Iron Hammer

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Iron Hammer
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega of America
Developer: NovaLogic
Peripherals supported: Sega VR
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US ▼ (Sega Channel) 1996 SUBsub

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Iron Hammer is a Sega Mega Drive tank combat game developed by NovaLogic. Originally developed for use with the Sega VR headset as one of the system's four launch titles, health concerns over exposing children to virtual reality resulted in all four games being shelved. However, NovaLogic later stripped the game of its Sega VR features (namely its head-tracking capabilities) and eventually saw Iron Hammer broadcast by Sega of America over the Sega Channel sometime in the mid 1990s.

Gameplay

The game features high-speed tank combat gameplay along a flat plane, similar to helicopter games like AH-3 Thunderstrike, or the developer’s later Sega Saturn title Black Fire. Piloting an attack aircraft through thirty levels of alien combat over terrains of water, ice, grass, and rock, players are assisted by the digitized speech of their co-pilot as they traverse a variety of battlefields.

The original version of Iron Hammer would have featured the ability to play with or without Sega VR hardware.

History

Development

“	This was a Max Talor production. Originally designed to feature the Sega VR goggles! It was a first person shooter with scaling sprites (like Atari Battle Tank). By the time I worked on it, there were already a few tunes in the GEMS engine by somebody else, so I had to work with the same instruments, finish a couple of songs, and write a number of levels myself. I also scored the closing animation scene and credits.	„
— David Javelosa

Sometime during development, virtual reality specialist Bernie Roehl playtested a work-in-progress version of the game. He was reportedly impressed with the experience, despite Iron Hammer being unfinished at the time. His thoughts were documented in the VR Resources Guide, an unknown publication of the time.

Release

Following cancellation of the Sega VR and the game's physical cartridge release, NovaLogic would later strip Iron Hammer of its support for Sega VR headsets (namely its head-tracking capabilities) and eventually saw the game broadcast by Sega of America over the Sega Channel sometime in the mid 1990s.

Legacy

In May 2008, Nicola Ferrarese of the website Games Collection showed a functioning prototype of the game at VGH 2008, a small video game exposition in Monza, Italy. Sometime around 2012 it was again reported to have been playable at an unknown location.

In May 2019, composer David Javelosa posted a YouTube video containing the tracks he composed for Iron Hammer, and also implied he may have a cartridge of the game, but that he "probably won't be ripping and dumping ROMs anytime soon" due to possible ownership issues between NovaLogic, Sega of America, and various other parties involved in development.

Production credits

• Producers: Dante Anderson, Max Taylor
• Artist, Animator: Joby Otero
• Composer: David Javelosa, Andy Armer

Source:

LinkedIn, YouTube, interviews

Magazine articles

Main article: Iron Hammer/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

PDF

1993 Sega of America trade catalogue.

Screenshots

• 

  Title

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  Introduction cutscene

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  Introduction cutscene

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  Gameplay

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  The panoramic screenshot used in Sega of America’s 1993 trade catalog.

External links

• Iron Hammer at Unseen64
• Gameplay video at YouTube
• Soundtrack video at YouTube (David Javelosa compositions only)

References

Iron Hammer
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