Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
In the distant future of... 2019. Uh. Between this and our current timeline, I am weighing my options.
Running Shockwave Assault through Windows 98 does come with a few advantages. First you get native joystick and analog throttle controls which is actually kind of handy in this game. Also makes using a HOTAS setup through DOSBox a breeze. The game is also light enough to hit a stable 60FPS. However this requires you to reset the cycles count to around Pentium 1 levels (77000) or the cutscenes will bug out. The audio balancing is also a heck of a lot better so the in game comms are not so quiet.
On the downsides, there does seem to be a couple of things missing in this port. For example, it doesn't have the training mission that introduces your AI Co-pilot lady I.C.E. (Though that might actually be a Macintosh exclusive). Also, every port of this game omits the post-mission score screen which ends up leaving out the bleak musings of Admiral Crane on the war's progress.
0:00 Intro (Origin must of been rubbing off on Electronic Arts. EA's FMV game was definitely a step above everyone else.)
3:25 Mission 1 - Egypt (War of the Worlds, eat your heart out! Especially whatever the hell that 2025 effort was.)
10:04 Cutscene - Mission 2 (Anyone else think that the cutscene renders of the F-177 and Omaha are actually really good for 1994?)
12:42 Mission 2 - Peru (Civilian damage *IS* my objective)
19:59 Cutscene - Mission 3 (R.I.P Endeavor stock footage. Be thankful they didn't use the Columbia. *That* Would have been awkward 9 years later.)
21:40 Mission 3 - Las Vegas (Difficulty spike alert! Though it's only for a small section. That nuke plant will kill you if it blows up. Don't ask me how I know.)
32:46 Cutscene - Mission 4 (This is why I'd opt for a flight helmet rather than the tactical bandana.)
35:16 Mission 4 - England (Tally ho! Pew Pew Pew!)
44:04 Cutscene - Mission 5 (More stock footage as a stand in! The Kennedy's CO probably uses a JPEG in zoom calls too.)
45:53 Mission 5 - Hawaii (You mean I don't get a checkpoint restart on my energy after failing an objective in this version?)
59:06 Cutscene - Mission 6 (Where we discover that Pericata F$*% Fest 2019 is being held on Earth this year. Squick.)
1:00:36 Mission 6 - Utah (Nuke'em till they glow then shoot them in the dark.)
1:12:28 Cutscene - Mission 7 (High octane nightmare fuel alert!)
1:13:38 Mission 7 - Mexico (You can tell the world situation is going to hell. There's hardly any buildings for me to blow up anymore.)
1:26:02 Cutscene - Mission 8 (The Sisyphus experience.)
1:27:22 Mission 8 - Africa (Everything is completely fine! I totally didn't almost die here...)
1:40:30 Cutscene - Mission 9 (Running out of room to breathe... literally.)
1:41:35 Mission 9 - Europe (The game is starting to get mean with it's encounters.)
1:52:12 Cutscene - Mission 10 (Ouch...)
1:53:17 Mission 10 - Moon (Turns out, this version is also missing the ending cutscene you get for losing this mission. I checked. That's disappointing.)
2:08:14 Ending
2:10:40 Bonus Mission - Cakewalk (I had to cheat to find this mission. This version doesn't automatically bring you here at the end like the others. The code is actually WarOfTheWorlds and *not* TheWarofTheWorlds as every single fricking website will have you believe. You can't even have that many characters in your name.)
2:15:28: Operation Jumpgate - Intro (As this is an expansion pack, the cutscene game isn't as strong here.)
2:18:44 OJ Mission 1 - Mars (Game is pulling no punches with it's traps.)
2:29:46 OJ Cutscene - Mission 2 (Second verse same as the first...)
2:30:11 OJ Mission 2 - Ice Caps (The game is starting to get cute with it's level design.)
2:43:18 OJ Cutscene - Mission 3 (I'm getting the feeling that Wildcard is carrying Stewart's career pretty hard.)
2:44:01 OJ Mission 3 - Io (Believe or not, this one is actually pretty straightforward.)
2:53:20 OJ Cutscene - Mission 4 (I mean the brain counts... right? God, the Pericata are a bunch of cowards.)
2:53:55 OJ Mission 4 - Titan (You can't leave the shuttle behind. The Out Of Bounds Zone will kill it. Don't ask me how I know this.)
3:06:35 OJ Cutscene - Mission 5 (You can tell the situation is serious because the CO is down to her tactical tank top.)
3:07:06 OJ Mission 5 - Jumpgate (This final romp is a complete pain in the ass. There are no checkpoints and traps galore.)
3:22:40 OJ Ending (Mistakes were made! The Bonus mission 'cakewalk' is either completely missing or is inaccessible, even with cheats. This clearly makes the Windows version inferior to all others.)
In the distant future of... 2019. Uh. Between this and our current timeline, I am weighing my options.
Running Shockwave Assault through Windows 98 does come with a few advantages. First you get native joystick and analog throttle controls which is actually kind of handy in this game. Also makes using a HOTAS setup through DOSBox a breeze. The game is also light enough to hit a stable 60FPS. However this requires you to reset the cycles count to around Pentium 1 levels (77000) or the cutscenes will bug out. The audio balancing is also a heck of a lot better so the in game comms are not so quiet.
On the downsides, there does seem to be a couple of things missing in this port. For example, it doesn't have the training mission that introduces your AI Co-pilot lady I.C.E. (Though that might actually be a Macintosh exclusive). Also, every port of this game omits the post-mission score screen which ends up leaving out the bleak musings of Admiral Crane on the war's progress.
0:00 Intro (Origin must of been rubbing off on Electronic Arts. EA's FMV game was definitely a step above everyone else.)
3:25 Mission 1 - Egypt (War of the Worlds, eat your heart out! Especially whatever the hell that 2025 effort was.)
10:04 Cutscene - Mission 2 (Anyone else think that the cutscene renders of the F-177 and Omaha are actually really good for 1994?)
12:42 Mission 2 - Peru (Civilian damage *IS* my objective)
19:59 Cutscene - Mission 3 (R.I.P Endeavor stock footage. Be thankful they didn't use the Columbia. *That* Would have been awkward 9 years later.)
21:40 Mission 3 - Las Vegas (Difficulty spike alert! Though it's only for a small section. That nuke plant will kill you if it blows up. Don't ask me how I know.)
32:46 Cutscene - Mission 4 (This is why I'd opt for a flight helmet rather than the tactical bandana.)
35:16 Mission 4 - England (Tally ho! Pew Pew Pew!)
44:04 Cutscene - Mission 5 (More stock footage as a stand in! The Kennedy's CO probably uses a JPEG in zoom calls too.)
45:53 Mission 5 - Hawaii (You mean I don't get a checkpoint restart on my energy after failing an objective in this version?)
59:06 Cutscene - Mission 6 (Where we discover that Pericata F$*% Fest 2019 is being held on Earth this year. Squick.)
1:00:36 Mission 6 - Utah (Nuke'em till they glow then shoot them in the dark.)
1:12:28 Cutscene - Mission 7 (High octane nightmare fuel alert!)
1:13:38 Mission 7 - Mexico (You can tell the world situation is going to hell. There's hardly any buildings for me to blow up anymore.)
1:26:02 Cutscene - Mission 8 (The Sisyphus experience.)
1:27:22 Mission 8 - Africa (Everything is completely fine! I totally didn't almost die here...)
1:40:30 Cutscene - Mission 9 (Running out of room to breathe... literally.)
1:41:35 Mission 9 - Europe (The game is starting to get mean with it's encounters.)
1:52:12 Cutscene - Mission 10 (Ouch...)
1:53:17 Mission 10 - Moon (Turns out, this version is also missing the ending cutscene you get for losing this mission. I checked. That's disappointing.)
2:08:14 Ending
2:10:40 Bonus Mission - Cakewalk (I had to cheat to find this mission. This version doesn't automatically bring you here at the end like the others. The code is actually WarOfTheWorlds and *not* TheWarofTheWorlds as every single fricking website will have you believe. You can't even have that many characters in your name.)
2:15:28: Operation Jumpgate - Intro (As this is an expansion pack, the cutscene game isn't as strong here.)
2:18:44 OJ Mission 1 - Mars (Game is pulling no punches with it's traps.)
2:29:46 OJ Cutscene - Mission 2 (Second verse same as the first...)
2:30:11 OJ Mission 2 - Ice Caps (The game is starting to get cute with it's level design.)
2:43:18 OJ Cutscene - Mission 3 (I'm getting the feeling that Wildcard is carrying Stewart's career pretty hard.)
2:44:01 OJ Mission 3 - Io (Believe or not, this one is actually pretty straightforward.)
2:53:20 OJ Cutscene - Mission 4 (I mean the brain counts... right? God, the Pericata are a bunch of cowards.)
2:53:55 OJ Mission 4 - Titan (You can't leave the shuttle behind. The Out Of Bounds Zone will kill it. Don't ask me how I know this.)
3:06:35 OJ Cutscene - Mission 5 (You can tell the situation is serious because the CO is down to her tactical tank top.)
3:07:06 OJ Mission 5 - Jumpgate (This final romp is a complete pain in the ass. There are no checkpoints and traps galore.)
3:22:40 OJ Ending (Mistakes were made! The Bonus mission 'cakewalk' is either completely missing or is inaccessible, even with cheats. This clearly makes the Windows version inferior to all others.)
