History VideoGame / Insurgency

''Insurgency'' is a 2007 freeware total conversion Source mod featuring realistic gun mechanics and teamwork-based gameplay set between a conventional army against partisans. The Steam release of the mod is titled ''Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat''. Developed by [=InterWave Studios=], a commercial version released as ''Insurgency'' was later made by New World Interactive (with many of the mod's original developers) using the ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' Source engine, on January 22nd, 2014.

A spin off UsefulNotes/WorldWarII GameMod, titled ''VideoGame/DayOfInfamy'', was released initially on the Steam Workshop, which was then endorsed by the developers, and eventually has its own standalone release.

* DifficultButAwesome: Rocket launchers deliver tons of area damage. In some maps (eg. Sinjar) a single rocket can frequently wipe an entire unprepared team. However, they take lots of supply points, are too damn heavy and are very prone to teamkilling, and thus requires some skill to use properly.

* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: The Insurgent grunt will occasionally emit a comically high pitched scream in response to narrowly avoiding [=RPGs=]

** ShortRangeShotgun: Somewhat, buckshot spread is very small at medium-to-long range (although [[TruthInTelevision buckshot is very ineffective against body armor]]) and slugs make it even longer range. However, its rate of fire is killer for anything less than CQC maps, as rifles are still more accurate and hit harder at longer ranges.
* SmokeOut: Commercial ''Insurgency'' has smoke grenades available for a supply point to be thrown for concealing your team's movement and blinding enemy positions.

* GameMod: Starts as one, and the commercial version includes a Steam Workshop support to easily subscribe (install) mods and publish mods. These can include everything from reskinned guns and sound mods to entire custom maps and gameplay modes, as well as new character skins. The latter can result in rather incongruous things like the Security forces consisting of [[Videogame/{{Overwatch}} D.Va clones]] or [[Wiki/SCPFoundation the SCP Foundation]] fighting against [[Videogame/HalfLife2 the Combine]] or [[Videogame/ModernWarfare Ultranationalist Russia]].

On 23 February 2016, New World Interactive alongside their new publishing partner company, Focus Home Interactive announced ''Insurgency: Sandstorm'', a remake of sorts on Unreal Engine 4 slated for release somewhere in 2017 for the PC as well as the [=PS4=] and Xbox One consoles. Aside from updated graphics and different game engine, it will also feature an [=eSports=] framework as well as a single-player campaign that tells the story of several soldiers from the beginning of the Iraq Invasion in 2003 to the current state of the TheWarOnTerror.

The sequel, titled VideoGame/InsurgencySandstorm is currently in beta, and slated to release in December of 2018.

* EasterEgg: In the tutorial, the scoreboard is unusable, but if you go into the squad selection menu, you'll see that instead of the default 8 player assault squad, this squad has 8 unique classes: one recruit, one leader, one driver, and 5 'backup' classes. You take the recruit class and bots take the other seven. In fact, the recruit class is unique; that's why you can equip assault rifles, LMGs, and C4s all in the same class.

* EmergencyWeapon: The Beretta M9, Makarov PM and Model 10 sidearms in the commercial game are mentioned to be along these lines by the training instructor, though actually carrying one is up to the player (some classes don't have one equipped by default, such as Support, which frequently has too much armor and ammo on his person to have the room for one). All players also automatically have a knife for this purpose... outside of CherryTapping someone they completely blindsided.

* EndlessGame: The Outpost and Survival co-op modes are this. Outpost consists of a player-controlled Security team defending a sole ammo cache against increasingly difficult waves of Insurgents, while Survival consists of ''underwhelmingly'' supplied Insurgents running from one safe point to another to get more supply points. Fortunately both modes offer respawns whenever the surviving players complete a round/get to the safe zone.

* GameMod: Starts as one, and the commercial version includes a Steam Workshop support to easily subscribe (install) mods and publish mods.

A sequel, titled VideoGame/InsurgencySandstorm is currently in beta, and slated to release in December of 2018.

* ActionGirl: The protagonist in ''Sandstorm'' is a female Kurdish freedom fighter. The game also introduces other female soldier characters to singleplayer and multiplayer.

** Averted in ''Sandstorm'' with the staged reloading system. For example, you've fired a few shots from your weapon before removing the magazine for a reload, but you're forced to transition to your backup to fight off a threat. When you switch back to your first gun, it won't have a magazine and if it's a closed-bolt gun with a round still chambered, you can fire it off before loading the new mag in. Also, by default, all magazines (regardless of whether or not they have ammo left) are retained on reloads. Reloads can be sped up by dropping the mag on reload, but of course you lose that magazine and whatever ammo was left in it.

On 23 February 2016, New World Interactive alongside their new publishing partner company, Focus Home Interactive announced ''Insurgency: Sandstorm'', a remake of sorts on Unreal Engine 4 slated for release somewhere in 2017 for the PC as well as the [=PS4=] and Xbox One consoles. Aside from updated graphics and different game engine, it will also feature an [=eSports=] framework as well as a single-player campaign that tells the story of several soldiers from the beginning of the Iraq Invasion in 2003 to the current state of the UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror.

On 23 February 2016, New World Interactive alongside their new publishing partner company, Focus Home Interactive announced ''Insurgency: Sandstorm'', a remake of sorts on Unreal Engine 4 slated for release somewhere in 2017 for the PC as well as the [=PS4=] and Xbox One consoles. Aside from updated graphics and different game engine, it will also feature an [=eSports=] framework as well as a single-player campaign that tells the story of several soldiers from the beginning of the Iraq Invasion in 2003 to the current state of the UsefulNotes/WarOnTerror.

* AllOrNothingReloads: Partly averted - as soon as you put in the fresh magazine, the ammo count is updated and you can interrupt the animation by sprinting.

* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: The Insurgents have a wide variety of WW2 era and earlier guns, including a S&W Model 10 Revolver, [=M1911A1=], Sterling Mk. 14, Mosin Nagant, [=MP40=], and M1 Carbine.

** Objective markers on the HUD, and depending on server settings, friendlies are tagged through cover and smoke.

** Recent updates nerf the bots even further with obvious delays during aiming and shooting when you see their point of view in the spectator mode. However they also [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard seem to not require flashlights or night vision in night maps, or scopes to nail you effortlessly at longer ranges]].

A spin off UsefulNotes/WorldWarII GameMod, titled ''VideoGame/DayOfInfamy'', was released initially on the Steam Workshop, which was then endorsed by the developers, but eventually has its own standalone release, currently in Early Access on Steam.

* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: Although the game is designed to be pretty high on the FacklerScaleOfFPSRealism to the point that you can't see the remaining ammo, OneBulletClips is averted, recoil as realistic as possible, and lack of crosshair with huge emphasis on aiming down sight, the game still features unrealistic features such as:

** Respawning, although any death is disadvantage due to it wearing off the "Reinforcement Wave" and took a rather long time (average respawn time is 20-30 seconds) to regroup and return to contested points

** You can sprint for as long as you want- though your soldier will gasp for breath when you stop after doing this for a while, they can get right back to it, and combat fatigue doesn't seem to be much of a problem.

** Recent updates nerf the bots even further with obvious delays during aiming and shooting when you see their point of view in the spectator mode. However they also [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard seems to not require flashlights or night vision in night maps and scopes for long range shooting]].
* AllOrNothingReloads: Partly averted - as soon as you put in the fresh magazine of a gun, the ammo count is updated and you can interrupt the animation by sprinting.

* BoringYetPractical: Basic assault rifle is available for most classes and both sides in commercial ''Insurgency'', with the noticeable bonus of very low cost (1 for Security's M16, 0 for Insurgents AKM).

--> '''Security (reloading under fire):''' "Fuck, Fuck, FUCK!"

* EmergencyWeapon: The Beretta M9, Makarov PM and Model 10 sidearms in the commercial game are mentioned to be along these lines by the training instructor, though actually carrying one is up to the player (some classes like Support don't have one equipped by default). All players also automatically have a knife for this purpose... outside of CherryTapping someone they completely blindsided.

* FriendOrFoe: Friendly fire can be on or off depending on the server for retail ''Insurgency''. Oh, and try to not point your flashlight at your own allies. Markers appear for you to see your allies' positions, but are not on at all times and do not appear immediately from when they are not currently marking an ally you're seeing...
* GunAccessories: In both games, though expanded greatly in the commercial game. In the mod, the only accessories were foregrips, sights, and grenade launchers on a few rifles, and only one attachment was allowed per weapon. In the second, every weapon can be modified with different ammunition types, sights or scopes, flashlights or LaserSight[=s=], and suppressors or heavier barrels, with the only limit to attachments being which slot one goes in (e.g. armor-piercing and hollow-point ammo types can't be combined) and your available supply points.

* MolotovCocktail: An explosive weapon available to the Insurgent team, added in the aptly-named "Molotov Spring" update. It has a counterpart in the AN-M14 incendiary grenade used by the Security team. Not only it provides temporary burning fire that will damage enemies passing on it, it also provides distortion for NVG wearing soldiers in night maps, and throws up enough smoke and flames to make it hard to aim through.

* RevolversAreJustBetter: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. In comparison to the makarov, The Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver is a tiny bit lighter, and does a bit more damage. However it suffers from a slow fire rate, a slight trigger delay, small ammo capacity, and a painfully slow reload time (unless 1 point is spend on the speed loader upgrade).

* TranslationConvention: The Insurgent Forces always speak accented English, regardless of which team you're on. [[GameMod Steam Workshop content may help averting this.]]=

* BoringYetPractical: Basic assault rifle is available for all classes and both sides in commercial ''Insurgency'', with the noticeable bonus of very low cost (1 for Security's M16, 0 for Insurgents AKM).
* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: At least one weapon per game is much older than the rest, namely the [=L42A1=] sniper rifle in the mod, or a few WW2 guns for the Insurgents team in the retail game. Even the Security team gets in on the act a little bit as well, with the [=L1A1=] SLR.

* RevolversAreJustBetter: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. The Smith & Wesson Model 10 may have the distinct advantage of being the cheapest sidearm fully upgraded[[note]]no supply points for the weapon itself, 2 for AP or HP rounds and 1 for speedloaders, so that's not saying much[[/note]], but there is a slight trigger delay, a tiny capacity of just 6 rounds and long reload times, especially if you didn't equip speedloaders. Essentially, it is a poor man's M1911.

A spin off UsefulNotes/WorldWarII GameMod, titled ''Day of Infamy'', was released initially on the Steam Workshop, which was then endorsed by the developers, but eventually has its own standalone release, currently in Early Access on Steam.

* CosmeticallyDifferentSides: Averted, ''heavily''. The different sides might have similar roles, but very different equipment (SecForces have NATO equipment such as M16 and M4 rifles, Insurgents have Warsaw Pact weaponry such as the AKM and older equipment such as the Mosin-Nagant) with unique stats. That doesn't factor unique weapons on each side, such as the Insurgent's IED, or each side's bonuses (the Security Forces gets an armor discount, the Insurgents get free AKM rifles).

* {{Qurac}}: The game takes place in one modeled after Iraq and Afghanistan, with places like snowy peaks, semi-arid farmland, swampy shorelines, and Iraq-esque television stations and stretches of desert. The insurgents themselves don't mention religion, but announcer chatter for their side talks of taking back their home from Security forces.