| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 4 | 6.10 |
| Overall | 6.10 |
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The Order The Order 1886 has been described as an interactive cinematic experience with unparalleled graphics. From the first previews we have known that this game may not be the most gameplay focused game, still some hoped remained as Ready at Dawn made some great God of War games and hyped some of this games Lycan battles as being unique. Well the game is finally here; it does set a new standard for graphics and it absolutely is an interactive cinematic experience. Sadly the gameplay portion was a mere afterthought, which is a shame because all other elements of the game really shine. At its core The Order is a very basic third person cover shooter. It lacks the maneuverability of an Uncharted or the intensity and enemy diversity of a Gears of War. So when I say cover shooter, I mean COVER shooter, you need to be behind something during most gunfights and all you do is pop out and shoot other guys who also hide behind stuff and pop out. I would say about half of the gunbattles don’t even allow you to be in the same area as your enemies, they block you off in a section with cover and you shoot across the map at others who are in cover; this is the very definition of a shooting gallery. The times they do let you move around, and use something that resembles actual tactics, are usually in small rooms (usually square in shape) with a simple layout of cover. Absolutely no thought was put into creating interesting scenarios for gunbattles. You fight the same three types of enemies from start to finish, the only one providing any kind of challenge is a shotgun guy that charges at you like a suicide bomber. It is a shame because the mechanics and feel of the gunplay is very good. All weapons have a good punch to them, enemies react well, and your melee attacks while being canned animations are brutal. When you are allowed to roam around an area and hop from cover to cover while using grenades to create windows of advance so that you can melee some enemies, the gameplay comes alive. But I can probably count the amount of times the game actually allows that on one hand. There are also some really cool unique weapons which are criminally underused. The best one being a thermite gun which allows you to paint a cloud of dust at enemies and then use a secondary fire to ignite the cloud into a giant fireball. Now think of all the cool ways a game could use a weapon like that; none of that ever happens in The Order. It is used in two sections and is used on the same grunts you fight over and over. In Gears of War when you get the Hammer of Dawn you don’t just fight grunts with it, they created an entire boss battle around it. There is also an arc gun that shoots bolts of lightning and causes limbs to blow off. It is visually spectacular to look at but it feels like win button cause most all enemies (except the armored shotgun dude) die in one hit. The areas you get to use it in just have you move forward and pop heads as they show themselves. I feel it takes actual skill to make such crappy use of great weapons, they actively had to try to be as boring as possible. I am sure I can ask an eight year old to create more interesting gameplay scenarios and they would come up with better sections than those found in the Order. The change of pace sections don’t fare any better, these are the moments that really shine in the all time greats. They would normally include boss battles or some new kind of gameplay section that doesn’t involve doing the same actions as the majority of the game. The Order has moments that strangely strip away abilities, I guess that was their great idea of gameplay diversity. One section removes the ability to take cover cause you are holding a lantern, strange. One area stick you into cover and does not allow you to move, you have to shoot enemies turret style. There are other moments where what you have to do is completely spelled out for you, removing any element of freedom or thought. There are no boss battles in The Order, there is stuff they want you to think is a boss battle but it is just a QTE fest. The Lycan fights are some of the worst fights put in a shooter in recent memory. They are wolf like enemies that have ONE ATTACK repeated endlessly. They simply charge at you then run away and do the same exact move again until they die. The crazy thing is this fight is repeated three times, in exactly the same way. Even the room it takes place in is practically identical as well. The aforementioned QTE battle is also repeated twice shamelessly, they don’t even try to hide that it is the same fight with at least one new attack or one new animation. A lot of the complaints directed at The Order are about the abundance of QTEs and cutscenes that continuously rip the controls from the player. That did not bother me as much as the lack of care put into the game design. They were going for an interactive movie, I get it, the cutscenes are generally very well done and the atmosphere is incredible. I loved walking around and looking at objects as the game is mindblowling beautiful to look at. The QTEs though are of the worst kind, they have zero impact on the game and just serve as busy work for the player. This happens with lockpicks as well, the reason a lockpicking mini game works in other games is because usually there are limited lockpicks or there is some consequence to failing; but in The Order you have to do it and there is no failing, so it is just there to take up your time. This is a nitpick but it goes along with how little care RAD put into crafting an interesting game to play. A large chunk of the game does involve simply walking around and pushing buttons when the game tells you. The game is about 7-9 hours long and can be done quicker if you speed on through. About two hours of that is devoted to true cutscenes and about another hour and a half are moments where you slowly walk and listen to people talk. Again the game is so graphically impressive and the game world so detailed that I did not mind the non shooting segments. The story is decent though it lacks any emotional weight but it does a good job of creating characters you end up caring about. The victorian england Jack the Ripper setting is a popular one and one I enjoy, especially when there are werewolves involved. The last half of the game really picks up the pace of the story and because of that the gameplay felt more exciting. The Order absolutely succeeds at creating a compelling interactive movie and I did not want to stop playing despite the battles being mundane. The Order is what I like to call a painless game to play. It is made for the most casual of video game players. I feel like there will be a large group of players who are married with children who don’t have the time to play giant 30 hour games and don’t want to learn complex game systems, who will fall in love with this game. This is a game anyone can pick up and play, it will never frustrate you, there is no way to get stuck and it will keep you engaged because the story is compelling. For players who just want to experience a cool looking game this may become a new favorite. There is nothing bad about the gameplay, again mechanically it is really great and with some work it could stand toe to toe with the best of this genre. But I don’t play video games just to casually enjoy them, I want to be challenged, I want to experience interesting new gameplay scenarios even if they are frustrating. Boring to me is a bigger sin than being a bit messy and having some sections that make you want to bash your head in. Now to the graphics, holy moly sweet baby jesus!!! Words can’t express what it is like to play this game on your TV; watching a video is one thing, taking control of it is another. This is from the future, this is a true generation leap, this is what these new systems have been waiting for. Besides being a stunner it is polished to perfection, never a glitch or a strange graphical effect. Now just to nitpick a little the game does do some funny things with the interactivity of the world. Objects are very detailed but a lot of it is just static background that cannot be interacted with in any way. But when a shootout happens specific game objects now react to bullets in spectacular fashion, just want till you see the kitchen shootout where bottles break and pans fly. For example there is a glass case that shatters when in a room with a gun fight but when you are in an empty hallway shooting at a glass case will not damage it, it is as if interactivity was turned on and off on certain objects. The sound is also top notch with some fantastic voice work. I actually need to give props to the developers for making a game without the usual suspects, not a North or Baker to be found and it did not matter because this cast of dudes I never heard of were spectacular. Get some surround sound and enjoy. In terms of replayability there is none. Not one extra mode, not one incentive to play again. The only reason to play again is to marvel at the locations and show off to friends. There is a nifty chapter selection that lets you start at nearly any point of the game. The Order 1886 succeeds at being an impressive interactive movie. I bet it maybe one of the most watchable video games for non players. It fails in creating any kind of interesting gameplay and as a cover shooter it is one of the most boring ones in recent memory. The groundwork is there; the guns are great, the controls are great, the world is interesting, and there are so many potential boss battles for the future. They just need to show some level of respect toward gameplay design. I generally enjoyed my time playing The Order, I suspect many others will as well but it could have been so much better and I do have hopes for a massively improved sequel. |
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Posted by Dvader Sun, 22 Feb 2015 20:59:00
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travo (10m)
The Order broke in at No. 1 in the UK charts recently. Just like when EAs shit used to chart at 1 every week.