Hogs of War
Hogs of War was a videogame released for the Sony Playstation and personal computer in 2001. The game is a turn based strategy in which two or more teams of pigs in military uniforms use second world war era weapons to try and wipe out the other team(s). As with the game series on which it is based, worms, the cycle permits one turn per pig per player, before repeating albeit with the next active pig on the roster. The ethos of the game tends to be that of Britain during the first world war, although some of the weapons are more advanced. The separating points from worms, besides the setting, is that it uses 3D landscapes, rather than multi-level side scrolling. Most of the basic inventory items are identical in name appearance and function.
The hogs of war are uniformed beasts, each wearing a uniform that identifies with a separate country. The team "Tommy's trotters" are based on the World War One British Expeditionary Force, and talk about the war "all being over by Christmas". The German team, Sow-A-Krauts (a pun on Sauerkraut, which has become a perjorative for Germans) wear grey Nazi uniforms and comment that they were "told to do zis", a reference to the Nuremberg Defence. There is also the Yellow uniformed Sushi Swine representing Japan, who claim thier actions are For the emperer!. The light blue uniform signifies the americans; "Unlce Ham's Hogs", whilst the dark blue uniform warns of the "Garlic Grunts", who are French. The brown uniforms are worn by the "Piggystroika", who speak of bizzare communist politics, and represent the Soviet Union. There is also a secret team from the final level, team lard, which wear purple uniforms, but cannot be selected to play without utilising cheat codes.
Plot
The entry video shows an Edwardian era sergeant-major at a recruiting centre preparing his troops for war. He states that his troops must conquer the continent of Saustralasia, which is shaped like a pig, to gain access to "swill". There are seven lands in Saustralasia, each of which must be captured after six battles against other countries involving two teams of five player controlled porkers against 3-7 enemy CPU pigs. Upon completion of levels, players are given points to spend on upgrading thier pigs. They can make career choices for thier hogs (Medic, spy, sabatuer, bombardier). After two or three upgrades, the hogs will end up as the strong Commando level pig, which can swin as well as having a selection of some of the best weapons of the lower class of pig. The commando himself can be improved upon to become a hero, and after once completing the game, the ultimate rank of legend is available.
The levels are sometimes complete with pillarboxes, parachuted supplies and sometimes vehicles. The final level contains some swill drills. It also features unique enemies: a single bombardier in a pillarbox to start with, aided later by parachuting Legends.
The game is narrated by Rick Mayall