To get a good picture of what
Iron Storm is like, take a game like
Medal of Honor and think of its criminally insane twice removed distant cousin. Instead of replaying history, you now must survive a war that has been going on from 1914 through 1964. Basically, World War 1 never ended, and you, as a battle-hardened Lieutenant on the front lines, who wants nothing more than peace, must kill every person you can to settle the conflict.
Though Iron Storm flows within a very linear set of boundaries, with prescribed goals that must be carried out in certain ways, it somehow is able to mask most of this from the player. The levels are usually big enough to hide the fact that there is only one entrance and exit, holding onto the all too valuable suspension of disbelief.
Though the player must complete specific goals, there are enough elements on the field of battle to mix things up for an interesting time. With plenty of weapons at your disposal, your options for completing sub-tasks, like getting through a machine gun nest, or routing the sniper from the bell tower, are greatly expanded upon.
For the most part, the levels are set up very nicely. The outdoor scenes are chock full of obstacles, and the indoor layouts are generally very good (though sometimes redundant). However, there are some drawbacks. On more than one occasion is the player forced into a situation where they really can't avoid dying. Many times you will be shot in the head by a sniper who is virtually invisible. Other situations will land you in small corridors where a guy will shoot you in the back with a rocket launcher, with no warning that he was actually there.
