Video Games are an unusual entertainment medium. A mix of visuals, audio, narrative and interactivity that all combine to form one. You don’t have to be a film buff to notice that in recent years games have become very movie-like. Cinematic cut-scenes are now routinely performed by professional actors, with their voice acting and motion capture performances directed by directors that have previously worked in the film industry.So with games looking more and more like movies, is it the case that the accompanying narrative or story stand up to that of your average Hollywood flick? I’d answer that question with “sometimes, yes”. You may want to argue that the quality of game stories has improved, or those found in movies have simply gotten worse. Whatever the case; that’s a discussion for another day.
What I find interesting is that movies tend to be based on novels or short stories, yet Video Games are typically based on a current film properties or are simply original compositions. So when there is more than enough great literature already written that could be the basis for a million different games, why do games developers seemingly ignore the written word?
It’s a question too deep to think about answering right now. Not only because I’m only here to review a bloody video game, afterwards I shall be heading out to the cinema to watch Paranormal Activity 3 and I don’t want to be late.
The War of The Worlds is a novel written by H.G Wells in 1898, that’s 113 years ago! Most of you have no doubt seen one of the movie adaptations or even heard the musical by Jeff Wayne, but I doubt many of you will have read the book. Now that’s not a criticism, I’ve not read the book either - however you must agree that it’s a bad state of affairs when we can all say we’ve seen Coronation Street, but not read a classic piece of science fiction.
I’ve been reliably informed that The War of the Worlds for Xbox Live Arcade is based on the original novel and not the movies. Not having read the book means I can’t promise this to as a solid fact, but reading up on the original novel with the help of Wikipedia does lead me to believe this is true.
Unlike the book, the game is set in 1950’s London. A time when the city was still recovering from the bombings of WW2. You take on the role of Arthur, seemingly an everyday man that finds himself trapped away from the love of his life (Emily) and his brother (Ben) when the Martians attack.
With the helpful narration by Patrick Stewart we find out that three days have passed since the first meteorite landings. But these were no ordinary rocks falling from the sky, these were metal cylinders that contained alien life forms that were not friendly. Panic quickly spread, as did an invasion force that started decimating every human in sight as if they were germs that needed disinfecting.
The game starts as it means to go on; you survive a train crash just outside of Paddington Station. Wreckage and carnage scattered all around, people wounded and trapped - those that have managed to escape are huddled around fires just to keep warm. It’s dark, misty and foreboding. Here’s where the game begins; as Arthur you need to venture on foot the rest of the way across London to your home where hopefully Emily and Ben are safe.
The War of the Worlds not only sends us hurtling back into the 1950’s with its story, but also to the 1990’s in terms of gameplay. Maybe you’ll be old enough to remember such classic games as; Another World, Prince of Persia, Pitfall and Flashback. These titles required pixel perfect jumping, exact timing and plenty of luck if you wanted to get past the first few screens. Back then games were not designed to be fun, no no no. It was all about the challenge. There were no Achievements or Trophies to earn, after all just being able to say that you had finished the game was achievement enough.
So grab that controller and prepare for some of the toughest platforming action since the 16-bit era. What is that you ask? Well in short it consists of you running, jumping, rolling and climbing your way out of (and sometimes into) trouble. There are no fancy power ups to be found here, it’s all down to your own gaming skill...gulp.
One of the best examples of the game is also one of its standout levels; Edgware Road. In this stunning sequence your goal is to escape from a rampaging Tripod that can kill you in three different ways:
- Job one is to run as fast as possible to avoid the huge mechanical legs that will squish those that are too slow.
- Job two is to avoid obstacles such as broken walls, fires and abandoned London taxis. Time your jumps wrong or climb up onto the wrong platform and you’ll be grabbed by a long robotic tentacle.
- Job three is to know when to stop and hide, then when to get running again. At key points in the chase the Tripod will launch a devastating heat ray that will fry you to a crisp. When you hear the distinctive noise you must take cover at once, then after three passes of the ray you must get back onto jobs one and two once again.
What is hard to get across in text is the simple fact that you cannot afford to make one wrong step if you want to survive. It really is a case of memorizing every aspect of each level right down to the tiniest detail. It IS frustrating to keep replaying the same area time and time again, but it’s impossible to describe the sense of reward you get when you manage to activate the next invisible checkpoint, let alone finish a bloody level.
Now it’s not all about running fast and jumping; some of the levels require you to sneak past flying sentry drones. The little buggers will fry you with a laser beam if you step into their spotlight, you’ve got to take your time and watch their movement pattens closely to know when it is safe to move and when it’s time to hide. Along the way you’ll even encounter the occasional door/switch puzzle and even be required to push crates around to extinguish flames that block your path. I shan’t spend time talking about electrical fields, falling platforms and many more of the ghastly physical traps you’ll encounter...you can meet them face on for yourself.
Around three quarters through the game you’ll eventually find a weapon, now it may only be an axe but this beauty can help break walls and even kill a few Martian spiders. Sure was very satisfying to see some green alien blood hit the floor after the huge kicking those spiders gave me the first few times I ran into them.
The War of the Worlds looks terrific, the dark almost gothic graphic style is very oppressive and really does make you fell like you’re in a disaster zone. The three layered parallax graphic design is nothing new for 2D platformers, we had that on the Super Nintendo. But here in War of The Worlds it really adds a great sense of depth and is actually used for gameplay, not just style.
The game sticks very faithfully to the well loved imagery that has long since been linked with the franchise. The Martian machines look just as they should and inconsequential details such as some fake BBC radio broadcasts really do immerse you into the world. Of course I really must mention the narration from Patrick Stewart; this notoriously good actor sets each scene perfectly and I can’t think of a voice more suited to the role. The dialogue is well written and well acted, ‘nuff said. As far as the musical score goes I feel that the orchestral performance suited the game very well, but at the same time was not in the least bit memorable.
When it comes down to it though, the question really that needs to be asked is; is The War of the Worlds any good or not? Personally despite some major flaws, I think it is. In this day and age your character shouldn’t be getting trapped in scenery or start floating across the screen after jumping. Still I forgive these little bugs because they are actually rare and happen to be very reminiscent of the experiences that you will encounter whilst playing the classic platformers it is styled on. If you want retro gameplay then why not experience retro bugs?
Depending on your skill level you will get around 6 to 10 hours worth of gameplay for just 800 Microsoft points. Replay value is limited to gaining some near-impossible achievements and improving your ranking on the online leaderboards, no multiplayer modes I’m afraid.
I lost count at how many times I cursed at the TV, sometimes though I like it when a game kicks me in the balls until it hurts. If you can handle rock hard platforming and unforgiving controls then The War of The Worlds is for you.
7/10
