozed from it. The menus are well finished and glossy, most of them extremely industrial looking with backdrops of grizzled looking soldiers carrying extremely dangerous weapons. Most of the action performed in the menus (IE character naming, video options etc) have sound effects tied to them, which while not necessary, are a nice touch. When you have set up your in game alias, and set up the video options to a level that suits your computer (note: the system set up section is one of the best I've encountered in a none retail game, as it allows users with older and slower, or more modern pc's to get the best out of the game they can), you can advance into the versatile playing field that defines war rock. The first thing i noticed upon entering the fray was how well finished and realistic character movements were. normally in Asian developed games, there is a tendency to stray into a a cartoonish appearance, which was happily absent.
The gun sound effects are powerful and realistic, explosions are full 3d effects
(rather than 2d sprites as is often seen in freeware games) and the physics are easily the best I've seen in a freeware game.
Now, don't get me wrong, don't expect a physics engine on a par with UT2004
or other advanced combat games, but for the price tag of £0 i was extremely impressed.
all character models have their own ragdoll animation, which, i have to say adds to the realistic feel. (theres a certain air of schadenfreude when you pelt a grenade at an enemies head, only to watch their lifeless corpse hang lifelessly against a burnt out bike with their dislocated limbs flapping in the heat and wind)
Not only is the on foot combat well oiled and flowing, you also get to use a range of vehicles, including helicopters of all types, jet fighters, tanks, jeeps, armored cars, motocross bikes and even stationary anti aircraft guns.
Unfortunately, this wide range of vehicles is something of a double edged sword, as once even the most talentless of players gets in a tank, the more grizzled and wily players on the map find themselves fleeing from a barrage of badly aimed, but still deadly shells and machine gun rounds.
the physics of the war machines are also strangely crude for such a well finished game. The on ground handling doesn't change despite what terrain your on, a grenade explosion is perfectly capable of flipping a 5 ton tank over onto it's side, and when jumping off a ramp on a bike, there is a strange feeling of weightlessness (and also the ability to turn while in the air in some cases :S) another problem is the lack of speed. In one open battlefield map, i found an enemy player almost catching up to me on foot while i was furiously throttling the gas on a 125cc dirt bike in an attempt to escape a heavily fortified base.
despite all the minor faults of this game, it is definitely one to download for those who either can't run bf2 for compatibility issues, or even those who fancy a more gritty, fast paced and generally light hearted alternative.
system requirements are as follows:
Minimum Specifications Recommended Specifications
CPU Pentium 3, 800 Mhz Pentium 4, 2.0Ghz
RAM 512MB or better 512 MB or better
Graphics Radeon 8500LE, Geforce MX400 or better FX5700 / ATI 9200
OS Windows ME, 2000, or XP Windows 2000 / XP
Hard Drive 950 MB 950 MB
Overall I give this game 4 stars, as it is simply the best I have played of It's type.
graphics: ****
sound : ***
ease of use : ****
Value: ****
Overall: ****
