Review: Project IGI 2: Covert Strike
Hi Friends,
Welcome to my Blog and this is my first review in Games section.
Project IGI 2: Covert Strike is actually a follow-up game in the Project IGI series developed by CodeMasters. Project IGI first version is a very low graphics game (DirectX 7 compatible) but still got me off guard when I first played it. I accidentally got my hands on it when I was in one of my close friend’s home. Before playing Project IGI, Half-Life is my favourite game of choice in First Person Shooters and I was under the impression that Half-Life is unbeatable. But, Project IGI changed all that. For the low graphics, it was still amazingly beautiful with the wide area of coverage (even Half-Life doesn’t came with large map in initial versions) and real-life images of the Guns, People and Places. A brilliantly woven story that build the strong foundation for the game. I was surprised to find even today many people didn’t know about this excellent game. Everybody thinks Half-Life is the breakthrough in FPS games and unbeatable. Well, if you think like that, I would ask you to play Project IGI first and then tell me.
I’m hoping to play this wonder of a game in my latest PC and update you all with another dedicated review in mean time. Though this is a very old Game and even CodeMasters stopped selling it, there are demo versions available from GameSpy and GameSpot which you can try. The minus points of the original Project IGI is it’s lack of AI (Artificial Intelligence), un savable game play (only level progress were saved which means if you die in a level even at the point of finishing it, you’ll have to replay that level from beginning) and the ability to hold as much guns and ammo as you can without even considering a human quotient. But other than that, it’s an excellent game with excellent story (the Story even beats Half-Life). Evern since I heard that CodeMasters are developing a next version for that wonderful Game, my hopes were very high. And sure enough, the game Project IGI 2: Covert Strike came in 2003 with a Bang! I still think many didn’t noticed it’s existence though there are few dedicated forums for this Game which were still available in internet (e.g.: Project IGI 2 UK Fan site). It’s official website is also available still here. Surprisingly, CodeMasters still sell this Game. But, my wait on next version after IGI 2 were long gone as they dropped this excellent project. I hope they understand Fans like me and bring this back to life with another follow-up game.
Though this is also a medium level graphics game (DirectX 8 & 9 compatible), it’s graphics amazed me when I first played it. In that time, my machine was not good enough to play even this Game in medium speed. It ran in low speed but I’m prepared to sacrifice it for the brilliant graphics they’ve put there. Let me assure you one thing though, if you’re a dedicated gamer and played games like Crysis, Call of Duty, Doom 3, Quake 4 etc, you’ll find the graphics of Project IGI 2 laughable. Because, it is no match to those graphics. But my point is, when it was released, it boasted one of the best graphics engine developed by CodeMasters. Now, CryTek engine that powered FarCry and it’s 2nd version which powered Crysis were the top most graphics engines I can say.
First thing that Project IGI 2 improved is on the minus points of Project IGI. Project IGI 2 boasted excellent AI (Artificial Intelligence), bigger maps (bigger than FarCry), and human quotient emphasizing. It introduced the concept of holding guns as much as humanly possible (one bigger gun, one hand gun and grenades and a sharp knife). It also introduced in-level saving of up to 5 times which is a boost considering the difficulty of levels and game play. The Project IGI’s excellent features were kept in this follow-up. The features were, excellent story that continues from the events of original Project IGI, brilliant Map Computer (I’m yet to see such a feature in other FPS games), Logs and Objectives updating dynamically (another unique feature) and available to view at any point of time in detail and new graphics up gradation and of course the excellent visuals of Guns, People and Places (until Crysis & Call of Duty 4, this Game had the realistic guns and sounds ever made in PC games). They even consulted a real-life American hero Chris Ryan (he is the only survivor of a team of SAS agents sent to Iraq in first Gulf War and he escaped through enemy lines without food, little water and by walking 200 miles of enemy territory into Syria) for knowledge on Guns, Sounds, People and Places. When this Game was released, they had a audio interview with Chris Ryan about his part in this Game which can be downloaded here (even David Jones the hero of the Game had minor make ups to look like Chris Ryan). There are few features cut-off from the original Project IGI game which includes the important MediPack injection system that helps you to increase your health in case you lost it upto available size in the MediPack that you pick up (another unique feature). This again improved the difficulty of the game as you can’t have your health fixed (another human quotient I think). So, features aside, let’s talk about the Game. Unlike the original Game which is setup up the most of time in Russia, this Game explores three continents and hence
The story as I already told repeatedly above, is an excellent one. It follows the hero David Jone, an ex-SAS agent who left SAS because of an injury sustained during a parachute jump. He made a full recovery and was recruited by the secret agency called IGI (Institute of Geo-tactical Intelligence) by Pat Lenehan (the founding father of IGI). In the first Project IGI game, he was helped by Major Rebecca Anya through wireless communication channels and Map Computer throughout the Game. In the final level of Project IGI (Level #14), she made a physical appearance in the field with David Jones in order to defuse a powerful Nuclear Bomb that was planted in a nuclear warhead to take the Americas by an ex-KGB officer (hence the location of Russia throughout the Game). I’m not going to tell the full story of original Game which I’ll eventually do in another review after I had videos of Game play in that game.
The Project IGI 2: Covert Strike follows events happened in first Project IGI where in the last level Anya got physical injury while escaping from the nuclear warhead after successful bomb defuse. In the original Game, when you finished the game, you can hear the cut shot showing Anya and Jones speaking while Anya injecting herself with MediPack for boosting her health and suddenly sirens goes off and the speakers announce the KGB agents surrounding that building and Jones cocking up his Gun in a realistic James Bond like manner and announcing he’s going in to smash the party waiting outside (the famous quote, “I’m going in” which is also considered as an additional expansion to IGI (as given in the Game Title) though it’s original meaning is Institute of Geo-tactical Intelligence. When this game starts we get to know that Anya was under medical care and will not be returning until full recovery and was replaced by a new person called Phillip White. He guides Jones through a mission to recover a set of EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) chips that were stolen by a group of Russian mafia. While Jones goes on to recover the EMP chips across 6 levels, he finally discovers that his mission director Phillip White has betrayed him and IGI by taking EMP chips that he managed to obtain after so many obstacles. His pilot Robert Quest who was friendly to him in the beginning is actually an accomplice to Phillip White. After Jones successfully recovered EMP chips and a Blueprint too, he was ordered by Robert to either Jump off the helicopter or get shot in the head. David eventually eventually takes the first option and jumps out of helicopter into a forest and by god’s grace survives the jump. When he gets conscious he gets contacted by Anya who after full recovery has returned to IGI and guides him to get out of the Romania border where he landed. This level was difficult one as most of the time you’ll have to walk through shooting helicopter and tankers through forest and desert.
After he came from the Romania, and made a full recovery, he was told about the Phillip White’s betrayal and how IGI couldn’t track his whereabouts. But, they managed to get information on the weapons deals he made while in IGI and tracked down the seller Jach Priboi (a former weapons dealer who was betrayed by his brother and kept captivity by him and was saved by David Jones in the first game). He was still in business but unfortunately ended up in a messy deal that got him caught by Libya. Though David Jones is not a good friend of Jach Priboi, he has to rescue him once again from Libya to know the whereabouts of Phillip White. After painful rescue mission, Priboi tells Jones that the information of deals were kept in a safe in his villa which is now kept by ruthless Libyan general Major Zaleb Said. Jones sets off to get the papers from villa but after difficult mission, Priboi discovers that Said had actually taken his papers and chopper to another of his stations. He angrily vows to kill Said and take back his papers and chopper for which he asks Jones help and prepared to trade back the information and materials to him as a thanksgiving. This level is the one I actually chosen to play for the Game Play posted in my previous post. When Jones finally managed to get the Chopper and machine gun with ammo for their confrontation with Said in his airbase, Priboi takes the chopper while Jones kills everyone from the Helicopter and manages to kill Major Said and takes back the papers. After that, Priboi tells that the deals were made in a seaport in Egypt.
David flies to Egypt and after two painful mission manages to obtain information that Phillip White was actually working with some other country. Anya suspects it to be China and Jones sets back with a stolen aircraft after killing the pilot from Egypt to China. In china he finds that, Anya’s predictions is accurate and Phillip White is indeed working with a Chinese general Wu Xing who plans to use the EMP chips and blueprints to blindfold US intelligence hence crippling it. Afte this, Jones goes on a series of missions on various locations in China to take down the army of general Wu Xing and finally Anya finds out the general’s plan which is to launch a highly destructible rocket on to US. Jones has to disable the launch pad before it’s too late and indeed manages to do so (if you’ve completed the mission rightly). Once again, David Jones saves the world from danger without anyone actually knowing about it and returns safely to IGI.
The story is very similar to original Project IGI, but gives wide area to cover that gives us the opportunity to play with multiple lands across three continents with excellently designed maps and places. I’ve actually completed this game in full in all the difficulty levels but still find it amusing to play again.
Now, it’s time for you to check out some cool screen shots of the game and see one of the level I played in previous post.
Please do let me know your valuable comments/suggestions…
Screen shots:
Download all the Screenshots in High Resolution (1680×1050) – Compressed 33 MB
4 Responses to “Review: Project IGI 2: Covert Strike”
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Kalakara Srini….
Thanks Shriram…
Hi,
I just finished IGI2
It’s realy great game. I’ve been played IGI 1 couple years ago as well. It was my favourite game
Hi Tamias,
Thanks for the comments. Yes, indeed, I’m very sorry they chose not to follow up the game series.