Danger in the Trenches – Hogs of War – Retro Review
Hogs of War is one of those games that not too many people caught back in the PS1’s heyday. This brilliant turn-based combat game was developed and published by Infogrames back in 2000. I’ve always considered this game to be one of the best Playstation games. There was a time when you could show up at my house on Friday nights, to find my friends and I huddled around the TV set playing this, completely oblivious to all the goings on that were taking place elsewhere in the house. Basically, in Hogs of War, you have an engrossing World War I combat game, in which anthropomorphic pigs, each representing a belligerent country from the war, wage combat against one another. The style of gameplay is like that of Worms 3D, in which each player takes a turn trying to destroy the other team. One notable thing about the game is its comedic value. From the cutscenes to the combat itself, the humor element is prominent and actually will cause you to laugh every time.
The nations represented include England (Tommy’s Trotters), France (Garlic Grunts), The United States (Uncle Sam’s Hogs), Russia (Piggystrokia), Germany (Sow-a-Krauts), and Japan (Sushi Swine). Each team exhibits exaggerated stereotypes of the country they represent, and in good humor. Various weapons include the rifle, machine gun, poison gas, swords, and grenades. There are also vehicles such as tanks, airships, and artillery emplacements. At the beginning of each battle, the player has to position his hogs in strategic locations as well as seek out the enemy. The object-complete annihilation of the opposing team. To accomplish this, each turn places you in the role of one of your squad members, with a limited amount of time to move you hog to the desired location, select a weapon to use, and attack the enemy. Each combatant has a limited number of health points, but if you have a medic in your squad, you can also use your medic’s turn to restore health to a wounded pig. There are multiple classes to choose from, including heavy weapons and engineers. Zeppelin based airstrikes are also available, which wreak havoc among the enemy ranks (or your own).
There are two modes of play, single player and multiplayer. The single player campaign offers 25 stages, in which you align yourself with a Hog Nation, and begin your conquest of the map. If I remember correctly, everybody was fighting over swill, from which I understand, is something that pigs love in real life. As you progress through the game, there are animated cutscenes, which are hilarious and do well to break up the action. In multi player, which was my favorite feature, allows you to customize the action to the way you see fit. Also worthy of mention are the propaganda films, which are presented in educational films typical of the time.
Graphically speaking, the game looks great by the standards of the day. The battlefield is colorful and varied. The animations are well done, and is overall pleasing to the eye. When talking about sound, the music is vibrant and upbeat, with a short version of each team’s national anthem beginning each turn The soundbytes of the Hogs when attacking and taking damage are hilarious and somehow never get old. The controls, after taking time to learn, are easy to use and responsive. Like I said before, this was one of my favorite games of the era, with a very high replay factor. One thing worth mentioning here is the difficulty level, especially later in the game. Hogs of War is one of those ‘easy to learn, difficult to master’ style games.
Hogs of War wasn’t exactly a commonplace title back at the time of it’s release, which also accounts for its rarity in today’s used game stores. I have personally been searching for another copy to have at home, and have been looking for years at thrift stores and yardsales, hoping to turn up a copy. It has been to no avail so far. The game is widely available for sale online, but at an average price of $30 (not including shipping), I find myself balking at a price tag that high. Sooner or later, I am going to have to cave in and cough up the cash to recover this lost part of my gaming past.
Should you, however come across Hogs of War in your travels, I cannot state enough how lucky you are. If you can’t find it out in the wild, go ahead and drop the cash. You won’t be sorry.
Make war no more.
Danger in the Trenches - Hogs of War - Retro Review,
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