What would you get if the narrator from Bastion and the gameplay designer of Limbo had a love child? It would be Patrick Stewart narrating my gameplay of War of the Worlds for XBLA and PSN. Doesn’t that get you freakin’ excited already? Yea it does!
Based off of the 1938 Radio show or the 1898 Book, The War of the Worlds (radio show) was a full scale phenomenon. It instilled a panic among listeners because it was introduced as a news bulletin. The realism of the broadcast is what made it unforgettable. Even more interesting, it was created for Halloween. So, what is more fitting than releasing a game near Halloween to honor the show?
Enough of history, it is time to detail what makes this game so amazing. First off, being a platformer, there hasn’t been much done that couldn’t already be done. Which means, some sort of new aspect will have to be introduced, or rather, reintroduced. Other Ocean, from what I understand, prides itself on simplicity within classic retrospection. This meaning, everything is based from classic 2D design. It is an art form I feel is taken for granted. The War of the Worlds proves with layered 2D parallax and animated rotoscoping brings the old world into the new has never looked prettier. Every world is enormous, and the detail within each level is amazing. From background explosions to foreground objects there isn’t a moment of level design that wasn’t giving hours of thought. While still within the aspect of graphics and design, each world has countless panicking civilians. And each time one of them got taken, or vaporized, my heart sank. The game sucked me in and made me believe. Kudos to them, but shame on them for killing so many people.
Before I forget, I need to clarify my original expression of the Bastion and Limbo love child. Patrick Stewart narrates as Arthur Clark while you play throughout the game. So, at least this explains the Bastion part. As for the Limbo aspect, the game is full of suspense and countless puzzles. It isn’t a run and gun type of game. There aren’t conveniently placed weapons to dispatch enemies. It takes time and planning to avoid getting killed. And a lot of the time, it takes a trial and error effort. Once you find out how to progress, you will feel a great sense of enjoyment and accomplishment.
Eventually, you will start to grasp the flow of the game, and the timing of some events. But, unfortunately, the only problem I had with the game was the periodic sluggish controls. I understand for realism he can’t be a super human. But, at times he won’t jump correctly, or walk correctly, or active controls correctly. And when you are pressed for time while trying to avoid an enemy, these situation can greatly decrease your enjoyment.
Despite the fact of troublesome controls, The War of the Worlds is a 100% smash hit. It is worth playing over and over, until perfection is accomplished. And I think that is exactly what the leaderboards will offer.
Score: 9/10
The War of the Worlds was developed by Other Ocean and published by Paramount Digital Entertainment for Xbox 360 and PS3 on October 26th. A retail copy of the Xbox 360 version was provided to us by Paramount Digital Entertainment for reviewing purposes.
