When a real-time strategy game calls itself Original War, you better believe that a critical eye will be aimed toward just how original it is. In that respect, things started off well enough. Original War was the first game that I received in the new retail boxes—small and economical. Upon installing and playing the game, however, I discovered only familiar waters--bogged down by some questionable design decisions.
Original War’s story is odd, but has its moments. Basically, it tells of a future war between the United States and Russia over a fuel called Siberite, discovered in—surprise—Siberia. Control of this fuel will mean victory for either side. Each country sends its best troops through a time machine in order to claim the territory and its resources. Oh, and Arab armies join the fray and create their own ruckus. Adding to the strangeness, they are sent two million years into the past—thus, the original war moniker. Unfortunately, this also brings up some issues with the story. Why would the Americans and Russians have sent their troops back to the exact same date, so that they would encounter each other? Shouldn’t one have switched the dial back a few years and gotten a head start?
Anyway, this is fiction so some things can be overlooked. If a story such as this wants to remain somewhat convincing, however, it doesn’t help to give everyone the most stereotypical accent possible. The Americans, especially the main character, sound like they were pulled straight from a bad G.I. Joe episode, and the Russians and Arabs all sound like overdone James Bond villains. If the voices would have been toned down a bit, the decent writing could be bared. By the seventeenth time I heard my American comrade scream “Cover my ass” like she was at a Tennessee hoedown, however, I wanted to turn the volume off. The music, on the other hand, can only be described as an extremely eclectic mix. One moment there is a subdued but tense background beat and the next minute there are accordions and all sorts of strange instruments belching a grating tune. Again, the more I listen to it, the more my hand reaches for the volume control—a nickname for my box of Valium.
At least the world is depicted well enough. The graphics are generally lush with vibrant colors. Nice little graphical touches spice things up a bit, such as long grass being crushed beneath soldiers’ boots or vehicles’ treads, skeletons and decaying corpses of ancient creatures, prehistoric birds and primates running about, and some pretty exotic locations. Unfortunately, the animation is mixed. The people and vehicles move fluidly, but when it comes time to turn up the heat, they just stand there shooting each other at point blank range. Vehicles, be it tanks with machine guns, rocket launchers or laser weapons, also just park themselves and fire.
Perhaps if the designers had taken a completely different route and designed Original War as a turn-based game, there could have been some Jagged Alliance head shots going on. As it stands, the only tactical decisions you have to make are when to have your troops crawl or when to retreat for repairs. Another move towards turn-based is that there is no troop training in the game, as each mission begins with a set number of people, each with a specialty—scientist, mechanic, engineer, or soldier. These can be changed at will by the player. For instance, if the mission does not give you a scientist, but you have to do some research at your lab, you can have the engineer build a lab, enter it, and train to be a scientist. Granted, he’ll be less skilled, but he will get the job done. They also gain experience in their field as they complete various jobs, and their stats in each of the four specialties can be increased between missions. You also have to makes sure that mechanics are placed in vehicles to increase their efficiency and scientists accompany men into battle in order to heal them. These career specialties should have been an engaging aspect of the game. Instead, they result in tedium as you micromanage your men and women in their career changes while you scream at high command to just send you a damn mechanic. Isn’t the balance of world power at stake here?
In order to build and power your forces, you’ll have to collect crates, which are sent through time, use solar plants, drill for oil, and gather Siberite. Each resource obtained will allow you to research new components for your weapons and vehicles. Once you have a good bit of researching under your belt, you can start to use your mechanic to mix and match components to construct a variety of different vehicles. To help with the required resource gathering you can build transports or enslave “apemen” to collect resources for you. Obviously they aren’t worried about killing off their two million year old ancestors.
The campaign consists of about fifteen missions for each of the American and Soviet sides, so there is a good chunk of gameplay if you find that you enjoy the game. Multiplayer opponents, however, are nonexistent on the internet. Also, there is no skirmish mode. Even though I consider it blasphemy for a RTS game to leave this out, it is understandable considering that the missions are extremely scripted—there is no real AI in this game. What this means is that missions are generally trial and error affairs. I found myself having to reload constantly because my soldier triggered an enemy attack and I was swarmed with no chance to escape. Also, some missions allow you to make decisions—such as killing or sparing a character—that can affect the game to some degree. Make the wrong choice, however, and you may have to reload. Frustration is the last thing one wants to encounter when playing this game.
I remember when Virgin Interactive used to be a strong publisher. I have especially fond memories of the Cannon Fodder series. While some of Original War’s elements border on enjoyable, the game is generally mediocre and not very fun to play. With a storm of new titles on the horizon, there is no reason to get involved in this war—hardly compelling and hardly original.
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Reviewed by Anthony
Micari
