.G. Wells' classic story War of the Worlds is arguably the first invasion-of-Earth tale thrown to the masses. Wells penned his chilling tale of the Martians' bid to conquer our world long before Independence Day or any other aliens-against-us entertainment. The plot is simple: Mars is dying, and the Martians think that Earth looks like a pretty good real estate investment. So they decide to take the territory by force.
Things go swimmingly for the folks from the Red Planet. Their technology is superior to that of the 19th century humans, and most military encounters are decided in the aliens' favor. Unfortunately, they forgot one thing...germs. A few Martians catch a cold, it spreads like wildfire, they die and the humans (i.e. the last folks standing in the ring) win: point, set and match.
Mixed metaphors aside, Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds (more on Jeff later) closely parallels the original story. Gamers control either the forces of Earth (i.e. Great Britain) or the Martians. Conquering or, in the human's case, defending the British Isles is the object. Great Britain was the power of the age, and its defeat would have signaled the end of humanity's organized resistance, so the battle focuses on its civilization.
There are no turns; the game play is real time, but it is real time with a twist. Instead of the oft-kicked dead-horse stream of marginally connected (Starcraft aside) missions associated with most real-time strategy games, War of the Worlds features a truly dynamic campaign. There are no set scenarios; players research technologies, build units, mass armies and invade territories from a Risk-like strategic map. If the enemy has forces in the invaded territory, a real-time battle ensues.
Games can be quite long, 20 to 25 hours. Accordingly, multi-player is not an option.
A not-so-terrifying invasion
A prime example of a fresh idea gone sour, Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds has gobs of potential. Unfortunately, not all of it was realized. The dynamic campaign is undoubtedly War of the Worlds' strong suit. There are bargain bins full of games that brag about their branching, dynamic campaigns, but few produce more than a couple of variations to a tried-and-true mission-packed theme.
Not so here. Gamers truly choose where, when and with what to attack. There are numerous strategies each side can follow. Should the Martians push to London by driving down the center of the British Isles, avoiding the Royal Navy's guns, or should they take the East Coast to avoid strategic encirclement? Do the humans try to swamp the invaders with hordes of under-gunned units or attempt to bridge the technological gap?
The battles are varied and stress tactics more than many of their real-time brethren. Moving units into a territory from multiple directions can place players on the enemy's flank, and gamers with a penchant for generalship will be rewarded. But all is not well in 19th century England. While the game concept is good, perhaps even great, the execution is poor. For instance, the British countryside is beautifully rendered--the small villages looking table-top-miniature pretty--but the Martian machines have a pixilated, unfinished appearance, and explosions look like an afterthought.
The music? Well, Jeff Wayne's rock composition (from which the game garnered its name) is well thought of in England, but who can say why? And the enemy AI doesn't seem to play fair. It's tough, if not impossible, for player-run human units to bring down Martian machines in the early going. However, the computer-led humans accomplish this task with relative ease.
Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds is a sad sight--a magnificent idea gone astray. There is still a solid game on the ROM, one many will enjoy. Nevertheless, with its innovative campaign, depth of strategy and strong link to the H.G. Wells classic, it could have been much more.
