Every so often, a game will come out of nowhere and astonish us all with deep gameplay, solid presentation and a unique premise. But just like every once in a while a first-rate blockbuster rolls along out of the blue, two shockingly bad ones spew forth.. These games carry no depth, no real plot, and are usually a decade behind their time in the visuals and audio department. Terrawars: NY Invasion not only holds to the line of superficial elements, but it packs itself chock-full of gaming anguish with poor AI, no music (that’s right, no music), and absolutely laughable voice-acting.

You play as National Guard medical scholar John Armstrong. When peculiar aliens start mysteriously popping up and about New York City, it’s your civic duty as a med student to take initiative and try to destroy them. Loaded with an arsenal of generic weaponry, you will have to shoot, shoot, and – you guessed it – shoot these baddies down before they obliterate the great city of New York.

The above paragraph outlining the storyline may have been a stretch as there really is no anecdote present. You are simply placed in an awful-looking replicate of New York and forced to kill everything that moves. The shooting mechanics are lackluster and there’s also a meter that, when fully depreciated, will make it so you can hardly move forward. This will force your character to stand still and wait until it fills back up, undeniably and painstakingly stripping you from any action the game may have previously possessed. 

Enemy design is, well, abysmal. Environments are pretty much of the same caliber, with mundane crates galore and poorly textured structures. Terrawars: NY Invasion boasts being able to run on nearly any PC. This is, in fact, true but it certainly comes at a cost. Instead of the game offering obstacles blocking your approach into a restricted area, it contains a plethora of invisible walls. This was one of the key things that took me out of the experience. Terrawars: NY Invasion is a title that could have easily been done in the mid-‘90s.

Positives are scarce. The controls are mostly solid, but only because it’s your basic FPS setup and they didn’t throw any curveballs into the mix. The psychics are unresponsive and at times a little “funky,” especially during the platforming levels, causing for some unwanted headaches. Weapon sound effects are your common cookie-cutter fare. And as I’ve mentioned, there is no musical score to speak of.

Additionally, to add to the laundry list of negatives found in Terrawars: NY Invasion, the multiplayer will be rendered nonexistent because this game will not be on many shelves. If you happen to have a friend who purchased a copy as well, you will be able to partake in some cooperative play.
 

Gameplay: 1.5

Terrawars: NY Invasion’s gameplay engine is broken, outdated and plain rubbish. Redeeming factors are few, and any fun to be had here is not worth even its budget admission price of twenty bones.    

Graphics: 2.5

In 1995 these visuals would have been acceptable. In ’06 they’re an eyesore. Everything from invisible walls, clipping issues, and grainy textures make an unsolicited appearance. On a more positive note, if you have a PC from 1995, it will probably be able to run this one without a problem.

Sound: 1.0

Couple no music with some horrendous sound effects and you’ve got yourself one of the worst sounding games in a long time. The voice-acting sounds like something straight out of a bad anime.

Difficulty: Medium

There are four difficulty settings: easy, normal, veteran, and elite. The game’s defectively executed missions aren’t exactly tough ordeals, but due to the reappearing enemies that pop out of nowhere, players may find the SP a slight challenge even on the lowest setting.  

Concept: 1.5

Terrawars: NY Invasion’s premise can be summed up in one breath: run around mindlessly in hideously animated environments killing all that comes into your gun’s sights. Nothing new, fresh, or even slightly innovative is offered.

Overall: 2.0

All in all, Terrawars: NY Invasion is one of the worst games I have ever played. The gameplay is a total nightmare, there’s no music, and the objectives are redundant. My advice is to totally avoid Terrawars: NY Invasion.