 More than a decade after a cancelled sequel, the original Hogs Of War vows to return with a full remaster for PlayStation consoles. If we were to ask you to name a turn-based tactics game made by a British developer, all about cartoon animals blowing each other up across a variety of maps, you'd probably go with almost any entry from Team17's Worms series, barring its recent battle royale spin-off Worms Rumble. If you're a Brit who grew up with a PlayStation 1, though, you may instead pick Hogs Of War, from the long defunct Gremlin Interactive – known in their final days merely as Infogrames Sheffield House. While the Worms series already had three games to its name by the year 2000, Hogs Of War aimed to replicate the formula but in a 3D environment; something Worms wouldn't pull off until 2003. Aside from swapping out worms for bipedal talking pigs, Hogs Of War helped differentiate itself by being less cartoony. Its World War 1 inspirations lead to a game that at first glance seemed grittier and more serious, with the titular hogs dressed up like actual soldiers and wielding real-world weapons. There were no holy hand grenades or flying sheep, but militaristic shotguns, rocket launchers, and knives. Grim and gritty are not appropriate adjectives for Hogs Of War though. Each of its playable teams – each one standing in for a different real-world country – were comprised of over-the-top stereotypes with equally ridiculous voices that made comical one-liners even as they died; their bodies vanishing in a small explosion and leaving behind just their smoking shoes. Some of those voices were provided by the late great comedy legend Rik Mayall, who hammed things up as the war loving sergeant seen in the game's opening cut scene. While it cultivated a dedicated fan base, Hogs Of War never reached the same level of success as Worms, as evidenced by the fact that it only saw one game. Apparently, it was successful a){kind=link}
More than a decade after a cancelled sequel, the original Hogs Of War vows to return with a full remaster for PlayStation consoles.
If we were to ask you to name a turn-based tactics game made by a British developer, all about cartoon animals blowing each other up across a variety of maps, you’d probably go with almost any entry from Team17’s Worms series, barring its recent battle royale spin-off Worms Rumble.
If you’re a Brit who grew up with a PlayStation 1, though, you may instead pick Hogs Of War, from the long defunct Gremlin Interactive – known in their final days merely as Infogrames Sheffield House. While the Worms series already had three games to its name by the year 2000, Hogs Of War aimed to replicate the formula but in a 3D environment; something Worms wouldn’t pull off until 2003.
Aside from swapping out worms for bipedal talking pigs, Hogs Of War helped differentiate itself by being less cartoony. Its World War 1 inspirations lead to a game that at first glance seemed grittier and more serious, with the titular hogs dressed up like actual soldiers and wielding real-world weapons. There were no holy hand grenades or flying sheep, but militaristic shotguns, rocket launchers, and knives.
Grim and gritty are not appropriate adjectives for Hogs Of War though. Each of its playable teams – each one standing in for a different real-world country – were comprised of over-the-top stereotypes with equally ridiculous voices that made comical one-liners even as they died; their bodies vanishing in a small explosion and leaving behind just their smoking shoes. Some of those voices were provided by the late great comedy legend Rik Mayall, who hammed things up as the war loving sergeant seen in the game’s opening cut scene.