War Gods (video game)

Last updated
War Gods
War Gods pal.jpg
Developer(s) Midway Games
Eurocom (home versions)
Publisher(s) Midway (Arcade, N64, PS)
GT Interactive (Windows)
Platform(s) Arcade, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Windows
ReleaseArcade
PlayStation
  • NA: June 20, 1997 [2]
  • EU: October 1997
Nintendo 64
  • NA: May 20, 1997 [3]
  • EU: November 28, 1997
Windows
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system Midway V Unit

War Gods is a 3D fighting video game originally released to arcades by Midway Games in 1996. Ports for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation and Windows were released in 1997. In the game, players control one of ten fighters who have been given great power by a mysterious ore that crashed-landed on Earth from outer space. The object of the game is to defeat all the other fighters to become the most powerful warrior on the planet.

Contents

The game was heavily influenced by Midway's Mortal Kombat series, and features controls similar to the Mortal Kombat games, as well as the series' signature fatalities. [5] Unique to War Gods is the "3D" button, allowing players to use the background/foreground for additional attacks and evasive maneuvers; in other words it lets the player dive around the ring in a circular arc as part of their attacks and defensive moves. The orbiting camera smoothly follows the fighters, working to maintain the left/right "fighting line" needed for coherent two-player joystick control on the arcade cabinet. The game's graphics were created using a technology by Midway called "digital skin", which mapped photographs onto 3D models.

War Gods received mixed reviews, with particular criticism being directed at the game's character design and animations.

Gameplay

War Gods' character design and graphics were criticized by reviewers. War Gods Arcade Gameplay Screenshot.png
War Gods' character design and graphics were criticized by reviewers.

War Gods is a 3D fighting game with the control scheme of a Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter entry. [9] It is limited to a story mode that can be played alone or two-player; in the Nintendo 64 version, the two-player mode is activated by having the second controller plugged in while on the character selection screen. [10] The plot takes place billions of years ago, where ten humans turn into the titular powerful beings by finding chunks of ore that arrived on a crashed spaceship. [11] [6] The gods fight each other to possess all the stones and become the ultimate super-warrior. [11] The final battles are with two aliens from the spaceship, Grox and Exor, hunting the War Gods for a missing transporter. [10] The levels are set in areas native to the War Gods, such as the cyborg Cy-5's futuristic machine halls in 2096, and the priest's desert temples. [10]

The game plays similarly to Mortal Kombat 4 , using an almost identical button layout of high/low punches and kicks. The "Run" button was replaced with a "3D" button that, when held down while using other joystick and button combinations, allows the player to perform different attacks/evasions utilizing the background or foreground. [12] To prevent situations where opponents end up on different playing fields for prolonged periods of time, each character has a teleport move which moves them close to their opponent. [13] Just as in the Mortal Kombat games, players select a character and fight a series of opponents. War Gods also features combos which can be used through series of button presses. Like the Mortal Kombat games, the game has fatalities that are used to finish off opponents. [11]

Development

Released by Midway as the first of its new 3D software prior to the release of Mortal Kombat 4 , War Gods was developed by a team led by Joe Linhoff and George Petro. [14] The arcade game utilized a hybrid of the hardware used for Cruis'n USA with a hard drive for data storage. [15] [16] All the moves were recorded using motion capture with just two actors. [17] The in-game characters were created using a technology called "digital skin", which involved digitizing reference photographs of live actors and mapping them onto 3-D models. [6]

Gamefan reported about War Gods in August 1995 claiming it will use the same hardware as Killer Instinct and will be unveiled at Amusement Expo International in September 1995. [18] However War Gods did not get unveiled until at a trade show in March 1996. [19] In response to suggestions and complaints about the gameplay, several months were devoted to refining the game's programming, delaying the arcade release to the third quarter of 1996. [19]

The Nintendo 64 version was delayed in order to tone down the difficulty level and add additional moves. [20] A Panasonic M2 version of War Gods was in development and slated to be one of its launch titles, but it never happened due to the system's cancellation. [21] [22] [23]

Reception

The response to War Gods was lukewarm. Critics from GameFan and IGN felt the N64 port improved on the problems of the arcade port, such as the AI and frame rate, although the former source expressed that it was a waste of resources to do so. [9] [6] One of the biggest criticisms the game received was for its cast of characters. Computer and Video Games reported that while the arcade game was being exhibited at the 1996 American Coin Machine Exposition, showgoers believed that the character designs would hurt the game's chances for success. [12] Matt Casamassina of IGN called the character designs "uninspired", [6] while a reviewer for Next Generation called them "mildly embarrassing Ringling Brothers' character design". [7] Game Revolution, however, said the character designs were "pretty cool" and complimented the variety in the available fighters. [27]

The response to the game's graphics was mixed. Computer and Video Games had a positive impression of the in-game models with "digital skin". [12] Next Generation said the digital skin technique is genuinely innovative and different, but the result is characters which look jagged, move stiffly, and generally lack the smoothness of the polygonal fighters seen in contemporary games like Tekken 2 and Virtua Fighter 2 . [7] Commenting on the Nintendo 64 version, Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot called it "probably the first N64 fighting game to hit the market that actually shows off some of the power of this system." [11] However, most reviewers said the game makes poor use of the N64 hardware, citing choppy character animations, a low frame rate, poorly detailed characters, and slowdown. [25] [27] [8] Casamassina wrote that the while the digital skin textures were "initially nice", the "animation and terrible character design detract greatly from the whole experience." [6]

IGN said they were "pleased with the control in the game, but not overly excited by it." [6] GamePro remarked that "The 3D button, while innovative, really doesn't enhance the gameplay" and is too easily confused with low guard on the N64 controller. [8] Reviewers, such as E. Storm of GameFan who found the controls not responsive enough to compete with fighters of such "insane" AI, also commented that the game's controls were ill-suited for the N64 controller. [9] [11] [27] Only Next Generation argued that the controls are more intuitive with the N64 controller than they were in the arcade. [31] The Nintendo 64 version was also criticized for having imbalanced A.I., Casamassina writing fighters would successfully pull off every attack without struggle on the easiest setting. [6] [27] [9] Reviewers highlighted the fact that the game plays very similarly to the Mortal Kombat games. Gerstmann commented that there was "just enough of the MK feel to give it familiarity" calling it "an interesting footnote to the MK legacy." [11] After seeing the game demoed at the American Coin Machine Exposition, a Next Generation writer said it was "the next step forward for Midway's Mortal Kombat series (though it's not technically Mortal Kombat)." [34] The magazine's later review of the game, however, criticized that too many of the fighters' moves are obvious parallels to moves seen in the Mortal Kombat series. [7] Sushi-X of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) likewise judged that the overt similarity to Mortal Kombat makes the game "horribly unoriginal." [25] EGM named it the 1997 "Game That Should've Stayed in the Arcades" in their 1998 Video Game Buyer's Guide, commenting that "an average arcade game doesn't make for a great home game, War Gods is no exception." [35]

Next Generation and Crispin Boyer of EGM noted that the Nintendo 64 version was actually enhanced over the arcade version, with faster gameplay, better anti-aliasing, and bosses which were tuned to present a more reasonable challenge, but both felt these enhancements were not enough to make the game good. [25] [31] GamePro assessed that the game compared unfavorably, not only to the top tier fighting games on the Saturn and PlayStation, but even to middling N64 fighters such as Killer Instinct Gold and Mortal Kombat Trilogy . [8]

War Gods flopped in arcades, owing chiefly to limited distribution and unfavorable word of mouth. [36]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Killer Instinct</i> (1994 video game) 1994 video game

Killer Instinct is a 2.5D fighting game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo. It was originally released for arcades by Midway in October 1994, and ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Game Boy the following year. The game's plot involves an all-powerful corporation organizing a fighting tournament. The story was adapted in a limited comic book series published under the short-lived Acclaim Comics imprint.

<i>Mortal Kombat 4</i> 1997 video game

Mortal Kombat 4 is the fourth main installment in the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games developed by Midway Games. Released to arcades in 1997, Mortal Kombat 4 is the first title from the series, and one of the first made by Midway overall, to use 3D computer graphics. It is also the last game of the series to have an arcade release. It was later ported to the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, PC, and Game Boy Color the following year, as well as an updated version titled Mortal Kombat Gold released exclusively for the Dreamcast.

<i>Wayne Gretzkys 3D Hockey</i> 1996 video game

Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey is a video game developed and published by Atari Games for the arcade in 1996. A port for the Nintendo 64 console was released almost simultaneously with the arcade version, on November 15, 1996, making it the first-ever 4-player game for the Nintendo 64, beating Mario Kart's Japanese release by more than a month. The game was followed by a sequel, Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey '98.

<i>Cruisn USA</i> 1994 video game

Cruis'n USA is a racing video game developed by TV Games Inc. and published by Nintendo. It was first released in arcades in 1994 by Midway Games, with a port to the Nintendo 64 developed by Williams Electronics released in 1996. It is the first game in the Cruis'n series and features races set in locations across the Continental United States.

<i>Cruisn World</i> 1996 video game

Cruis'n World is a 1996 racing game developed by Midway Games and published by Nintendo. It is the sequel to the 1994 arcade racer Cruis'n USA. A port for the Nintendo 64 developed by Eurocom was released in 1998, and was the best received of the Cruis'n ports.

<i>ClayFighter 63⅓</i> 1997 video game

ClayFighter 63⅓ is a 1997 fighting game developed and published by Interplay Productions for the Nintendo 64. It is the third installment of the ClayFighter series. The title is a parody of the 64 suffix common with Nintendo 64 games.

<i>Mortal Kombat 3</i> 1995 video game

Mortal Kombat 3 is a 1995 arcade fighting game developed by Midway Games. It is the third main installment in the Mortal Kombat franchise and a sequel to 1993's Mortal Kombat II. As in the previous games, it has a cast of characters that players choose from and guide through a series of battles against other opponents. The game avoids the tournament storyline of its predecessors, as various warriors instead fight against the returning Shao Kahn, who has resurrected his bride Sindel and started an invasion of Earthrealm.

<i>Mortal Kombat Trilogy</i> 1996 video game compilation

Mortal Kombat Trilogy is a fighting game released by Midway in 1996 as the second and final update to Mortal Kombat 3 for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn and PCs. Further versions were also released for the Game.com and R-Zone. It features a similar basic gameplay system and the same story as Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, but adds characters and stages restored from Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II. New additions to the game included the "Aggressor" bar. The Brutality mechanic was introduced with this installment. The game was met with positive to mixed reviews upon release.

<i>Primal Rage</i> 1994 arcade video game

Primal Rage is a fighting game developed and released by Atari Games for arcades in 1994. The game takes place on a post-apocalyptic version of Earth called "Urth". Players control one of seven prehistoric beasts, that battle each other to determine the planet's fate. Matches feature many of the conventions of fighting games from the era, including special moves and gory finishing maneuvers. Ports were released for home video game consoles and personal computers. Efforts to perfectly emulate the arcade original have been unsuccessful due to the use of an unusual copy protection method. Toys, comics, a novel and other merchandise tie-ins were produced. More than 1.5 million copies of the game were sold.

<i>Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3</i> Fighting video game

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series, developed and released by Midway to arcades in 1995. It is a standalone update of 1995's earlier Mortal Kombat 3 with an altered gameplay system, additional characters like the returning favorites Reptile, Kitana, Jade and Scorpion who were missing from Mortal Kombat 3, and some new features.

<i>Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero</i> 1997 video game

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero is a 1997 action-adventure game developed and published by Midway for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. A spin-off of the Mortal Kombat franchise, it is the first installment to not be a fighting game. Set before the original 1992 game, players control Bi-Han, the elder Sub-Zero, during his quest to find Shinnok's amulet. It also serves as a prequel to Mortal Kombat 4, which was released the same year, introducing characters and story elements that would be used by the fourth main installment. Mythologies is the final game in the series to use digitized actors.

<i>Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.</i> 1998 3D fighting video game

Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. is a 3D fighting video game released by Midway in 1998. It was originally planned for arcades. Prototypes of the game were tested at arcades, but the final arcade release was canceled and the game was later released for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows.

<i>Mace: The Dark Age</i> 1997 fighting arcade game

Mace: The Dark Age is a fighting video game released by Atari Games for arcade machines in 1997 and later ported by Midway Games to the Nintendo 64. Like many fighting games of the time, its style is marked by extreme violence, with characters graphically slaying defeated opponents. Utilizing 3dfx Voodoo chips for the hardware, the game received attention for its cutting-edge graphics and turned Atari a profit in the arcades. Critical response to the gameplay was much less enthusiastic.

<i>Dark Rift</i> 1997 video game

Dark Rift is a 3D fighting video game for the Nintendo 64, notable for being the first N64 game to use 60 frames per second. It has been referred to as the Nintendo 64's first native fighting game, though in actuality it started development as a Sega Saturn game. In addition, it was originally announced that the Microsoft Windows version of the game would precede the Nintendo 64 version by one month.

<i>Aero Fighters Assault</i> 1997 video game

Aero Fighters Assault is an arcade-style combat flight simulator developed by Paradigm Entertainment and published by Vic Tokai and Video System for the Nintendo 64 in 1997.

<i>California Speed</i> (video game) 1998 video game

California Speed is a racing video game developed and published by Atari Games. The game was first released in arcades in 1998 and was ported to the Nintendo 64 in 1999 by Midway. The Nintendo 64 version of the game contains support for the Controller Pak and the Rumble Pak.

<i>G.A.S.P!! Fighters NEXTream</i> 1998 video game

G.A.S.P!! Fighters' NEXTream is a fighting video game for the Nintendo 64 released in 1998. The story follows a series of fighters that have each received a mysterious letter to compete in a legendary contest, and about a champion that has disappeared. The North American versions are known as Deadly Arts. The story and the player profiles do not appear in the instructions for the North American version. Except for the title, it is basically the same as the Japan and Europe versions, with slightly changed voice messages, and different character nameplates.

<i>NBA Hangtime</i> 1996 video game

NBA Hangtime is a 1996 basketball arcade game developed and released by Midway. Home versions were released for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Super NES, Sega Genesis, and Microsoft Windows.

<i>San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing</i> 1996 video game

San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing is a 1996 arcade video game developed and published by Atari Games. After appearing on arcades, it was ported to home consoles under the Midway label beginning with Nintendo 64 in 1997 and then PlayStation in 1998. An updated version named San Francisco Rush The Rock: Alcatraz Edition was later released with more tracks and cars. It was a critical and commercial hit, and became the first in the Rush series, followed up by San Francisco Rush 2049 (1999), bounded by the non-arcade Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA (1998).

<i>Killer Instinct Gold</i> 1996 video game

Killer Instinct Gold is a fighting game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is based on the arcade game Killer Instinct 2. Players control characters who fight on a 2D plane set against a 3D background. Players press buttons to punch and kick their opponent in chains of successive hits, known as combos. Large combo successions lead to stronger attacks and brutal, stylistic finisher moves underscored by an announcer. Characters—including a gargoyle, a ninja, and a femme fatale—fight in settings such as a jungle and a spaceship. Killer Instinct Gold includes the arcade release's characters, combos, and 3D, pre-rendered environments, but excludes its full-motion video sequences and some voice-overs due to restrictions of the cartridge media format. The Gold release adds a training mode, camera views, and improved audiovisuals.

References

  1. ↑ Masumi Akagi. アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005).
  2. ↑ "WAR GODS - (NTSC-U)". psxdatacenter.com. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  3. ↑ I. G. N. Staff (1997-05-21). "War Gods Ships to N64". IGN. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  4. ↑ "MIDWAY HOME ENTERTAINMENT AND GT INTERACTIVE UNLEASH ARCADE SMASH WAR GODS AND MORTAL KOMBAT TRILOGY FOR PC" . Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  5. ↑ "Pagan from War Gods | Game-Art-HQ".
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Casamassina, Matt (May 29, 1997). "War Gods" . Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "God Awful". Next Generation . No. 20. Imagine Media. August 1996. p. 105.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Scary Larry (June 1997). "Nintendo 64 ProReview: War Gods". GamePro . No. 105. IDG. p. 62.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 E. Storm; Reubus; Knightmare; Shidoshi; Takuhi; Glitch; substance D; Chief Hambleton (May 1997). "Viewpoint". GameFan . Vol. 5, no. 5. pp. 24–25. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 "War Gods". MANiAC (in German). August 1997. pp. 30–31. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gerstmann, Jeff (3 June 1997). "War Gods Review". GameSpot.
  12. 1 2 3 "War Gods". Computer and Video Games . May 1996. p. 12. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  13. ↑ "War Gods". GamePro . No. 92. IDG. May 1996. p. 50.
  14. ↑ "Watch Out for War Gods". GamePro . No. 93. IDG. June 1996. pp. 102–4.
  15. ↑ Major Mike; Johnny Ballgame (August 1997). "MK4: The Mortal Kombat Konversation". GamePro . No. 107. IDG. pp. 30–32.
  16. ↑ War Gods at the Killer List of Videogames
  17. ↑ "Gaming Gossip". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 76. Ziff Davis. November 1995. p. 32.
  18. ↑ Gamefan . Vol. 3, no. 8. August 1995. p. 99.{{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. 1 2 Webb, Marcus (October 1996). "War Gods: A Change in Plans". Next Generation . No. 22. Imagine Media. p. 22.
  20. ↑ "Midway Goes back to Drawing Board, Delays War Gods". IGN. January 6, 1997.
  21. ↑ "Preview - Coming Soon - M2". 3DO Magazine . No. 10. Paragon Publishing. May 1996. p. 34.
  22. ↑ "News - E3 '96: 3DO? - M2 Dream List". 3DO Magazine . No. 12. Paragon Publishing. July 1996. p. 4.
  23. ↑ "Preview - Coming Soon - M2". 3DO Magazine . No. 12. Paragon Publishing. July 1996. p. 34.
  24. ↑ "War Gods for Nintendo 64". GameRankings . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Shawn; Tsu, Dan; Boyer, Crispin; Sushi-X (June 1997). "Review Crew: War Gods". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 95. Ziff Davis. p. 43. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  26. ↑ Shaw, John. "War Gods". The Electric Playground . Archived from the original on April 30, 2001. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 "War Gods". Game Revolution. June 6, 2004. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  28. ↑ "War Gods". Génération 4 (in French). No. 102. September 1997. p. 211. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  29. ↑ "PlayStation: War Gods". IGN . May 23, 1997. Archived from the original on October 1, 2002. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  30. ↑ "War Gods". N64 Magazine . No. 7. October 1997. pp. 48–49. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  31. 1 2 3 "Finals: War Gods". Next Generation . No. 31. Imagine Media. July 1997. pp. 155, 157.
  32. ↑ "PC Review: Wargods". PC Zone . August 13, 2001. Archived from the original on December 3, 2006. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  33. ↑ Cooper, Loz (1997). "War Gods". 64 . No. 3. pp. 28–32. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Virtua Fighter 3 Steals US Show". Next Generation . No. 17. Imagine Media. May 1996. p. 21.
  35. ↑ "The Good the Bad and the Silly". 1998 Video Game Buyer's Guide. Ziff Davis. March 1998. p. 20.
  36. ↑ "War Gods: Ten Gods You Don't Want to Make Angry". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 95. Ziff Davis. June 1997. p. 76.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.