Mars War Logs Launches Today

[Andy Chalk]

Mars War Logs Launches Today

​

Surprise! The post-Martian-apocalypse RPG Mars War Logs is now available on Steam.

It was nine days ago [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123351-Mars-War-Logs-Goes-Behind-the-Scenes] that we last looked at Mars War Logs, at which time there was still, to the best of anyone's knowledge, no hard launch date beyond "May." So it came as kind of a shock when the press release arrived this morning announcing that the game had already launched.

No, it's not May, it's just one of those things, although exactly which one I couldn't say. The bottom line is that Mars War Logs is now on Steam and Spiders Studio has unleashed a new-ish trailer that digs a bit deeper into the future unpleasantness of the red planet. A lot of it has already been seen, but the focus this time is more on the story rather than the kick-in-the-face combat action that's been at the fore of previous videos.

100 years after a planetary disaster left it cut off from Earth, Mars is wracked by war between powerful corporations struggling for control of the only resource that matters: water. Citizens live in camps as near-slaves, brutalized by security forces, while power is concentrated in the hands of "Technomancers" - because it's an RPG, and you have to work that magic stuff in there somehow. There's a powerful Total Recall vibe going on, and it unsurprisingly seems to fall to you to lead the uprising, although where it will ultimately lead is anybody's guess.

The unexpected release means I haven't yet had a chance to actually play the game and I don't think anyone else has either, so while it looks potentially impressive, that's as far as I'm prepared to commit. You pays your time, you takes your chances.

Gamers with 20 bucks and intrepid souls can pick up Mars War Logs now - yes, right now - on Steam [http://store.steampowered.com/app/232750/?snr=1_7_15__13].


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[josemlopes]

I presume that they are kind of fucked since there was almost no build up for this release. It can be a cool game and at 20$ I bet some people will give it a try but having it just coming out of nowhere really doesnt help

 

[Hogger596]

Looks interesting. Though it did go quite under the radar for me, so I've no idea this even existed until now. 'll be interesting to see if it's any good.

 

[Tahaneira]

I presume that they are kind of fucked since there was almost no build up for this release. It can be a cool game and at 20$ I bet some people will give it a try but having it just coming out of nowhere really doesnt help

Yeah, I haven't seen anything about this game anywhere. You can only really pull off a stunt like this if you are supremely confident in word-of-mouth, which usually requires previously-established fanbases.

It looks interesting, but I'm always leery of a game I have heard next to nothing about. Will the Escapist be doing a review, or is it off the radar?

 

[sid]

now? like, now now?

well, got it on Steam, tell you how it goes in a few minutes

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I only heard about this game a month ago. I didn't expect to see a release so soon. Also, 3Gb of HDD space? Not a very big game. Unless they managed to package it like Bethesda did with Skyrim.

 

[Valok]

Well same story as other ppl, the game was completely off my radar.

The trailer however got me interested, gonna wait for a few reviews.

 

[roguewriter]

I presume that they are kind of fucked since there was almost no build up for this release. It can be a cool game and at 20$ I bet some people will give it a try but having it just coming out of nowhere really doesnt help

Not quite, if anything this might very well be a smart move. Watching the trailer it seems like the game is geared towards a console control setup; if so they could very well be using Steam just to get the game out there, get people talking about it, i.e. doing the advertising for them. If so then they could very well expect to do better buisness on Consoles.

 

[roguewriter]

This looks really rather cool. Has a Blade Runner meets Red Faction meets Mass Effect vibe with hints of The Witcher. While I'm not a PC gamer I hope it does really quite well on Steam so it's arrival on consoles will be on schedule and will get solid support.

 

[Reyalsfeihc]

Hmmm... decided to give it a shot because, hell, even if it's mediocre $20 isn't bad to sink into it, so long as I get 6+ hours of gameplay. However, the filesize for the game is ONLY 2.5 GB, which is ridiculously small compared to a large number of recent releases, and even more strange for an RPG.

Will play for a bit and let you guys know what it's like sometime later.

 

[weirdee]

I presume that they are kind of fucked since there was almost no build up for this release. It can be a cool game and at 20$ I bet some people will give it a try but having it just coming out of nowhere really doesnt help

I actually thought it was still in development.

Aren't there like a bunch of previous newsposts on the Escapist about this game?

Either way, I'd rather have the game decide its own merit instead of the hype.

 

[omicron1]

I shall call it Mars Effect.

Eh, it's just $20. And I have a thing for indie RPGs that go to bat with the big boys. I'll give it a whirl.

 

[sid]

Alright people, first impressions. The voice acting is pretty bad, animations are choppy, graphics remind me of early ps3/late ps2 releases, but that's what you have to expect when an indie title tries directly tackling the triple A scene. That said, it doesn't seem half bad. The story is portrayed by a kid that seems a little out of his element, not through the protagonist's eyes, which is a pretty cool detail. I'll try not spoiling beyond that.

Just finished my first battle, early level gameplay is a little crude, it consists mostly of lmb mashing, completely melee. Despite all the glaring faults, and there are lots of glaring faults, something is really touching my "gamer heart" here. It just has something really interesting about it. It's kind of a wierd comparison, but think of most final fantasy titles X and down, gameplay aside. So far it seems totally worht it, I'll update my opinions later if the game changes drastically from what it showed me already.

 

[Drejer43]

Alright people, first impressions. The voice acting is pretty bad, animations are choppy, graphics remind me of early ps3/late ps2 releases, but that's what you have to expect when an indie title tries directly tackling the triple A scene. That said, it doesn't seem half bad. The story is portrayed by a kid that seems a little out of his element, not through the protagonist's eyes, which is a pretty cool detail. I'll try not spoiling beyond that.

Just finished my first battle, early level gameplay is a little crude, it consists mostly of lmb mashing, completely melee. Despite all the glaring faults, and there are lots of glaring faults, something is really touching my "gamer heart" here. It just has something really interesting about it. It's kind of a wierd comparison, but think of most final fantasy titles X and down, gameplay aside. So far it seems totally worht it, I'll update my opinions later if the game changes drastically from what it showed me already.

so basically wait for it to go on sale, got it.

 

[sid]

Alright people, first impressions. The voice acting is pretty bad, animations are choppy, graphics remind me of early ps3/late ps2 releases, but that's what you have to expect when an indie title tries directly tackling the triple A scene. That said, it doesn't seem half bad. The story is portrayed by a kid that seems a little out of his element, not through the protagonist's eyes, which is a pretty cool detail. I'll try not spoiling beyond that.

Just finished my first battle, early level gameplay is a little crude, it consists mostly of lmb mashing, completely melee. Despite all the glaring faults, and there are lots of glaring faults, something is really touching my "gamer heart" here. It just has something really interesting about it. It's kind of a wierd comparison, but think of most final fantasy titles X and down, gameplay aside. So far it seems totally worht it, I'll update my opinions later if the game changes drastically from what it showed me already.

so basically wait for it to go on sale, got it.

I want to say no because this is the one studio that could make a hell of a good use of money. This feels like Bioware at its best without actual funding to back it up aesthetically.

 

[roguewriter]

Alright people, first impressions. The voice acting is pretty bad, animations are choppy, graphics remind me of early ps3/late ps2 releases, but that's what you have to expect when an indie title tries directly tackling the triple A scene. That said, it doesn't seem half bad. The story is portrayed by a kid that seems a little out of his element, not through the protagonist's eyes, which is a pretty cool detail. I'll try not spoiling beyond that.

Just finished my first battle, early level gameplay is a little crude, it consists mostly of lmb mashing, completely melee. Despite all the glaring faults, and there are lots of glaring faults, something is really touching my "gamer heart" here. It just has something really interesting about it. It's kind of a wierd comparison, but think of most final fantasy titles X and down, gameplay aside. So far it seems totally worht it, I'll update my opinions later if the game changes drastically from what it showed me already.

Cool. Thanks for the update. I sincerely hope it proves to be something worthwhile given that it looks really great and if it sells well that means we can expect a solid release and support for console. Glad to hear it's reminiscent of BioWare as it does seem to have those RPG elements in the trailer, i.e. character driven narrative, companion characters, etc. They showed a romance in the game, wonder if MWL's team had the stones to put in a full love scene or if they went the EA-BioWare route of magical underwear ^.^

 

[Candidus]

Bullet Review:
-Future post-apoc-cyberpunk RPG.
-Interface and combat puts me in mind of The Witcher 1&2. Targetting can be temperamental. No other serious complaints.
-RPG elements and dialogue puts me in mind of KotoR 1&2.
-Music is good, a little bit industrial and clangy. Suits the rust coloured spirit of the game. Sounds like it was dragged out of a futuristic post apoc film from the 90's (more than a trace of synth), but that's not such a bad thing.
-Story is compelling, voice acting is diabolical, at least one promising character is wasted or mishandled (Emily; you'll know when I tutted and why, because you'll probably do the same thing). Overall though, that blunder doesn't detract from what has pulled me in about the setting.
-If you can transport your inner-critic back to 2006-2007, then this is an almost triple-A game from a backwater studio. To get the payoffs you all remember, you forgave and persevered with clunky elements of the RPGs you loved from back then just as much, if not more than you will have to here.

I recommend using a 360 controller if you've got one. Rolling and alternating between X-Y attacks should see you past most of the fights without a problem (on medium). If you need any help with side-quests, the main quest, fights or your build, quote me and bump the thread. I'm about 8 hours in.

 

[elvor0]

I must say, it's certainly piqued my interest from the trailer, sure the graphics aint AAA, but they were good enough for it to not effect my interest in the game, we all know they don't make the game. A lot of people are saying it's really small,(file wise) which could be good or bad, nothings stopping it from just being a really good short science fiction story, so long as there isn't anything /bad/ about it or anything that really throws you out of the experience I think I might have to pick this up given I haven't seen anything about it before.

I'm hoping it gets good reviews, because by virtue of the trailer, I think that even if it's not /great/,with some capital, their next game could be. No one saw The Witcher coming did they? The first game had some glaring issues, but succeeded and the Witcher 2 EE was stellar, one of my favourite RPGS in years.

Bullet Review:
I'm about 8 hours in.

/That/ is very encouraging, have you been getting stuck or anything at all, or is that just a pretty smooth run? Because while I imagine it's not too big a game, for 2.5GB file size that's pretty impressive.

 

[Candidus]

Bullet Review:
I'm about 8 hours in.

/That/ is very encouraging, have you been getting stuck or anything at all, or is that just a pretty smooth run? Because while I imagine it's not too big a game, for 2.5GB file size that's pretty impressive.

Well, 8 hours according to Steam's recollection of my time played. I'm sure I've spent an hour of that away from the keyboard making tea and stuffing myself with biscuits.

A smooth run besides unrelated delays? Well, I haven't died during the bosses I've so far encountered- although the first was a close call because its method wasn't what I was expecting. I had to figure it out on the fly. I have, however, combed the maps for goodies. I've also completed every sidequest along the way. Unguided of course, so there's been some minor retreading and chin-scratching (not much, the map is excellent and my beard is clever).

I'm honestly not sure how long it would take if you were B-lining it. All I can say is that it doesn't feel like it's about to end, and the value I've had from the game so far is substantial.

Edit:

Alright, finished it. Decent length for the price, and for being indie with above average production values. It's not more than 8-10 hours depending on your behaviour, but the branching paths give it replay value (always provided you liked the story enough to want to see all its possible conclusions).

Minor spoilers.

Spoiler

What I liked:
I liked the setting. Now I like cyberpunk/steampunk, so I'm biased to begin with, but specifically I liked the guilds a lot. Sure, the conflicting `clans` thing is older than the hills, but the guilds have unusual identities and cultures that I found- and still find- really interesting.

I liked the character building, though I question the usefulness of stealth after the first act. The map and quest log combined are very well implemented and I basically never got stuck. The encyclopedia was cool; I love flavour text.

Most importantly I liked the combat. Like The Witcher 1, it's simple but has a certain nuance. To keep it rewarding though, you'll have to start ramping up the difficulty. I explain this under `dislikes`.

What I can live with:
The plot of the game within said setting is okay. The writing falls down at times... I think this narrative was beyond the writer's abilities to execute to its full potential, really. It trundles forward like a rusty tank, never quite losing its shape but definately losing bits along the way, and showing cracks once the player is sufficiently knowledgeable about the setting to ask the right questions.

Specifically, the politicking in the penultimate act is clumsy. The way that certain concepts, connections/histories and characters are introduced, briefly explained and then disposed of gives me the sense of a writer struggling with their creation (perhaps due to budget and content constraints). And Mary, who I had assumed to be a main antagonist and was looking forward to interacting with, became the biggest disappointment of the game for me.
But all that being said, it's still alright. It's like a trashy [x,y,z] novel. It's an obvious case of overreaching by an author, not outright badness. It's enjoyable, even though its flaws are undeniable.

What I didn't like:
The lack of opponent variety. One because it's boring, and two because without new attack patterns and conditions to learn, the difficulty of the game just collapses.

Finally, the voice acting. The protagonist isn't so bad, but most of the rest are straight up dreadful.

That was a bit of a ramble, but there. Make your own minds up.