The Order: 1886 REVIEW

On reading through the comments people gave on their opinions on the game The Order: 1886, the mainstream media has definitely brainwashed everybody into trashing this game. It’s ironic that these same outlets marketed this game with such vigour yet now walks the opposite direction. The game was released on February 20^th 2015 and was available exclusively on the PlayStation 4. The game was developed by Ready At Dawn Studios, SCE (Sony Computer Entertainment) Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

On a positive note, the game’s graphics were stunning. The feel was more movie-like as it gave a more detailed history of alternate London. The city with its depressive glare and historical setting was evident from the textures used without developing any technical faults whatsoever. The game characters and facial movements were impeccable. Despite the complaints of the game’s set framerate of 30fps, I deemed that quite necessary because the game was aiming for a historical movie approach. I also noted that the game’s framerate does not fluctuate as most of today’s games are very demanding in terms of resource consumption. The developers choice of sound tracks is also very impressive as it immerses you into its atmosphere.

Of course games have their fair share of disappointments. Gamers have suffered from “broken” games right from 2014. The Order did not spare any of us although personally, I have not encountered any bug whatsoever. I also feel the game got unfair criticism from reviewers from famous editorials who claim the game is a “paint-by-numbers gunplay” sort of game. Being a third-person shooter, the gameplay mechanics are quite similar to other TPS games. The choice of weapon development was also undervalued by critics for being too small or boring. I differ here as the automatic rifle, shotgun, revolvers and other weapons are standard even in other Shoot ‘em up, adventure based games.

The futuristic weapons were abit misplaced I must admit such as the electric-powered gun needed charging in order to use. Some of these weapons were also brought in as pre-order bonuses for those who pre-order the game so the day one crowd has been left out here. The game was also too easy at specific points because I found myself in positions where the AI was not challenging enough to excite me. You just have to time your actions right and that’s it. The cutscenes were also endless as I walked from one right into another which I found quite annoying. The gameplay also had several instances of QTEs (Quick Time Events). These are positions where the AI guides you through a cutscene by pressing certain buttons to perform specific actions in specific areas of that cutscene. I cannot also refuse that the game’s time length was short because it was roughly easy to complete within 7 hours. Unfortunately, when you finish the game, you have no idea what to do next because that is all.