And so the world is graced once again with another take on the hugely popular sci fi alien invasion story that is War of the Worlds. This time, in a computer game, the first since Jeff Waynes The War of the Worlds for the PC and the PS1 was released way back in 1998. The PC game was a real time strategy, the PS1 game was a first person shooter with an element of real time strategy. Now, we have a platformer.
This isn’t really going to be a review. I like to review games once I’ve played more than just the demo. I also like to review games that I have played more than just the demo on a platform that I own.
What I am going to do is tell you about this most wonderful game, based on the half hour gameplay that I got when I went round to a friends house and played the demo on his XBox 360, as that is the only platform it’s available on at the moment. Yes, that old chestnut – once again, Microsoft flash the cash to ensure they get the releases first. Which is becoming quite boring now for someone who sold his XBox 360 two years ago in favour of his PS3 and PC gaming. Perhaps I’m, in a round about way, just proving that I can fend of the temptation of Microsoft mentality of corporate greed.
The game itself is produced by what I believe to be a small time games developer Other Ocean, published by not so small publisher Paramount Digital Entertainment. It is a platformer, reminiscent of Fade to Black, Flashback and the more recent Limbo, and is set in 1953. You start the game on a moving train and while you listen to Patrick Stewart retelling the story during the gameplay, the mood is set. It’s dark, almost slightly macabre but in true War of the Worlds fashion, it descends you into a world that is under threat by a force greater and stronger than man and there is “no one and nothing left to stop them”.
There is a constant feeling of menace and threat, knowing that if you come in contact with an alien, there isn’t much you can do as you are not carrying any weapons. But then as we know, even if you were, when you are coming up against the Heat Ray, it is just like “Bows and Arrows against the Lightning”. You are just there to survive, and survival is key.
For the hardcore War of the Worlds fan like myself, notice a few key things – it is set in 1953 (true to the 1953 film), the eyepiece on the tripod is reminiscent of the same film, and yet the tripods themselves are of similar build to the 2005 Steven Spielberg film. So no Victorian era, and no Jeff Wayne in sight. which leads me to believe that the game itself is influenced by the films, rather than the original novel by HG Wells or the hugely popular soundtrack by Jeff Wayne, and as far as I know, no other adaptation has done this. We are of course excluding the Pendragon and The Asylum films.
So what does this game do? To me, it’s almost an interactive story book which incorporates some sound gameplay and is perfect for those late night sessions which require not a lot of thinking and effort. For this reason, I will most certainly be buying this game when Microsoft lift the restrictions on the publishers, allowing them to distribute the game to other platforms.
Regretfully, I do not have an XBox category to post this in, so therefore I will have to place this blog entry under the three closest categories I have.
If you wish to read more, check out the official site at http://www.waroftheworldsgame.com.
CIW Certified Web Design Professional and E-Commerce Specialist working in IT Support. Music Producter and Gamer, big Prog Rock fan. Proud father and Husband! 
