NAM

aka: Napalm, Vietnã
Moby ID: 1015
DOS Specs
Buy on Windows
$6.99 new on Steam
Included in See Also

Description official descriptions

The year is 1966, shortly after USA deployed its troops to participate in the Vietnam War. Alan "The Bear" Westmoreland, a Marine Corps sergeant, is sent behind the enemy lines. He is known for his high endurance, achieved by ingesting various stimulants. As long as these drugs keep him going, the Bear isn't afraid of danger, and is used by his superiors for missions with overwhelming odds. The raid turns into total warfare; with only a small team at his side, the Sergeant will have to do everything he is capable of in order to survive.

NAM is a military-themed first-person shooter that uses the Build engine. The protagonist has to fight his way through the jungle, with various weapons such as M16, M60, M79, LAW, and others. The missions range from urban gun battles to sneaking in the thick jungles and man-made tunnels under the ground. The battlefields are frequented by air strikes, anti-personnel mines (which the player can spot with a mine detector), fire fights, ambushes, snipers and tanks. Fellow soldiers will aid Alan in battle, though for the most part he'll have to depend on himself.

A multiplayer battle is included, featuring 19 multiplayer levels with different game modes like Gruntmatch, Capture-the-flag and Fireteam, where each player is allowed to select a soldier type and is sent on different missions.

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (DOS version)

36 People (22 developers, 14 thanks) · View all

Senior Producer
Project Manager
Co-Authors/Concept/Design
Subject Matter Expert
Associate Producer
Product Management
Music
Sound
C Programming
Additional Art
Additional Sound
Voice Talent
Executive Producer
Photo Credits
  • Corel Corporation
Tech Support Documentation
Director of Creative Services
Production Coordinator
Package Design
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 36% (based on 9 ratings)

Players

Average score: 2.5 out of 5 (based on 42 ratings with 7 reviews)

Adequate

The Good
Unlike many other first-person shooters, the period weapons in Nam/Napalm are realistic, and in the higher skill levels you really have to manage their use and the amount of ammo effectively. Grenades -- which do not exist in games like Doom -- are very useful tools for getting the job done. Enemies are sometimes well hidden and very tenacious to kill. The jungle and mines make scouting difficult and hide enemies. Nam/Napalm is also cheap, you can find it in bargain-basement racks for less than $10.

The Bad
Set-up on my laptop was hard, I had to partially disable my soundcard to prevent crashes. Graphics are poor. Some items, like mortars and helicopter machine guns, are too hard to use. American soldiers who you can "command" are actually quite stupid, they can't follow you that well and apparently can't shoot. The first skill setting is too easy; too much ammo and too few enemies.

The Bottom Line
If you are looking for a first-person Vietnam War simulator, this is one of the only offerings out there. Graphics are adequate for people who are familiar with Doom, but seem primitive when compared to more modern games. Despite this, the game is entertaining and challenging at higher skill settings.

DOS · by Ian Loa (10) · 2001

It's not that bad!

The Good
At first, releasing a DOS-based, Build engine game at a time when games like Quake II, Unreal, and Half-Life already came out seems like a really dumb decision. But developers like TNT Team need the money to buy graphically advanced engines like those used in the aforementioned games, and often release outdated games like NAM to make that money for developing a more graphically advanced game. Even if they could afford a more graphically advanced engine, though, isn't the gameplay what matters the most? Should we really bash a game if it's actually fun to play?

No, we shouldn't. But let's put that whole graphics thing aside for the moment.

NAM is a first-person shooter that takes place in the Vietnam War. Since first-person shooters have been known to immerse the player into the game thanks to their realistic first-person viewpoint, NAM is probably the first game to make the player truly feel like they're actually in the war. Although there are some arcade-ish elements, like running over items to pick them up, everything else is completely realistic. This isn't just a "go through the level, shoot everything that moves, and find the switch to the next level" Doom clone. Even with some fellow soldiers by your side, you actually have to take cover and avoid things like airstrikes, booby traps, and landmines, as running through the levels Doom-style will get you killed really easily. Like I said earlier, the graphics are a bit outdated, but they're actually pretty good for a Build engine game, especially in the SVGA modes.

The Bad
Nothing really. Since this game is actually fun to play, I'll ignore the outdated Build technology.

The Bottom Line
Just like you can't judge a book by it's cover, you can't judge a game by its graphics. Although NAM was released about a year or two too late, it's actually a fun and intense game that feels just like the Vietnam War.

DOS · by Spartan_234 (424) · 2007

Completely awful

The Good
I actually like nothing about this game. Only a madman would like this game.

The Bad
Everything, the gameplay is utterly dull, the graphics look insanely ugly, the sound effects are completely dull. The game feels like a very bad mod for the game Duke Nukem 3D, which is indirectly true, since before the game was released the game was a half-completed TC for Duke3D with the name Platoon, the irony is that the original TC was actually better. Which had fine hand-drawn graphics (replaced with the awful pre-rendered 3D sprites in the commercial game), and the TC actually had good fun levels (of course, for the commercial game, they made new horrible levels). How they managed to ruin everything in the commerical game is completely bizarre.

The Bottom Line
Run away if you see it... no, burn any copies you may see of it. The game's a sin. If you want a good Build (the Duke3D engine) game, try out Shadow Warrior or the fantastic Blood. Do not play this game. Never ever even look in the same direction.

The bizarre thing is that the game did actually spawn a sequel (WW2GI), how the authors got permission to do that is a big mystery, but the sequel is actually worse.

DOS · by Kate Jones (416) · 2001

[ View all 7 player reviews ]

Trivia

NAM (Napalm) started of as a Total Conversion for Duke Nukem 3D called as "Platoon TC". After releasing Platoon, the team started working on a sequel to it, in early 1998 the team was contacted by GT Interactive about if the team was interested working with them, so they started making NAM.

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

NAM-1975
Released 1991 on Neo Geo, 1994 on Neo Geo CD, 2013 on Wii...
Kingdom of Nam
Released 1981 on ZX81
Shellshock: Nam '67
Released 2004 on Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox
'Nam 1965-1975
Released 1991 on DOS, Amiga, Atari ST
Thud Ridge: American Aces in 'Nam
Released 1988 on DOS, 1989 on Commodore 64
Everybody's Golf: Nam Rong Bay Country Club
Released 2017 on PlayStation 4

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 1015
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Wolfang.

Windows, Macintosh, Linux added by lights out party.

Additional contributors: Dae, Duduzets.

Game added March 9, 2000. Last modified January 20, 2024.