Order of War Review
01 October 2009 | By Emmanuel Brown
Square Enix aims for the middle. (PC)
Whether it signals the desperation of a declining Japanese game industry or not, Order of War is somewhat of a success as the first fully-westernised development for RPG behemoth Square Enix. The blend of RTS features, cinematic visuals and approachable tactics will win over many fans, but without the depth and longevity of many PC-based rivals, ultimately it’s a title that comes up short of being a classic.
From the opening cinematic, you’d be hard pushed to notice this as a title developed anywhere but Europe. Colourful arrows reminiscent of those in classic British comedy Dad’s Army are strewn on top of grainy footage of a wartime map, accompanied by the usual bombastic overture and a large dash of mood-lightening eccentricity in the barrage of propaganda that follows. This isn’t a game that takes its subject matter overly seriously, but it isn’t completely without reverence either – a fact that makes the occurrence of a playable German campaign all the more surprising.
Each of the main single-player modes revolves around real-life historical battles, with the allied section predictably covering the Normandy landing all the way through to the final push in Berlin. The German chapters however, revolve around Operation Bagration, which pitted the might of the Soviet Army against the Nazi forces in a crucial turning point during 1944. It's a fresh and interesting setting for a WWII RTS, and in practice it easily outshines the more conventional subject material in the other half.
Controlling squadrons rather than individual units, commandeering your army is as traditional as it gets. Right click to select, right click to move, drag for formation options, and shift-select for multiple unit types. These are the staples of any RTS, and Order of War sticks to them rigidly. With that said, the battle can be paused at any moment and commands issued without restarting the action - allowing the rare luxury of being able to formulate plans and set sequences in motion without having to worry about encroaching forces.
And time management quickly becomes a necessity. The sprawling maps often require capturing multiple points of interest to secure victory, so you may be faced with an easy route to one target, but a potentially grander risk in sending your squad to a heavily-fortified camp further away. The risk/reward comes by way of increased manpower regeneration from garrisoned locations, with the more difficult spots proving lucrative in the long run. It’s a formula that works pretty well, and the between-levels XP upgrade system adds an additional layer of strategy, in line with genre stalwart Company of Heroes.
Those simplistic qualities also translate pretty well to the multiplayer arena, which draws the best out of the tactical engine to provide some chaotic and interesting real-time battles. Performance from net code and the robust if unspectacular graphical engine is certainly above average, with no significant problems to report during our play time. Player population is healthy.
With all that said, Order of War does little to justify a purchase above the likes of CoH or Dawn of War II. The campaign modes are light on depth, and most seasoned players will breeze through before heading back to the heavy-hitters. This isn’t a game aimed at the die-hard RTS crowd, but you have to wonder if anybody else will notice. On that level it may yet prove a failure, but if Square Enix manages to rope in that mythical audience waiting on the edge of the hardcore arena, more power to them. They won’t be disappointed.
From the opening cinematic, you’d be hard pushed to notice this as a title developed anywhere but Europe. Colourful arrows reminiscent of those in classic British comedy Dad’s Army are strewn on top of grainy footage of a wartime map, accompanied by the usual bombastic overture and a large dash of mood-lightening eccentricity in the barrage of propaganda that follows. This isn’t a game that takes its subject matter overly seriously, but it isn’t completely without reverence either – a fact that makes the occurrence of a playable German campaign all the more surprising.
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| The engine scales particularly well for an RTS. | A cinematic camera allows you to get up close and personal with each encounter. |
Each of the main single-player modes revolves around real-life historical battles, with the allied section predictably covering the Normandy landing all the way through to the final push in Berlin. The German chapters however, revolve around Operation Bagration, which pitted the might of the Soviet Army against the Nazi forces in a crucial turning point during 1944. It's a fresh and interesting setting for a WWII RTS, and in practice it easily outshines the more conventional subject material in the other half.
Controlling squadrons rather than individual units, commandeering your army is as traditional as it gets. Right click to select, right click to move, drag for formation options, and shift-select for multiple unit types. These are the staples of any RTS, and Order of War sticks to them rigidly. With that said, the battle can be paused at any moment and commands issued without restarting the action - allowing the rare luxury of being able to formulate plans and set sequences in motion without having to worry about encroaching forces.
And time management quickly becomes a necessity. The sprawling maps often require capturing multiple points of interest to secure victory, so you may be faced with an easy route to one target, but a potentially grander risk in sending your squad to a heavily-fortified camp further away. The risk/reward comes by way of increased manpower regeneration from garrisoned locations, with the more difficult spots proving lucrative in the long run. It’s a formula that works pretty well, and the between-levels XP upgrade system adds an additional layer of strategy, in line with genre stalwart Company of Heroes.
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| Given the subject matter, unit types will be familiar to everybody. | Fortified objective locations prove key. |
Those simplistic qualities also translate pretty well to the multiplayer arena, which draws the best out of the tactical engine to provide some chaotic and interesting real-time battles. Performance from net code and the robust if unspectacular graphical engine is certainly above average, with no significant problems to report during our play time. Player population is healthy.
With all that said, Order of War does little to justify a purchase above the likes of CoH or Dawn of War II. The campaign modes are light on depth, and most seasoned players will breeze through before heading back to the heavy-hitters. This isn’t a game aimed at the die-hard RTS crowd, but you have to wonder if anybody else will notice. On that level it may yet prove a failure, but if Square Enix manages to rope in that mythical audience waiting on the edge of the hardcore arena, more power to them. They won’t be disappointed.
ORDER OF WAR VERDICT
With all that said, Order of War does little to justify a purchase above the likes of CoH or Dawn of War II. The campaign modes are light on depth, and most seasoned players will breeze through before heading back to the heavy-hitters. This isn’t a game aimed at the die-hard RTS crowd, but you have to wonder if anybody else will notice. On that level it may yet prove a failure, but if Square Enix manages to rope in that mythical audience waiting on the edge of the hardcore arena, more power to them. They won’t be disappointed.
TOP GAME MOMENT
Advancing through a war-torn town with the cinematic camera framing the action.
