Where IGI does get it right is in terms of weapon modeling. And in this aspect alone it's plainly evident this game came from a flight sim manufacturer. Weapons ranging from the AK-47 to the Uzi all fire at a realistic rate with a visual and visceral kick. They burn through ammunition at the expected rate and, best of all; they punch through the scenery realistically and satisfactorily as well. Hide behind a crate and the bad guys will still try to kill you through the crate itself. The first time this happened in the game was almost as good as the first time a soldier tossed a grenade at me in Half Life.

But IGI gets it wrong in terms of artificial intelligence. There isn't much brainpower to go around the many soldiers populating the game, sadly enough. Once again you can feel free to pop a bullet into a guard's head and his buddy, not five feet away, doesn't even see him fall. To make up for the gaps in reaction enemies are often heavily scripted, which means they'll follow the same path regardless of where you are attacking from and what weapon you are using. They don't realize they shouldn't rush you when you're using a machine gun on them and they shouldn't hide if you're using explosives. This also means you'll know exactly what they'll do next during the inevitable replays.

IGI gets it right in terms of terrain graphics and, for lack of a better term, level design. Base design is more like it and the layout of bases is one of the best things about the game. Imagine climbing a hill to get a good view of the base and having to use your binoculars to plan your attack. This open-ended gameplay and clear emphasis on “you-are-there” planning over planning with a map is a great take on the tactical shooter genre and one that makes you really wish the AI was up to the task.

Project IGI is a refreshing take on the tactical shooter market but ultimately a flawed one. Great ideas like flight sim quality terrain and viewing distances, innovative entry points, open-ended approaches to solving missions and great weapon modeling are hampered by bad AI, over scripting, the lack of the ability to save during a mission and the complete lack of multiplayer of any kind. Oops, forgot to mention that last one. It's a minor point, but co-op multiplayer would've been fun. Buy IGI at your own risk and know what you're getting, a flawed gem in the tactical shooter world.

Andrew Bub
Contributing Editor & Beatdown Scribe