Previous Next

Saddam's up to his old tricks in Kuwait again and only you can stop him. Stormin' Rob Mead takes him on...

The Gulf War was arguably one of the world's first "surgical" conflicts. Allied forces knocked out entire sections of Saddam Hussein's war machine without incurring massive civilian casualties.

Now you can do exactly the same in Empire's latest war sim. Based on the same game engine as Pacific Islands and Team Yankee, War In The Gulf takes you to 1995 when once again, Saddam threatens Kuwait's sovereignty. Members of his elite Republican Guard have already seized the strategically important islands of Failaka and Bubiyan as well as a number of oilfields in the north. You play a member of Team Kuwait, a 1,000 strong force of US troops assigned to the Kuwait military. As your paymaster, the Sultan of Kuwait has given you strict instructions for your team to repel the Iraqi invaders while causing as little "collateral damage" as possible.

If you've never played Pacific Islands or Team Yankee, it's a good idea to start off with the Training mission where you guide four units of four tanks, each around an assault course and meet the set objectives. Only when you feel you can accomplish this successfully should you attempt the real missions against the Iraqi forces.

Why? Because in a battle situation events take place rapidly and you're usually heavily outnumbered. There's nothing worse than fumbling over the controls when you've got a gang or Iraqi T-72s blowing the crap out of you.

Your primary objectives are to seize control of Failaka and Bubiyan, before taking on the hub of the Republican Guard on the Kuwaiti mainland - this is why you really need training as things get a little hot. There are fifteen different tank battles over 400 square miles of terrain for you to complete before victory is yours.

At the start of each mission you're briefed with your main objectives which have to be achieved against a time limit. Fail just one of your goals, and you lose.

Control of your tanks is achieved by placing a single waypoint on each of your four unit's map screens. Once they arrive, the tanks stop and you have to set the next waypoint. Timing is crucial here and you have to take the terrain into account - tanks move faster on purpose-built roads, but are vulnerable to attack, cross-country routes, on the other hand, are slower and getting your forces into position takes longer.

Once you've sussed out the map controls, you can access the 3D game screen wihch shows you the landscape in a bitmapped format. At any time you can view one or all of your units on the same screen by toggling the Quadrant/Expand icon. It's here you witness the full thrill of the battle - from spectacular explosions to the scary sight of a whole legion of Iraqi tanks descending on your position. Each tank even has its own thermal imaging camera, so you can see the Iraqis through the smoke and tumult of battle.

Despite a slightly exploitative feel, War In The Gulf is actually very good fun to play. Even if you're not a war sim addict, you soon find yourself deeply engrossed in what's going on. Keeping track of your four units is not easy - despite the novel Quadrant option - and you often find all four under attack at once.

You really go get the feeling of the heat of battle. The game can be a bit overawing at first and you can find yourself blundering blindly into situations without really planning how you're going to get out of them. You soon get the hang of things though, and you can achieve your initial mission objectives quite quickly, even if you do lapse into the occasional bout of US Army style friendly-fire by inadverently attacking your own units.

Control of your forces is achieved entirely by a series of point-and-click icons and menus. You're unable to steer individual tanks but are responsible for collective targeting of the enemy objectives using a cursor gunsight - this makes getting around dead simple and enables you to fully concentrate on knocking out the Iraqi tanks.

Graphically, War In The Gulf is identical to its two predecessors - the same 3D bitmapping ensures gameplay is fast and furious, even if not highly detailed. The different buildings are distinct enough for you to avoid destroying warehoused Kuwaiti art treasures - for which you are seriously penalised, while pummelling crucial Iraqi communications centres.

The tanks are not so easily identified, although you can orientate yourself effortlessly using each unit's maps. The sound effects are pretty unspectacular, consisting mainly of chip-generated explosions and tank rumbles.

Humungous explosions and nail-biting gameplay makes War In The Gulf the best fun since Cleopatra's asp.

You could find it too simplistic if you're a serious war games enthusiast.