is a
first-person shooter
First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
for the
Sega Saturn
The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
console. It was developed by American studio
Jumpin' Jack Software and published by
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
in 1995. The game centers around a member of a
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
crew, with an
artificial powered exoskeleton
A powered exoskeleton, also known as power armor, powered armor, powered suit, cybernetic suit, cybernetic armor, exosuit, hardsuit, exoframe or augmented mobility, is a mobile machine that is wearable over all or part of the human body, provi ...
resembling a power-
loader
Loader can refer to:
* Loader (equipment)
* Loader (computing)
** LOADER.EXE, an auto-start program loader optionally used in the startup process of Microsoft Windows ME
* Loader (surname)
* Fast loader
* Speedloader
* Boot loader
** LOADER.COM ...
.
The crew, specifically the protagonist, must fight off a once-friendly
alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
race known as the Ghen, who suddenly turn on the humans.
Story
The game takes place in the
future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...
, years after an
armada of aliens known as the Ghen made contact with human beings. The Ghen are seeking refuge from a bloody
inter-galactic war with a
super race
The term superhuman refers to humans or human-like beings with enhanced qualities and abilities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. Th ...
known as the Bo-Kyat. In exchange for their aid, human beings were given major advances in science and technology, including bionic implant devices that make them immune to all
disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
. The Ghen also assist humans in locating materials on other planets through the creation of the Sunstar Solar Exploration Station.
The exploration team, composed of humans led by a man named Jenners and Ghen led by Commander Xylan, is harvesting minerals on
Titan when the story begins. For reasons unknown, Xylan orders his Ghen to enter their
spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...
and take off. Boxhead, an android scientist, informs Jenner that there is stronium activity (not to be confused with
strontium
Strontium is the chemical element with the symbol Sr and atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, strontium is a soft silver-white yellowish metallic element that is highly chemically reactive. The metal forms a dark oxide layer when it is ex ...
) nearby. After hearing that the Ghen have left, Jenner orders everyone back to the ship, including the 'Lieutenant' (the
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
), in his exoskeleton.
The human team (including their pilot Gina and wise-cracking Akira) take off in their own ship, the Da Vinci, and try to make contact with the Sunstar station. The Ghen attack and destroy the station before turning their attention to the human ship. The humans escape and begin disabling Ghen stronium reactors and thwarting their attacks, with the help of the Lieutenant and his exoskeleton.
The Ghen blame the crew of the Da Vinci for destroying Sunstar and Titan and invading Mars, and use human figureheads under their control like Commander Braxton to try to trick them into returning to Earth for disciplinary action. The Da Vinci realize their deception. Relay Commander Reynolds (their only contact due to the interstellar communications blackout) informs them that the starship Goliath is dry-docked on Moonbase 12. After returning from the Moon, they wire Boxhead into the ship's communication systems to send a transmission directly to Earth, only to find Reynolds has also fallen under Xylan's control. After Xylan's transmission is intercepted by Wilson, now leading an underground resistance against the Ghen, they discover the Ghen are using the implants to sedate everyone on Earth. They head for the implant manufacturing plant in Australia to liberate the sedated humans.
The game has multiple endings. In the best ending, the player and the crew of the Da Vinci score a major victory against the Ghen. The Ghen take a few hundred captive humans with them as they retreat from the Earth. The crew of the Da Vinci are hailed as heroes, and given medals and a Ghen ship capable of lightspeed. In prison, Xylan explains they were using humanity to test their only means of stopping the Bo-Kyat, which would have made them all slaves to the Ghen's war machines, but by blindingly clinging to the notions of freedom and independence, humanity has sealed its own doom. As the crewman questioning him and the player are left to wonder which of them will be proven right, the crew excitedly take off in their new ship.
Gameplay
''Ghen War'' is a 3D
first-person shooter
First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
that takes place from within a powered loader, equipped with various
tools
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
/
weapons
A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
which it uses to fight off the Ghen. Most of the game's information and
HUD
Hud or HUD may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Hud'' (1963 film), a 1963 film starring Paul Newman
* ''Hud'' (1986 film), a 1986 Norwegian film
* ''HUD'' (TV program), or ''Heads Up Daily'', a Canadian e-sports television program
Places
* Hud, Fa ...
are displayed along the
roll-bar of the hyper-suit.
The game features 20 levels in six different locations, including
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
,
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
,
Deimos, and the
moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
. There are also two locations on Earth:
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
NORAD
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...
.
Among its
guns
A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, pr ...
and
missiles
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
, the hyper-suit has unique features such as a
claw
A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...
-manipulator and the ability to cast a
decoy
A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''ende kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to lu ...
suit, which attracts enemy attention.
''Ghen War'' features an early example of
deformable terrain
In video games, the term destructible environment, or deformable terrain, refers to an environment within a game which can be wholly or partially destroyed by the player. It may refer to any part of the environment, including terrain, buildings an ...
. Firing weapons into a mountain causes the mountain to wear away, much like explosions would cause craters and similar effects.
Audio and visuals
The story of Ghen War is told through a series of cut-scenes, done mostly in
full motion video
Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information duri ...
.
The soundtrack of the game was written by Brian Coburn, and it changes dynamically to meet the action taking place within the level.
Reception
''Ghen War'' divided critics, who expressed contradicting opinions on most of the game's major aspects. While Andrew Baran, Mike LeFebvre, and Mike Desmond of ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' said the gameplay consists of aimless wandering "with no goals or point",
reviewers for ''
Next Generation'' and ''
Sega Saturn Magazine
''Sega Saturn Magazine'' was a monthly UK magazine covering the Sega Saturn, a home video game console. It held the official Saturn magazine license for the UK, and some issues included a demo CD created by Sega, ''Sega Flash'', which included ...
'' asserted that the varied mission objectives and
automap
A mini-map or minimap is a miniature map that is often placed at a screen corner in video games to aid players in orienting themselves within the game world. They are often only a small portion of the screen and must be selective in what details ...
give the gameplay greater direction than most games of its type.
While ''
GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'', ''Next Generation'', ''
Game Revolution
''GameRevolution'' (formerly ''Game-Revolution'') is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshots ...
'', and Andrew Baran and Sushi-X of ''EGM'' all said the visuals are both technically impressive and an enhancement to the gameplay experience with their contrasting landscapes,
Mark LeFebvre of ''EGM'' and Rob Allsetter of ''Sega Saturn Magazine'' described them as both monotonous and unacceptably poor given the Saturn's capabilities.
LeFebvre said the enemies have "no intelligence",
but ''Next Generation'' contented that "the enemies are smart. Sure, you'll come across some that are more like targets than predators, but it's also not unusual to find an enemy sneaking around behind the crest of a hill in order to attack from some hidden corner."
Critics did generally agree that the game's complex controls can be difficult, but disagreed on whether this remains a problem after the initial learning curve is past.
Critics were also divided in their overall assessments of ''Ghen War''. Some concluded that its negative aspects completely outweighed its merits or at best made it a game that only a select few would have the patience needed to appreciate,
while others felt that it offers enough enjoyment and sparks of originality to make it worth getting.
References
{{reflist
1995 video games
Alien invasions in video games
Video games about mecha
Sega Saturn games
Sega Saturn-only games
First-person shooters
Video games developed in the United States
Video games set in the future
Virgin Interactive games