Ladies and gentlemen, start your emulators! It is time for another episode of RetrOS, the show where we give you your recommended dose of nostalgia by reviewing games from your childhood. In this episode, we take a look at one of the most beloved titles of the PS1 era.
Is this game worthy of remembrance, or should this game be left merely as a footnote in the pages of gaming history?
Let's find out!
One of the biggest franchises in the mid to late 90s was Worms. The game's quirky, cartoonish sense of humour makes this game stand out from the crowd. The game was a massive success with both critics and its players.
Now, as I have repeated time and time again, one of the golden rules of the video game industry, especially in the 90s, when a trend, mechanic, or franchise is successful, copycats and clones are sure to follow. This game was one of them.
This title was released exclusively for the PlayStation on 8 June 200. This game is set in the wartime archipelago of Saustralasia, located in the Pigsisific Ocean.
The archipelago was found to be a rich source of Swill.this rare resource, forcing the various nations present to declare war on each other. After all, when you control the swill, you control the world!
You take command of a small squad of troops and conquer the archipelago territory by territory.
The accessibility scores are as follows –
Visibility 8
In this category, there is a minor issue. Each and every warring faction has its own unique colour. In the single-player campaign, you have to pick one of these factions (obviously!). Every faction's colours were chosen to represent historical accuracy.
However, this will cause an issue for a colourblind player as one faction is represented in green, and another is represented in red.
You know as well as I do, a red and green colour contrast is a definite no-go when playing this game with a visual impairment. However, in multiplayer games, the faction each, and every player commands can be customised via the team set-up screen.
If you stay still for a few seconds, the soldier's name is displayed over their heads. This can help you differentiate which team controls which soldier. On the other hand, each turn has a time limit. So even at that, it will still put you at a disadvantage.
So, you might encounter issues when playing this game with a visual impairment.
Audibility 9.5
Due to the game's age, there is no subtitle function available, however, the spoken dialogue is not exactly that important. The majority of this is the humorous dialogue (more on that later!) Also, the term timer is displayed in the bottom left corner of the screen. So, a player with a hearing impairment will have little to no issues when playing this game
Mobility 9
In terms of this category, there is an issue here, depending on which platform you decide to play this game on. In terms of the PlayStation version, you cannot customise the controls. But you can use both the D-pad and the analogue stick to control your soldier. In the PC version, on the other hand, you can use the keyboard to control the game. Also, there is controller support right out of the box.
Don't worry, guys! An Xbox controller works like a charm when playing this game. Better still, these controls can be fully customised to suit your impairments.
Detailed breakdown:
PSX 3/5
PC 6/5
Gameplay 11
This game is an absolute riot to play! It's typical British humour that makes this game a lot more fun.
The voice acting done by British comedian Rik Mayall is absolutely hilarious! The way that each and every nation was portrayed reinforced that, even the soldiers' names! such as Herr Kut, Bastielle and Porc.
In terms of the single-player content, the campaign is very long and the multiplayer modes add infinite replayability!
The class mechanic gives you more flexibility when building your squad. Each soldier can follow one of four career paths.
Heavy is the biggest damage dealer of your team. They specialise in long-range, high damage weapons, allowing them to deal a lot of punishment from afar.
As the name suggests, espionage involves reconnaissance units that can scout out the battlefield. While invisible to enemy radar, they can hide as objects such as trees to remain unseen by enemy soldiers.
Engineers are explosives specialists; they can deal a lot of damage to the enemy by using landmines, grenades and sticks of TNT. Engineers can detect minefields on the battlefield.
Medics are your support units. As the name suggests, their main function is healing your Allied soldiers, but the weapons they have are not exactly "high damage". In this game, it is important to select whichever mix of classes is more suitable for your style of command.
In summary, Hogs of War is an excellent turn-based strategy game. It is the Worms formula perfected, but in a 3-D environment.
At the time, most games of the era were 2-D. The variety of battlefields, vehicles, and hazards forces you to adapt strategies per the battlefield you are fighting in. For example, a good tactic would be pushing an enemy soldier into a minefield, sit back, and watch the fireworks!
The sheer variety of weapons is extensive, ranging from knives, cattle prods, TNT, mortars even air strikes!
The game is even more fun when you have friends over, playing against each other on the same couch in multiplayer battles. If you are a fan of turn-based tactical games and happen to have an old PlayStation One in your attic, this game is a perfectly good excuse to take that console out and enjoy the mayhem!
OVERALL SCORE- 93.75%
See you guys in the next review!
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