<s>
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
is	O
a	O
fighting	O
video	O
game	O
originally	O
released	O
to	O
arcades	O
by	O
Midway	O
Games	O
in	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ports	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
,	O
PlayStation	B-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Application
were	O
released	O
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
heavily	O
influenced	O
by	O
Midway	O
's	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
series	O
,	O
and	O
features	O
controls	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
games	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
series	O
 '	O
signature	O
fatalities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unique	O
to	O
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
is	O
the	O
"	O
3D	O
"	O
button	O
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
background/foreground	O
for	O
additional	O
attacks	O
and	O
evasive	O
maneuvers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
received	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
,	O
with	O
particular	O
criticism	O
being	O
directed	O
at	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
character	O
design	O
and	O
animations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
plays	O
similarly	O
to	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
,	O
using	O
an	O
almost	O
identical	O
button	O
layout	O
of	O
high/low	O
punches	O
and	O
kicks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Just	O
as	O
in	O
the	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
games	O
,	O
players	O
select	O
a	O
character	O
and	O
fight	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
opponents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
also	O
features	O
combos	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
through	O
series	O
of	O
button	O
presses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
the	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
games	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
has	O
fatalities	O
that	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
finish	O
off	O
opponents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
chunks	O
of	O
ore	O
scatter	O
across	O
the	O
planet	O
,	O
and	O
over	O
the	O
years	O
,	O
ten	O
humans	O
each	O
find	O
a	O
stone	O
of	O
the	O
ore	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
transformed	O
into	O
powerful	O
beings	O
,	O
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Released	O
by	O
Midway	O
as	O
the	O
first	O
of	O
its	O
new	O
3D	O
software	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
,	O
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
a	O
team	O
led	O
by	O
Joe	O
Linhoff	O
and	O
George	O
Petro	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arcade	O
game	O
utilized	O
a	O
hybrid	O
of	O
the	O
hardware	O
used	O
for	O
Cruis'n	B-Application
USA	I-Application
with	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
for	O
data	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
the	O
moves	O
were	O
recorded	O
using	O
motion	B-Application
capture	I-Application
with	O
just	O
two	O
actors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
was	O
unveiled	O
at	O
a	O
trade	O
show	O
in	O
March	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
adopted	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
's	O
fighting	O
style	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
created	O
independently	O
and	O
never	O
achieved	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
was	O
delayed	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
tone	O
down	O
the	O
difficulty	O
level	O
and	O
add	O
additional	O
moves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Panasonic	B-Device
M2	I-Device
version	O
of	O
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
was	O
in	O
development	O
and	O
slated	O
to	O
be	O
one	O
of	O
its	O
launch	O
titles	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
never	O
happened	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
cancellation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
response	O
to	O
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
was	O
lukewarm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
said	O
the	O
digital	O
skin	O
technique	O
is	O
genuinely	O
innovative	O
and	O
different	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
end	O
result	O
is	O
characters	O
which	O
look	O
jagged	O
,	O
move	O
stiffly	O
,	O
and	O
generally	O
lack	O
the	O
smoothness	O
of	O
the	O
polygonal	O
fighters	O
seen	O
in	O
contemporary	O
games	O
like	O
Tekken	B-Application
2	I-Application
and	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
2	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commenting	O
on	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
,	O
Jeff	O
Gerstmann	O
of	O
GameSpot	O
called	O
it	O
"	O
probably	O
the	O
first	O
N64	B-Operating_System
fighting	O
game	O
to	O
hit	O
the	O
market	O
that	O
actually	O
shows	O
off	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
power	O
of	O
this	O
system.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
most	O
reviewers	O
said	O
the	O
game	O
makes	O
poor	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
N64	B-Operating_System
hardware	O
,	O
citing	O
choppy	O
character	O
animations	O
,	O
a	O
low	O
frame	O
rate	O
,	O
poorly	O
detailed	O
characters	O
,	O
and	O
slowdown	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GamePro	O
remarked	O
that	O
"	O
The	O
3D	O
button	O
,	O
while	O
innovative	O
,	O
really	O
does	O
n't	O
enhance	O
the	O
gameplay	O
"	O
and	O
is	O
too	O
easily	O
confused	O
with	O
low	O
guard	O
on	O
the	O
N64	B-Operating_System
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewers	O
also	O
commented	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
controls	O
were	O
ill-suited	O
for	O
the	O
N64	B-Operating_System
controller	O
,	O
though	O
Next	O
Generation	O
contended	O
that	O
the	O
controls	O
are	O
more	O
intuitive	O
with	O
the	O
N64	B-Operating_System
controller	O
than	O
they	O
were	O
in	O
the	O
arcade	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
was	O
also	O
criticized	O
for	O
having	O
imbalanced	O
A.I.	B-Application
</s>
<s>
Reviewers	O
highlighted	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
plays	O
very	O
similarly	O
to	O
the	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
seeing	O
the	O
game	O
demoed	O
at	O
the	O
American	O
Coin	O
Machine	O
Exposition	O
,	O
a	O
Next	O
Generation	O
writer	O
said	O
it	O
was	O
"	O
the	O
next	O
step	O
forward	O
for	O
Midway	O
's	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
series	O
(	O
though	O
it	O
's	O
not	O
technically	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
)	O
.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
magazine	O
's	O
later	O
review	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
criticized	O
that	O
too	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
fighters	O
 '	O
moves	O
are	O
obvious	O
parallels	O
to	O
moves	O
seen	O
in	O
the	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sushi-X	O
of	O
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthly	O
(	O
EGM	O
)	O
likewise	O
judged	O
that	O
the	O
overt	O
similarity	O
to	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
makes	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
horribly	O
unoriginal.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
EGM	O
named	O
it	O
the	O
1997	O
"	O
Game	O
That	O
Should	O
've	O
Stayed	O
in	O
the	O
Arcades	O
"	O
in	O
their	O
1998	O
Video	O
Game	O
Buyer	O
's	O
Guide	O
,	O
commenting	O
that	O
"	O
an	O
average	O
arcade	O
game	O
does	O
n't	O
make	O
for	O
a	O
great	O
home	O
game	O
,	O
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
is	O
no	O
exception.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
and	O
Crispin	O
Boyer	O
of	O
EGM	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
was	O
actually	O
enhanced	O
over	O
the	O
arcade	O
version	O
,	O
with	O
faster	O
gameplay	O
,	O
better	O
anti-aliasing	O
,	O
and	O
bosses	O
which	O
were	O
tuned	O
to	O
present	O
a	O
more	O
reasonable	O
challenge	O
,	O
but	O
both	O
felt	O
these	O
enhancements	O
were	O
not	O
enough	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
game	O
good	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GamePro	O
assessed	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
compared	O
unfavorably	O
,	O
not	O
only	O
to	O
the	O
top	O
tier	O
fighting	O
games	O
on	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
and	O
PlayStation	B-Device
,	O
but	O
even	O
to	O
middling	O
N64	B-Operating_System
fighters	O
such	O
as	O
Killer	B-Application
Instinct	I-Application
Gold	I-Application
and	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
Trilogy	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
flopped	O
in	O
arcades	O
,	O
owing	O
chiefly	O
to	O
limited	O
distribution	O
and	O
unfavorable	O
word	O
of	O
mouth	O
.	O
</s>
