Iron Grip: The Oppression is a total conversion mod for Half-Life 2 (HL2). The game is set in the Iron Grip universe. It features an urban guerrilla-warfare by combining elements from both first-person shooter (FPS) and real-time strategy (RTS) games. A player can choose one of two sides in this game — Rahmos or Resistance. The Rahmos side is a real-time strategy game generally played by a single player (or a very small number of players in large games). The Resistance side is played as a cooperation of several players, each playing first-person shooter in a very similar manner to HL2.
Story
The game is set in the country of Kathos in the fictional world of Theia, the setting of the Iron Grip series. A foreign power known as the Sovereign Republics of Rahmos had originally invaded Kathos while led by Sovereign Marcus Mirrius, who intended to end a civil war that had been tearing Kathos apart for decades, before withdrawing Rahmos troops when the country was stabilized. However, Mirrius was found dead on his personal airship after the invasion had been declared successful, and the rather less benevolent Praetor Afrecus took over the role of Rahmos Sovereign. Since then, people who are no friends to the collaborationist nobles have started a resistance movement collectively known as the Kathos Resistance Force. The rise of those partisans have prompted the Kathos Chancellor Lossing to issue a Zero Tolerance Act. Since then, more and more Resistance cells and hideouts have been unearthed and the partisans are ready to fight for an independent Kathos.
Gameplay
Iron Grip: The Oppression is known for its hybrid of Real-Time-Strategy and First-Person-Shooter elements.
The "Rahmos” Side
The RTS player or (few) players play the role of a Rahmos City Legion Officer, burdened with the task to crush an Insurgency which has started in one of the Rahmos cities. The Rahmos player creates and commands AI controlled NPCs to flush out and destroy Resistance cells (played by a larger number of human players playing what functions as a FPS game from their point of view). The troops available to the Rahmos officer are mainly young men who are preparing for front-line duty. Despite their inexperience, the Rahmos City Legion has proven to be extremely versatile in urban combat, due to the strict and thorough training they receive. The objective for this team is straight forward - construct armies to hunt down Resistance players and capture the control points. This side also has one Officer Unit who must survive the assault. This unit provides moral support to the other troops. It is also much more effective in capturing Resistance key location. The player can also switch to a First-Person view in which he or she directly controls the Officer. If the RTS player's officer dies, that player loses the match.
The Resistance side
The Opposing Team, called “The Resistance”, consists of a group of human players. Each player chooses a unique hero character with diverse personalities, weapons, and abilities to match. This team plays a full FPS game. It usually uses hit-and-run tactics to create anarchy amongst the Rahmos forces. The goal is to kill the Rahmos officer leading the attack before the Rahmos officer manages to conquer all resistance key locations.
The Iron Grip website promises that other game play styles (such as other missions) will be made available on future releases of the game, without detailing these modes.
Maps
As of version 1.3 there are 3 official maps with various variants. Fan-made maps are available on CrosuS.
Mercos - a small town map set in the slums of Kathos' largest city. Vistorg - a large town map in rural Kathos, known to be a Resistance arms trade center. Ambush - Rural winter map, centered around the downed airship Zyphier. Dynadares - A Resistance attack at night on a Rahmos-occupied seaport town. Locomotive - Resistance have caught a Rahmos troop train en route to Crescu and are attempting to assassinate the General on board. Silberstad - A city on a beautiful peninsula, Silberstad was a haven for the aristocracy, until the Rahmos airships came to put an end to their "secret" financial support of the Resistance.
Main variants include
Assassination - Resistance players have to kill the Rahmos General unit, while the Rahmos attempt to capture three "key locations".
Hold - Rahmos has to capture three "key locations" within a certain time period, and the Resistance must stop them at all costs.
Control - Both sides fight for control of points on the map.
Since v1.3 mappers have been able to create custom conditions for their maps. This means that any form of objective could be created.
Characters
The game's site details ten characters to the resistance side and three types to the Rahmos side. While the Rahmos soldiers are just generally characterized, each character of the Resistance is listed with his or her own biography and weaponry. The Rahmos soldiers usually have more reliable weapons, as well as armored vehicles, while the resistance usually use home-made weaponry, although having a larger variety per unit.
Weapons
While the Rahmos usually use different kinds of automatic weapons or grenades, the Resistance are using many kinds of home-made and stolen weapons that range from simple knives and Molotov cocktails, to surplus and stolen military rifles and sophisticated anti-tank weapons.
Development
The game is developed by Isotx. Isotx was previously known for their “Mideast Crisis” mod for C&C Generals, and CrosuS, the mod-management software, created by them. Both are still available on the developers' site at www.isotx.com. Iron Grip was released as on open beta on the 25th of September 2006 and is currently at release 1.33