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)

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

Probably the worst game I've ever encountered.

The Good
Nothing what-so-ever. It uses the same engine as Duke Nukem 3D, and does so horribly.

The Bad

  • Horrible graphics, some taken directly from Duke3D and others are just terribly bad.

  • Worst sound effects in a game yet.
  • Crappy gameplay
  • Raycasting in 1998?!?!?!?!?!?!


**The Bottom Line**
In short, this game should have never seen the light of day.

DOS · by Tomer Gabel (4539) · 2000

Love to hate it!

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

[ 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.