HOGS OF WAR

TREMENDOUS TURN-BASED TACTICS AND VERY BRITISH HUMOUR BUILT HOGS OF WAR A CULT FOLLOWING IN THE YEARS AFTER IT FIRST BROUGHT BACON TO THE BATTLEFIELD. JOIN US ON A RECONNAISSANCE MISSION THAT YIELDS DEVELOPER INSIGHTS AND NEWS OF A REMASTER 

- GRAHAM PEMBREY

There were plenty of novel ideas packed into Hogs Of War – not least its uniquely porky protagonists. But the warm fuzz of familiarity is also a big part of why the game remains cherished 23 years on from being released for PlayStation and PC. The vintage wartime aesthetic carried strong shades of Blackadder, making it only too fitting that a star of that show – the since sadly departed comedy legend Rik Mayall – was enlisted to record riotously over-the-top voice-overs for the hogs. When added to the marching song from Monty Python’s  Flying Circus chiming out cheerfully as you navigate menu screens, you can understand why many fans of classic British comedy felt right at home. 

Familiarity also shines through in the gameplay, which has some heritage in the artillery game genre. Artillery Simulator, released in 1980 on the Apple II, is an early example of what we mean here; its turn-based battling involved adjusting the angle and power of your projectile before blasting over pixelated hills at your rival. Scorched Earth for MS-DOS is another notable mention in the field for adding a wide assortment of weapons into the fold. But surely the most famous title you could neatly place into this category is Worms, and that game in particular is the one Gremlin Interactive founder Ian Stewart cited as an inspiration when he briefed the development team about his hopes for Hogs Of War. As lead PC developer Andrew Fox tells us (see Developer Q&A) the crux of the concept was “3D pigs with Worms gameplay”.