| Platform | N64 |
| Release Date | 5/21/97 |
| Developer | Midway |
| Publisher | Midway |
My prior retro reviews were all great games. Now its time to a less stellar entry, but one that I still love for some reason: Midway’s War Gods from 1997 for the n64. There wasn’t much to play on the N64 in early 1997, so more people played this more than they theoretically should have, I was one of those people. I still play it to this day. It’s my favorite bad game. Well ok, there are worse fighters, even on the N64, so I guess you can call it mediocre. Still, there’s just something about it that keeps me coming back.
War Gods’ Crazy Characters
War gods is a fighting game featuring live actors, ala early Mortal Kombat(which I’ll get to in a later retro review). There are 10 characters from throughout history, who find these magical gems which turned them into War Gods. Some characters are normal-ish looking.
That is Maximus, a Roman gladiator, so far so good, right?
Take the woman opposite him, Vallah:
And then there’s the Black guy:
I mean the characters weren’t designed badly, some even have nice touches, like Cy-5’s whirring. Just some of the designs are heard scratching, like Kabuki Jo, the Japanese character(top center). Not a samurai, nor a ninja, but a Kabuki actor who goes “Kabuki Jo” when he wins.
The Gameplay
War Gods was early Mortal Kombat in 3D. Everyone more or less played the same except for the specials. You fought in a 2D plain, pressing the 3D button to move in 3D around the stages.
And now for the video, where I go a few rounds as Maximus, my favorite character.
The game play is not bad, honestly, I’ve played this game for more than I’d like to admit. It’s just not good, or balanced. But somehow there’s a charm here that’s undeniable to me.
War Gods is going to end up a historical footnote at best. In the far future, when people like me are long dead, treasure hunters will not be searching for War Gods cartridges. Whether or not you want to search it out now depends on how much you absolutely want it. It’ll put you back around ten dollars.
