| Project I.G.I. | |
| Developer: | Innerloop Studios |
| Publisher: | Eidos Interactive |
| Director: | Andrew Wensley |
| Producer: | Richard Carter Frank Hom |
| Designer: | Gavin Skinner |
| Programmer: | Ole Marius Liabo |
| Artist: | Olav-Rasmus Vorren |
| Composer: | Kim M. Jensen |
| Platforms: | Microsoft Windows |
| Released: | December 8, 2000[1] |
| Genre: | Tactical shooter |
| Modes: | Single player |
Project I.G.I. (released in North America as Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In) is a tactical first-person shooter video game. It was developed by Innerloop Studios and released in December 2000 by Eidos Interactive.[2] The game received mixed reviews due to shortcomings including a poorly programmed A.I., lack of a mid-game save option, and the lack of multiplayer features. However it was praised for its sound design and graphics, thanks in part to its use of a proprietary game engine that was previously used in Innerloop's Joint Strike Fighter.
It was followed up in 2003 by .
A prequel titled I.G.I. Origins was announced by publisher Toadman Interactive in 2019 and was being developed by AntiMatter Games with no release date announced.[3] In May 2023, Antimatter Games announced the closure of the development studio.[4] [5]
Former British SAS agent David Jones is sent by the Pentagon to Tallinn, Estonia, where he is to track down and extract a kidnapped Estonian arms dealer Josef Priboi, who has vital information regarding the recent theft of an American W-88 nuclear warhead from a storage depot in Germany. Aided by his Pentagon handler Rebecca Anya, Jones follows Josef's trail through several military bases, and eventually locates him. Upon being rescued, Josef reveals that his uncle Jach is attempting to sell the warhead to a mysterious party. Jones captures Jach for interrogation, but their helicopter is shot down by two hostile fighter jets near the Russian border. A group of armed men arrive to investigate the crash site; the group's mysterious female commander, known only by her call sign 'Ekk', orders them to capture Jach and execute Jones, but the agent manages to escape his attackers and crosses the border back to Estonia, where he is rescued by a helicopter.
Anya informs Jones that Jach is being transported by train to an unknown location; the two surmise that Ekk is likely a rogue military or ex-KGB officer. Jones hijacks the train carrying Jach, much the latter's rejoice, but the train is derailed by the same fighter jets from before, sent by Ekk. Jones and Jach escape Ekk's forces and evacuate the area via another helicopter.
Soon after, Jones is ordered to retrieve the warhead and capture Ekk at her base of operations - a former KGB training camp, located in a ruined mountain castle. Jones infiltrates the complex, but fails to prevent Ekk from escaping and finds the warhead dismantled. Anya realizes that Ekk has used components of the warhead to construct a suitcase nuke, and tracks Ekk's helicopter to an old plutonium refinement plant, which houses a functional nuclear reactor. Jones infiltrates the facility and grants Anya remote access to its communication network.
What follows next is not entirely clear due to the game's abrupt ending, but Jones seemingly kills Ekk, and Anya defuses the bomb. Jones realizes that the entire mission has been a black op, and resolves to defend Anya from the approaching remnants of Ekk's armed force.
The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Samuel Bass of NextGen said that the game "quickly transforms itself into a frustratingly mediocre experience." Air Hendrix of GamePro called it "a tough but addictive covert-ops mission that's definitely worth volunteering for."[6]
It received a "Silver" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[7] indicating sales of at least 100,000 units in the U.K.[8]