Iron Soldier
Iron Soldier is an open world first-person mecha simulation video game developed by Eclipse Software Design and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar in North America and Europe on December 22, 1994, then in Europe on January 1995 and later in Japan on March 24 of the same year, where it was instead published by Mumin Corporation.[1][2][3][4] The first installment in the eponymous franchise, the game is set in a dystopian future where industries and machinery has overrun most of the surface on Earth, as players assume the role of a resistance member taking control of the titular mech in an attempt to overthrow the dictatorship of Iron Fist Corporation, who have conquered the world through usage of military force.
Iron Soldier | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Eclipse Software Design |
Publisher(s) |
|
Producer(s) | Sean Patten |
Designer(s) | Marc Rosocha |
Programmer(s) | Michael Bittner |
Artist(s) | Bleick Bleicken Christian Reissmüller Olivier Lindau |
Writer(s) | Sean Patten |
Composer(s) | Joachim Gierveld Mario Knezović Nate Brenholdt |
Series | Iron Soldier |
Platform(s) | Atari Jaguar |
Release | |
Genre(s) | First-person shooter, mech simulator |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Conceived by Cybermorph co-producer Sean Patten during his time working at Atari Corp., Iron Soldier began development in late 1993 during the console's launch and was jointly written by Lethal Xcess authors Marc Rosocha and Michael Bittner.[5][6][7][8] Eclipse Software originally pitched an on-rails 3D shooter to the Atari executives but it was rejected for not being an open world title, however Marc later meet with Patten, who proposed him to create a mecha game based on a script he previously wrote that served as the starting basis for the project, which took influences from his fascination with mechas and series such as Godzilla.[5][6][7]
Iron Soldier received mostly positive reception after being released and critics praised multiple aspects of the game such as the visuals, audio, gameplay and overall design but its control scheme, learning curve and lack of additional texture-mapped graphics drew criticism from some of the reviewers. As of April 1, 1995, the title has sold nearly 21,000 copies though it is unknown how many were sold in total during its lifetime.[9] A sequel, Iron Soldier 2, was released in December 1997 by Telegames for both the Jaguar and Atari Jaguar CD, a year after both platforms were discontinued by Atari in 1996 for being critical and commercial failures.[10][11] In recent years, it has been referred by publications like PC Magazine and Retro Gamer as one of the best titles for the system.[12][13][14]
Gameplay
Iron Soldier is an open world 3D first-person mecha simulation game similar to MechWarrior and Metal Head where players assume the role of a resistance member taking control of the titular Iron Soldier, a stolen robot spanning 42 feet or 13 metres of height in order to complete a series of 16 missions as attempts to overthrow the dictatorship of Iron Fist Corporation. Before starting, players can choose to tackle either of the first four missions at any given order, ranging from objectives such as retrieving new weapons from enemy bases or destroying certain buildings, with more being unlocked after completing a set of four missions as players progress further into the game, however the last set of four missions require to be played in successive order.[15]
Later missions involve players completing more complex objectives such as fighting against enemy Iron Soldier units or escorting allied vehicles while protecting them from enemy fire. At the beginning, the player only has access to an assault rifle but players can expand their arsenal with a wide variety of weapons like rocket launchers, gatling guns, cruise missiles, among others which can be equipped on any part of the robot.[15] If the robot gets destroyed by enemy fire, the current mission will be left incomplete and players only have a limited number of continues before the game is over, though players have the option of resuming progress by loading their saved game into the last mission set or last mission reached, but the number of continues used is kept.[15] At the title screen, players can enter to the options menu and change various settings.[15]
During gameplay, the action is viewed inside the Iron Soldier's cockpit and controlling it is done by holding the A button and pushing either up or down to move forward or backward respectively, while pressing A by itself brings the robot into a full-stop. The D-pad by itself is used to look the surroundings and change movement direction but holding the C button will allow to look faster, however it can also re-center the player's view when pressed by itself. Pressing both A and C will allow to turn the view much faster, while firing the currently selected weapon is done by pressing the B button and the Option button alternates between the right and left hands of the robot.[15]
Depending on their current position, weapons can be chosen by pressing its corresponding number on the controller's keypad, matching the diagram of the robot seen on the upper left side of the screen.[15] Pressing 2 activates the advanced controls, which lock the robot's lower part and allow players to look at any direction without changing course of movement but only 90° and turning left or right is done by holding A and pressing the corresponding direction, while pressing 2 again deactivates the advanced controls and unlocks the lower part.[15]
Buildings can be leveled down by destroying them with either close or long range weapons and most of them have crates containing either ammunition for the player's currently equipped weapons, supplies, new weapons or repair a quarter of the damage taken by the robot. However, they can also be used for cover to help avoid taking damage. Some of the smaller buildings and enemy units like the tanks can be destroyed by stepping on them while moving forward or backward,[15] but they slowdown movement. In addition, enemy fire such as the rockets can be counterattacked by shooting at them to avoid taking damage.
Development
Eclipse Software Design founder Marc Rosocha gave Iron Soldier its raison d'être when describing the pillars that formed the project.[5]
In late 1992, Atari Corporation showed Eclipse Software Design their plans for a new home video game console that would later become the Jaguar and wanted them to create new titles for the upcoming system, receiving one of the first prototype software development kits for it named "Felix" and due to their experience with previous hardware such as the Atari ST and Atari Falcon computers, they became quickly familiarized with the architecture.[5][7] Eclipse Software originally proposed an on-rails 3D shooter similar in vein to Namco's Starblade as one of their first projects for the Jaguar due to members within the company being fans of said title but it was rejected by the executives at Atari Corp. due to not being an open-world title, upsetting Eclipse founder and Lethal Xcess co-author Marc Rosocha as a result, who almost cut ties with Atari for their decision.[5][7]
From Autumn 1993, the team was only dedicated on making development tools for the Jaguar and prototypes but had nothing regarding to a game project before Marc meet with Cybermorph co-producer Sean Patten on his office at Atari, who proposed the team to make a mech game based on a script he previously wrote that would later serve as the starting basis for Iron Soldier's development due to his fascination with mechas and series like Godzilla.[5][6][7][16] Marc agreed at the request that they "could blow everything up", which Patten instantly agreed as well and the project entered development in November 1993 in conjunction between Atari and Eclipse.[5][6][7]
Iron Soldier was first showcased to the public in a playable state at Summer Consumer Electronics Show in 1994, where it impressed both attendees and the video game press covering the event with its visuals, which has several differences compared to the final release such as a different diagram of the robot seen on the upper left side of the screen,[6][17][18][19][20][21][22] and development was completed in under a year.[5] The game runs between 25-30 frames per second and the three-dimensional models such as the robots consist of 200 polygons, with some of them having texture mapping applied.[6][16] Most of the personnel on the development team were former Thalion Software employees, with Marc and co-programmer Michael Bittner being previously involved with titles such as Wings of Death and Trex Warrior: 22nd Century Gladiator respectively.[5][8] The titular mech was designed by artist Mark J.L. Simmons.[15]
GamePro magazine and other video game dedicated outlets reported that Iron Soldier, along with Club Drive and Doom, would be one of the first titles to support two-player online gaming via the Jaguar Voice Modem by Phylon, Inc.[23][24][25][26][27] However, the Jaguar Voice Modem itself was never completed or released, so the title was released as a single-player game only.
Release
Iron Soldier was released in North America on December 22, 1994 and later in Europe on January 1995 and came packaged with an overlay for the controller's keypad to illustrate their in-game functions.[1][2] It was also released in Japan on March 24, 1995, where it was published by Mumin Corporation instead of Atari and the difference between the international and Japanese releases is that the latter came bundled with an additional instruction manual written in Japanese.[3]
Iron Soldier Beta
In 2006, a prototype of the title in the ownership of video game collector Gary DuVall, was released under the title Iron Soldier Beta.[28] 50 copies of the prototype were distributed and created by community member Gusbucket13 of defunct Jaguar Sector II website with the blessing of both the original developer and the owner of the prototype.[29] Demand was high, given that the prototype contained significant differences from the released version including several weapons and defense mechanisms that were removed before the final game was shipped.[30] In 2018, a ROM image of the prototype was made freely available to download by video game collector Nicolas Persjin with permission from the original owner.[31]
Reception
Reception | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Iron Soldier received a mixture of opinions from reviewers, though a slight majority gave it a positive recommendation.[67][68] Mike Weigand of Electronic Gaming Monthly commented that the controls are difficult to get used to, but praised the polygon graphics and the ability to choose which stage to play.[41] GamePro's Manny LaMancha, while acknowledging that the game's controls are complicated, maintained that they don't take long to master. He also praised the polygon graphics and most especially the simple yet intense gameplay.[45] The three reviewers of GameFan, while criticizing the lack of texture mapping, said the polygonal graphics have considerable impact. They applauded the gameplay for its variety, challenge, and addictiveness.[43] Next Generation's brief review assessed it as "just plain, good old-fashioned destruction."[54] Gary Lord of Computer and Video Games found it to be passable but unimpressive, remarking that "The control method is far from intuitive, the movement is slow and at times unresponsive, the missions often unclear as to how the objective is to be obtained." He and "second opinion" reviewer Mark Patterson compared the game unfavorably to its contemporary Metal Head in terms of both gameplay and visuals.[38]
Sequel
A sequel, Iron Soldier 2, entered development shortly after Iron Soldier was published.[5] It was released by Telegames for both the Atari Jaguar and Jaguar CD add-on in 1997 to very positive reception, despite being released after the platforms were discontinued by Atari.[10][11] In 1996, a year before its sequel was released, the game's trademark was abandoned.[69][70]
References
- "Atari releases Iron Solider". TheFreeLibrary.com. Business Wire. December 22, 1994. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- "Games Watch: Iron Soldier". Games World. No. 6. Paragon Publishing. December 1994. p. 83.
- "JAGUAR Soft > 1994-1995". GAME Data Room (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2018-08-25. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
- Return of the Borders – The Atari ST and the Creative People vol. 3. Microzeit Publishing. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- Charnock, Tom (March 2017). "The History Of: Iron Soldier". Retro Gamer. No. 165. Future Publishing. pp. 76–81.
- "Prescreen - Iron Soldier". Edge. No. 12. Future plc. September 1994. pp. 32–33. Archived from the original on 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
- Red (March 1997). "Interview mit Eclipse Software". ST-Computer (in German). No. 129. falkemedia. p. 57. Archived from the original on 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
- Niehoff, Andreas (June 8, 1998). "The Thalion Source - Fragen & Antworten - Michael Bittner Trivia". Inoffizielles N.I.C.E. 2 FAQ (in German). The Thalion Source. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- "Atari Jaguar Lifetime Sales". betaphasegames.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- "Atari and JT Storage Reorganisation Plan". onecle.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2006. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- "ATARI CORP Annual Report (Regulation S-K, item 405) (10-K405) ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS". Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
- Hawken, Kieren (July 2013). "Minority Report Special: Jaguar - Iron Soldier 1 & 2". Retro Gamer. No. 118. Imagine Publishing. p. 46.
- "Top Ten Atari Jaguar Games". Retro Gamer. June 23, 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-01-19. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- Edwards, Benj (February 11, 2017). "7 Forgotten Atari Jaguar Classics". PC Magazine. Archived from the original on 2018-06-21. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- Iron Soldier game manual (Atari Jaguar, US)
- "Aktuelles - Iron Soldier". MAN!AC (in German). No. 11. Cybermedia. September 1994. pp. 18–19.
- BiffsGamingVideos (November 8, 2011). 1994 SCES: Parts 01-12 (Atari, Llamasoft, 4-Play) (28min 10sec). YouTube. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
- "CES Chicago 94 - La Jaguar Sort Ses Griffes - Iron Soldier". Joypad (in French). No. 33. Yellow Media. August 1994. p. 89. Archived from the original on 2018-08-23. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
- "Dossier - CES - Jaguar: Living On The Edge". Player One. No. 44. Média Système Édition. August 1994. p. 56.
- Gavet, Nicolas (September 1994). "Jaguar - Atari - Le Jaguar, La Preuve Par 64". Consoles + (in French). No. 35. M.E.R.7. pp. 86–87. Archived from the original on 2018-08-18. Retrieved 2018-11-04.
- M. LaBarge, Dimitri (October 9, 1994). "Surfing the Jagged Edge - JAGDoooom". Atari Explorer Online. Vol. 3 no. 12. Subspace Publishers. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
Even Jeff Minter has expressed astonishment at the coding of a game like Iron Soldier, which came out of nowhere and blew people away at SCES.
- "CVG Preview - Work In Progress - Jaguar - Iron Soldier". Computer and Video Games. No. 157. Future Publishing. December 1994. pp. 23–24. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- LaBrec, Sandy; Nicholson, Bill (July 2, 1994). "Atari's SCES 94 Press Releases - GAMERS PLAY JAGUAR(TM) ON THE TELEPHONE New System Based on Simultaneous Voice & Data Communications Technology". Atari Explorer Online. Vol. 3 no. 10. Subspace Publishers. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- "News - New technology unveiled at CES '94". Atari ST User. No. 104. Europress. September 1994. p. 7.
- Euer Video Games Team (September 1994). "Warpzone - Jaguar - Jaguar-Voice-Data-Modem". Video Games. No. 34. Future-Verlag. p. 38. Archived from the original on 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
- "ProNews: Jaguar, Phone Home". GamePro. No. 63. IDG. October 1994. p. 178. Archived from the original on 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
- "Short ProShots - Iron Soldier". GamePro. No. 65. IDG. December 1994. p. 273. Archived from the original on 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
- "Prototype Media - Atari Jaguar - Iron Soldier". Operation 9 :: Experiments in Video Game Technology. June 25, 2007. Archived from the original on 25 June 2007. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
- "Jaguar Sector II Atari Jaguar Software Price and Rarity Guide". jaguarsector.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
- viMasterJag (July 5, 2008). Iron Soldier Beta – Atari Jaguar. YouTube. Archived from the original on January 18, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- Persjin, Nicholas (November 9, 2018). "Jag Prototype Collection". AtariAge. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- "Iron Soldier for Jaguar". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
- Knight, Kyle. "Iron Soldier - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- Iida, Keith. "AGH Jaguar Review: IRON SOLDIER". atarihq.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-17. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- Kimmlingen, Stefan (February 1995). "Spiele - Jaguar: Iron Soldier". Atari Inside (in German). No. 2. falkemedia. Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- Laskey, Iain (June 1995). "Product Review - Iron Soldier". Atari World. No. 2. Neal O'Nions. p. 32. Archived from the original on 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- Msika, David (December 1994). "Les Critiques - Iron Soldier". CD Consoles (in French). No. 2. Pressimage. pp. 104–107. Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- Lord, Gary (March 1995). "CVG Review - Iron Soldier". Computer and Video Games. No. 160. Future Publishing. pp. 84–85. Archived from the original on 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
- Homsy, Richard; Menier, Marc (January 1995). "Jaguar Review - Iron Soldier". Consoles + (in French). No. 39. M.E.R.7. pp. 94–95. Archived from the original on 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- "Testscreen - Iron Soldier". Edge. No. 18. Future plc. March 1995. p. 84. Archived from the original on 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- "Review Crew - Major Mike's Game Roundup - Iron Soldier". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 68. EGM Media, LLC. March 1995. p. 38.
- Valenta, Jan (March 16, 1995). "Recenze - Atari Jaguar - Iron Soldier - Vždyt' je tak snadné rozšlapnout tank!". Excalibur (in Czech). No. 42. L.L.G. pp. 22–23. Archived from the original on 2018-09-09. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- "Viewpoint - Iron Soldier". GameFan. Vol. 3 no. 1. Shinno Media. January 1995. p. 25. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
- "News - 3DO/Jaguar - Iron Soldier". Game Players. No. 68. Signal Research. February 1995. p. 22. Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
- LaMancha, Manny (March 1995). "ProReview: Iron Soldier". GamePro. No. 68. IDG. p. 100. Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- Caravaca, Antonio (August 1995). "Atari Jaguar - Un Gigante Muy Bien Armado - Iron Soldier". Hobby Consolas (in Spanish). No. 47. Axel Springer SE. pp. 84–85. Archived from the original on 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- "En vanguardia: Una historia clásica al servicio de la simulación - Iron Soldier". Hobby Hi-Tech (in Spanish). No. 1. Axel Springer SE. March 1995. pp. 72–73.
- Felske, Niclas (March 1995). "Jaguar - Let the Robot War begin!! - Iron Soldier". Jaguar (in German). No. 2. Falke Verlag. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
- Nini, Nourdine; Morisse, Jean-François (January 1995). "Jaguar - Le Premier Robot-Mixer Intergalactique! - Iron Soldier". Joypad (in French). No. 38. Yellow Media. pp. 78–80.
- Hovora, Jan (April 1995). "Recenze - Atari Jaguar - Iron Soldier". LeveL (in Czech). No. 3. Naked Dog, s.r.o. pp. 32–33. Archived from the original on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- Forster, Winnie (February 1995). "Spiele-Tests - Jaguar - Iron Soldier". MAN!AC (in German). No. 16. Cybermedia. pp. 48–49. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- Hellert, Stefan (February 1995). "Test Jaguar - Iron Soldier". Mega Fun (in German). No. 29. CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. p. 110. Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- C.S.G. (September 1995). "Punto De Mira: Demoliciones Controladas S.A. - Iron Soldier (Jaguar)". Micromanía (in Spanish). Vol. 3 no. 8. HobbyPress. p. 87.
- "Finals - Jaguar - Iron Soldier". Next Generation. No. 2. Imagine Media. February 1995. p. 92. Archived from the original on 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- Pottier, Christophe (January 1995). "Tests - Jaguar - Iron Soldier". Player One (in French). No. 49. Média Système Édition. pp. 94–95. Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- Girlich, Stephan (March 1995). "Jaguar Reviews - Iron Soldier". Play Time (in German). No. 45. CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. p. 118. Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- Anastasov, Andrej (March 1995). "Recenze - Iron Soldier". Score (in Czech). No. 15. Omega Publishing Group. p. 34. Archived from the original on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- "Jaguar: Iron Soldier". ST-Computer (in German). No. 107. falkemedia. March 1995. p. 94. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- Abramson, Marc (March 1995). "Cahier Loisirs / Test - Jaguar: 3 Nouveaux Jeux - Iron Soldier". ST Magazine (in French). No. 92. Pressimage. pp. 58–59. Archived from the original on 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
- "Atari Jaguar - Iron Soldier". Super Game Power (in Portuguese). No. 15A. Nova Cultural. June 1995. p. 6. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
- Tytus (July 1995). "Konsolowy Świat - Jaguar - Iron Soldier". Top Secret (in Polish). No. 40. Bajtek Publishing House. p. 56.
- Herrero, Gonzalo (August 1995). "Versión Final - Jaguar - Iron Soldier". Última Generación (in Spanish). No. 5. MV Editores. pp. 68–69.
- "Iron Soldier - Metal and Nerves of Steel". Ultimate Future Games. No. 3. Future Publishing. February 1995. p. 92. Archived from the original on 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
- Schaedle, Wolfgang (February 1995). "Atari Jaguar - Reviews - Iron Soldier". Video Games (in German). No. 39. Future-Verlag. p. 89. Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- Loftus, Jim (February 1995). "Power Reviews - Jaguar - Iron Soldier - Iron Soldier Quickly Becomes An All-Out, Obsessive War!". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 73. L.F.P., Inc. p. 69. Archived from the original on 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
- "GameFan's Third Annual Megawards". GameFan. Vol. 3 no. 1. Shinno Media. January 1995. pp. 68–75. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
- R.I.P. (March 1995). "The Final Word game review - Iron Soldier -- Atari". Game Zero Magazine. Game Zero. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- A. Jung, Robert. "The Atari Bin - Jaguar Reviews - Iron Soldier". electric-escape.net. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
- W. Harding, Craig (April 18, 1996). "IRON SOLDIER - Trademark Details". justia.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-12. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
- W. Harding, Craig (April 18, 1996). "IRON SOLDIER Trademark Information". trademarkia.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-12. Retrieved 2018-09-11.