Reviewed On: Xbox 360
Available For: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Publisher: Fox Home Interactive
Developer: Spiders
Genre: Action Role-Playing Game
Age: 16 (PEGI)
Price: 1200 MS Points (£10.20)
In terms of the size of the universe, Mars isn’t that far away, and Mars: War Logs isn’t far from being a brilliant game.
A decent storyline in an action Role-Playing Game (RPG) is vital, and Mars: War Logs doesn’t fail to deliver on that front; Roy Temperance and Innocence Smith are prison chums on the red and dusty planet of Mars. It’s their goal to escape bondage, and the player’s job to help them do so.
The storyline is met with respectable dialogue, but the delivery is very much a mixed bag. Some voices are confident and believable, others are confused and laughable – but at no time are they too bad to be off-putting. Even the worst ones are quirky in their own way.
There’s plenty of button mashing combat to be had.
Things like magic get introduced, but the bulk of the fighting comes in the form of close-quarter-combat combinations, and although it doesn’t have a great deal of variation, it’s still perfectly adequate.
As with any other decent RPG, Mars: War Logs has customisable elements. Paths are carved from choices and through morality, while characters are shaped through various skill trees. Even items can be crafted, although the crafting system is incredibly basic and limited.
But Mars: War Logs suffers from a couple of problems. It’s a bit like a baby plant in its infancy, its sprouts are shooting through, each full of promise and potential, yet none are fully grown or flowering.
Maybe with a larger budget it could have blossomed into something more.
The other major problem is with the variation from one locale to the next – there is none. The entire 11-12 hour long journey is a beautiful progression in storyline and character development, but a let down in visual completeness.
The graphics in general are decent enough, but again lacking the polish to make them anything more than that.
It’s got bells, whistles, and fiddly things to play around with, and costing only 1,200 MS Points (£10.20) it’s small on price, yet large in content. Solid, but not perfect. Fun but not without fault.
Positives: It not only adapts, but it's engaging.
Nagatives: The scenery is boring and the general polish is not up to standard.
Score: 6 / 10
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