NAM
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
Add Trailer or Gameplay Video +1 point
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 |
|
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)
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
The Good
Well, there were a lot of weapons, 34 missions, some cool audio, tough scenarios and lots of action. Some of the locations look okay considering it uses the BUILD engine (Duke Nukem 3D) and that also means you can use the Duke3D editor if you want... You could also take control of vehicle-mounted machine guns and have fellow soldiers follow you. At some points it was also possible to call in airstrikes... cool! Also the multiplayer is pretty good.
The Bad
Pointless missions, dumb AI (For example, if you set a fellow grunt to shoot enemies, then leave his line of sight then return, he'll shoot at you!) The graphics are dry and colorless, so the jungle looks more like a mish-mash of green pixels and not like trees and plants. Looks almost exactly the same as Duke3D except in a jungle. The music is all MIDI format so it sounds pretty bad and you'll probably want to turn it off.
The Bottom Line
Well, if you see it in a discount bin for really cheap you might want to pick it up for it's multiplayer- which has the potential to be fun because of the weapons. Or, if you like your war games then you might want to try it- some of the shootouts are semi-intense and can be quite fun. However, the emphasis in that sentence is on "Some", not all. Don't expect a great action game here because, well, it isn't!
DOS · by Ben Fahy (92) · 2001
The Good
When I first got it, I had alot of fun, and thought it was the best, so to say, but that was three years ago.
The Bad
The graphics reek, after playing Duken Nukem, which still stands up today, I'm surprised at just how bad the graphics are in this game, besides that the enemy and friendly AI is stupid, the friendly soldiers just walk around untill they get shot, pathetic.
Also multi-player has never worked.
The Bottom Line
You walk from point A to point B, on the way shoot soldier pick up weapons, and do the basic things of a shooter, occaisionaly you have to do something interesting, like saving a POW, but not usually.
In effect boring.
(Though it was once exciting to me.)
DOS · by Wolfang (155) · 2002
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
Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!
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.
Macintosh, Linux, Windows added by lights out party.
Additional contributors: Dae, Duduzets.
Game added March 9, 2000. Last modified January 20, 2024.