Fromthemomentthegameputsyouin the
cockpitofoneofitsJackalmulti-rolefighters
youbegintounderstandthedrivebehindit.
Deckedoutwithwhatlookandsoundlike
chunkyCRTmonitors,mechanicalkeyboards
andenoughtoggleswitchestooutfitthebridge
oftheNostromo,thesejetsarelessfuturistic
sheenandmoreTopGunin space.LikeAlien’s
iconicindustrialspaceship,thefocushereis less
on“realistic”andmoreon“real”.Holograms,
ARandtouchscreensmaybemoreconvincing
futureinterfaces,butnothingfeelsorsounds
asrealorastactileasa monitorwarmingup,
a toggleswitchflickingbackandforthora
vacuumseallockingin.
Oncethegamestationsyouonthedeckof
theRetributionthistactile,Top-Gun-in-space
feelonlyincreases.Everywhereyougoonthis
ship(whichis lessofa spacecruiserandmore
ofan‘80saircraftcarrierwithalltheexternal
doorsweldedshut)youareaccompaniedbythe
groansofthehull,thehissofpipes,theclick-
clackofmechanicalkeyboards.Everysurface
is coveredwithtech,yetthesearenotthe
nonsensicalgreeblesofStarWars,butheating
pipes,cablerails,andfluorescenttubefittings.
ManyyearsagoI usedtoworkontheHMS
Belfast, a WW2 warship permanently docked
in centralLondonasa floatingmuseum,
andit is theengineroomsofthisstout
andstoriedwarshipthatInfiniteWarfare
broughtbacktome,nottheinteriorofa
StarDestroyerorUSSEnterprise.These
wonderfullyfunctionalspacesarefilled
withbusy-nesstoo– thecacophonyof
theflightdeck(inexplicablywet,asif it
hadjustbeenwhippedfromthetopofan
ocean-goingvessel)loadedwithworking
engineersandwhiningforklifts,orthe
focussedstudiousnessofthebridge,with
itsretinueofceaselesslytypingsonar
operatorsbathedin screenlight,a bottle
ofwaterpropped up in the corner of their
stations.HARDWAREWARS
Yes,I waspleasedtofindthegame’shub
tobeaswonderfulasI hadimagined,
butit wasthewaythisweighty,tech-
obsessedfeelbledoutintotherestofthe
gamethatreallygotme.Everymission
youtake,forexample,thegamehasyou
launchyourJackalfromtheRetribution.
Thelaunchsequence,anexquisitely
detailedprocessfocusedonthedrama
and texture of hydraulic lifts, airlocks andshimmeringinterfacesfilledwithobscure
calculations,tellsyouallyouneedtoknow
aboutwheredeveloperInfinityWard’s
prioritieswere.Andyettheydon’twaste
thisspace,usingit fora quickback-and-
forthbetweenyouandyourwingwoman
whichsetsupthemissionaheadbetter
thananybriefing,showingthatthegame’s
economicapproachtospacedoesn’tjust
applytotheshipdesign.
Themissionsthemselvesalsoflicker
withthedramaofshockdepressurisation,
ridiculoustransformingweapons,and
jumpingfromshiptovoid,tointeriorand
backoutagain,withallthecrunching
techthosetransitionsentail.There’sa
lovethroughout,notofscientificaccuracy
usuallyassociatedwith“hard”sci-fi,butof
engagingwiththephysicalandtechnical
weightofwarin space.In InfiniteWarfare
physicsis nota rulebooktobereligiously
followed,buta generativesystem,one
thatallowsInfinityWardtoimaginewhat
solutionsandsystemsofoffenceand
defencecombatin a vacuummightentail
andhavefunmakingthemasweightyand
satisfyingaspossible.
It’sallabouttexture,thetextureyou
canfeel– that’swhyeveryonein the
Retribution’sbridgeis endlessclacking
awayattheirkeyboards,oryourJackal
hasa bespokeanimationforthelittle
ladderthathingesoutofitsornately
platedhullpanels.That’swhatAlien’s
openingis abouttoo,surroundingyou
withtexture,withdetail,witha senseof
thedangerofthevoid.InfiniteWarfare
wantsyoutofeelthattexture,toengage
withit. It basicallyforcesyoutobymaking
youlaunchyourlovinglycraftedspace-
jeteverymission.That’swhereitssci-fi
greatnessstemsfrom:thisunderstanding
thatit’snottheloredumpsandtext
scrollsofintergalacticwarsorwhimsical
planet-hoppingthatmakesspacesucha
compellingsetting,butthesheerweight,
thecomplexity,thetechnicality of life and
death among the stars.THEYDON’TWASTE
THISSPACE,USINGIT
FORA QUICKBACK-
AND-FORTHBETWEEN
YOUANDYOUR
WINGWOMANAND BEYOND