When Paranoid Productions developed Damaged Incorporated for release in the late nineties, the world had seen seeming a thousand first person shooters, the most classic being Doom. Released by WizardWorks Software in 1998, Damaged Incorporated is, evidently, number one thousand and one, this one using the Marathon 2 gaming engine. But all the user had to do is check the screen shots on this high-action real time game to see that he is in for some serious lead spraying combat.
Described as a primitive version of Rainbow Six, Damage Incorporated is more than just a first person shooter.
There are elements of strategy and planning mixed into the action. The user plays the part of a hardcore Marine sergeant in charge of a group of thirteen elite Marines. He is charged with completing a long series of secret missions, ranging from fighting enemy factions to infiltrating paramilitary bases…using only these thirteen people. The missions against these rogue military factions will take the user to multiple settings all over the world. The sergeant can choose a squad of up to four Marines for each mission. He can take fewer soldiers, or even go alone, but the missions are obviously more easily completed with more fire power. The trick is that the user must keep them all alive. If a mission fails and Marines are lost,
the sergeant will find himself short-handed for ensuing missions.
The desire, as opposed to the need, to keep the men alive will become more real for the user after entering the first mission. The gamer will find that each of the thirteen Marines has a very distinctive personality. They all also have strengths and weaknesses, such as being inhumanly powerful, but mentally unstable. They each have a name. They all speak, crack jokes, and generally chat during the missions and briefings. This simple addition to the game adds a world of depth and makes the battles more personal for the user, as if the player himself has an investment in the lives of his buddies.
The levels in Damage Incorporated are huge and the missions take some doing to complete. There is a lot of action and shooting, as well as plotting and scheming. The sergeant has to determine which Marine’s skills are going to add the most to each mission, and then use them wisely to bring everyone home alive.
Overall, Damage Incorporated is a great game. It plays along the lines of Rainbow Six, or even Gender Wars. The graphics are not super, but the game play is pretty good, the levels are large, and there are a lot of missions to keep the gamer going for a long time, making this well worth the quick download.
