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Order of War

Score: 85%
ESRB: Teen
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Wargaming.net
Media: Download/1
Players: 1
Genre: Real-Time Strategy

Graphics & Sound:

Order of War was one of those games that flew in under my radar. I am sorry, but I am really not feeling WWII games anymore. It is almost clinical disassociation that I pick up WWII games. Right off the bat, though, this seemed it could be a beautiful marriage, just like chocolate and peanut butter. You have Wargaming.net that already has a good name in strategy games. Then you have Square Enix who is, well, they are Square Enix. See? What could go wrong? Well, it wasn't quite the serendipitous union it could have been, but it still has so much promise, and proved that you can still get some entertainment out of WWII.

The look of the game is outstanding. I am to assume that Square Enix had a lot to do with the game's look, and Wargaming.net handled the back end math and mechanics. Like all Real-Time Strategy games (RTS's), the true test visually is both when you get in close to the action, and when you pull back to the big picture. Games can even get away with doing one stronger than the other, given that you can clearly make out all of the pertinent information. This information being where am I, and where is the enemy?

The music was everything you would expect. Mighty drums and trumpets of patriotism spur you on into battle. The sound effects are well done and clear. I like the variation in sound effects between being zoomed in or being pulled back. This is one of those affects that might go unnoticed unless you have your bass turned up and your surround sound set up. A simple pair of head phones just does not do this justice. The voice acting is something that I just felt was barely par. It is not what is being said most of the time, or how. It just doesn't feel very genuine.


Gameplay:

Order of War is a very straightforward and cleanly laid out game. The tutorial will provide you with everything you will need to know to get started and be successful in battle. Battle is played out in a very familiar way of high tech rock, paper, scissors. Units have particular strengths and weaknesses, and you will need to be clear on what each unit can do. Besides the tutorial, there is the single player campaign, and you have skirmish and online play with up to four players.

The single player campaign took me between 10 and 15 hours to play. You can choose between American, German or Russian scenarios. After you complete a campaign, you can return to any completed section in the Single Scenario Mode. This gives you a way to replay narrow victories and see how to improve. The Skirmish mode allows you to challenge A.I. players before stepping out against the rest of the world online.

Each campaign consists of a series of challenges and objectives to complete. You achieve this by commanding your units to take out the enemy in your path. There are fortifications you can access and take shelter inside of that will give you an advantage over units in the open. Control points are the strategic areas on the game that you will need to own in order to gain victory points. Victory points can then be used to upgrade units.

You are going to lose units along the way. War is hell, after all. You will be able to replenish your ranks with reinforcements. When you have the ability to bring in air support, it comes in three forms. You can call in air strikes that are fast and precise, but are subject to Anti Aircraft. Off map artillery can rain down on targeted enemy positions. When times call for it, paratroopers can land behind enemy positions and provide a tactical advantage over your opponent.


Difficulty:

Order of War was definitely a more casual gameplay experience than I was expecting from Wargameing.net. It is not a difficult game by any stretch. In fact, it suffers from the simplistic same "swarm and overrun" style of play that many other RTS's suffer from to an extent. It makes them more than a little simplistic. The control scheme is very easy to pick up, and easy to manage. This is definitely a gateway drug into strategy gaming. This is part of why I thought it was a good game. It is not necessary to be brutally epic all of the time, especially when you have game examples like this that prove that you do not have to be a multi-tasking monster. This can allow others to learn and transition into more challenging strategy games in the future. Hint, hint.

Game Mechanics:

Order of War has a very casual feel to the game. This is not bad; I was just really wanting to see a level of strategic play that went a little farther. I really think this game will be well received, but I still was left a little wanting when it came to an actual challenge. Take what I said in the beginning about playing yet another WWII RTS and you have to have just a little more challenge to distract me from the fact I am enjoying a WWII game.

Controlling units was a breeze with the interface. Sometimes, the only difficulty I had was identifying enemy positions when pulled back. OK, it wasn't that hard to mouse around. Other than this minute inconvenience, the controls were responsive and quick. The A.I., that can cause so much frustration for an RTS, was surprisingly responsive. Enemy A.I. moved and reacted to stimuli very close to what a human opponent may have.

I may not have enjoyed the return to WWII, but I really liked the game. I would like to see a more challenging title quickly on the heels of this one, as long as it can keep the same graphical and gameplay quality. I think the best way to enjoy this game is to disregard the subject and concentrate on how it plays. Sit back in a comfortable chair and introduce some new players to a fun RTS.


-WUMPUSJAGGER, GameVortex Communications
AKA Bryon Lloyd

Minimum System Requirements:



OS Windows(r) XP SP2, Processor 3.0 GHz, or better, RAM 2 GB, Video 256MB NVIDIA(r), CD/DVD-ROM 8X, HDD Free Space 10GB Free Hard Drive Space, Sound Card
 

Test System:



Dell XPS DXP061, XP Pro, Intel Core 2 Quad, 4GB Ram, Gforce 8800GTX

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