Customer Reviews

Order of War

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Bought Order of War about a week ago and spent something like 25-30 hours playing it. Being a fan of WWII RTS games for years (CoH, WiC, MoW) I got interested by the opportunity to play WiC-like battles but on larger scale and with nicer graphics - and actually haven't been disappointed yet. OoW plays like a decent and well-balanced strategy game with cool visuals and quick-paced gameplay. There is no resource-gathering and base-building. You are focused on issuing orders, maneuvering on the battlefield and supplying yr army with new replacements. It's no way clickfest - you can use active pause to stop the action, that's what I actually do when I play skirmishes (wish I had this option in MP'). In some scenarios you start with a small group of troops having something like 2-3 squads of infantry and several tank detachments at command and then gradually build up a bigger army controlling hundreds of units on the battlefield. Some missions (like Will to Win (playing for Wermacht)) are extremely massive, I spent about 3 hours trying to fight off the enemy attack and capture all the flags. The Game has a WiC-like control point system - you capture CPs, get money and bring new troops in action. AI is good, it responds to all your moves and maneuvers (on Hard regularly uses air strikes and is good at setting up defense lines). Though, I once made it do some silly things by launching two simultaneous flanking attacks in one of the missions. Cinematic camera is freaking cool- you set up an offensive, lean back and enjoy the movie-like action getting into the battle from time to time to make changes. Even playing online I sometimes switch to this mode to watch my birdies crash enemy positions. Awesome.

My Verdict: while adding not so many new ideas to the RTS genre Order of War is definitely worth trying.

Graphics: 9.0
Sound: 8.5
AI: 8.5
Gameplay: 9.0
Multiplayer: 9.0
Lasting Appeal: 9.0
Overall: 9.0

Order of War ([...]) is an excellent entry into the World War II real-time strategy genre. Although this type of game isn't new, Order of War provides new ideas and a fresh perspective on the typical (and not-so-typical) battles of the Second World War.

For one thing, you can command hundreds of men and vehicles in even a relatively small engagement. Some of the larger battles are so immense that it's hard to keep your units on the screen! You can also zoom in close to hear the sounds of battle and the shouts of the men. The cinematic camera option is also a very cool feature for those times when you've given orders to your units and just want to sit back and watch the battle unfold like a Hollywood blockbuster.

Sure, some of the battles, like D-Day, have been done many times before, but what would a World War II game be without those famous conflicts? Not to mention some lesser-known battles, like the invasion of southern France, or the crossing of the Siegfried Line. Every battle has been meticulously researched and accurately modeled. Even the famous church in the center of St. Mere Eglise is there, along with detailed bunkers on Omaha Beach, and the amazing Leopold railway gun with its monstrous shells.

The combination of infantry, tanks, artillery, and air power provides a variety of tools and tactics that can be used to overcome the opposition. Moving units in company formation (the only way real regimental and brigade commanders can move their troops - by ordering battalion and company commanders around!) makes it easy to manage the large number of soldiers and vehicles on the battlefield. Although the game is deceptively easy to play, it is hard to master, as the AI is quite intelligent at higher levels, terrain becomes crucial to success, and the tactical ebb and flow of battles increases substantially. If anything, multiplayer gaming highlights just how simple the interface is, but how complex the game's strategems can be.

Overall, I'd recommend this game highly to both beginning gamers interested in a World War II RTS that is easy to learn and to grognards steeped in the history of the period and looking to whet their appetite with something simpler but still challenging.

If you enjoy finicky controls, difficult map navigation, and continuous cut aways to movie clips always interrupting your game play, then this is the game for you. Add to that the extreme joy of having to log into the Steam network for activation and game play and this game is a sadists dream.

Seriously folks, the controls are finicky, the map navigation is difficult, and the game is continuously cutting away to movie clips right in the middle of the action. Units do not follow orders timely or reliably.

In my opinion the Steam network is a real pain; you can't activate or run the game without logging into Steam. Forget playing it while travelling unless you have a continual internet connection.

This game would have a lot of potential if it weren't for the above mentioned items. The graphics are not great, but not bad. There is a good variety of units, they just don't always listen to you.

I doubt that Square Enix will refund my purchase price...so I've got a copy for sale real cheap! Save your money and choose a different game! Don't say that you weren't warned.

I tried to install the game. A "Steam" window came up and asked for the registration code. I typed it in and steam responded with saying not valid you don't have the original game. I contacted the manufacturer, Square Enix, and they said it was not their problem(???), to contact Steam. Square Enix did say I was the 7th person to call with this problem and all of us had bought the game through Amazon.com???? So far, I have had no response from Steam. If I can't install the game by tomorrow, I will return the game to amazon.

I've been around computers for 20+ years and a long time gamer. First time I've encountered a registration key that is invalid as it states I must install the "original game." Nowhere does the description or requirements even hint that there is a mother game for this and that this is an expansion pack. Sure doesn't seem so. Don't waste your hard earned money and be disappointed with this garbage. Additionally, you'll need to register with Steam to even install, and then have to internet log in every time you want to play. Could they make this any more difficult? too bad as I love WWII gams, and this one looked like a winner.

There is a demo available for this game on the internet and I suggest you try it before you buy it. First a thank you to the publisher for creating a demo. Some companies lack the courage and would rather the gamer jump in head first with their cash in hand. So props to Square Enix.

When it comes to this style of game there are two titles that I use for a base line. Company of Heroes when I want an easy click and forget type of play and then there is, Men of War, when I want a micromanagement firestorm. I LOVE Men of War and I get slightly upset that it doesn't get the draw I feel it deserves (the voice acting is really really bad by the way but the rest of it is great)

So what does this have to do with Order of War. I spent most of the morning playing MOW and a little L4D waiting for the Order of War Demo to download.

I loaded it up and was excited to try it out given IGN rating (gamers I usually side with). Still having the aftertaste of MOW in my gaming mouth, OOW tasted like freezer burnt vanilla. Sure, it has pretty graphic which you can switch on ala `History Channel Mode' and watch a cinematic view of the order that you create... meh it was like bowling with the gutter guards up.
Rather than keep bashing the game that clearly others (IGN included) liked, I strongly suggest you download the demo and try it. If you like it, great you all set to buy it. If not then you saved yourself some cash, that may I suggest you consider spending on another Square Enix game since they were kind enough to put out the demo. Also check out Men of War Demo... or Company of Heroes.
Hope this helps

I'm not sure what the two people below are talking about, but I just bought my copy from Amazon.com (arrived yesterday) and was able to install without any problem. It does use Steam, but it accepted my reg code without any problems. Steam won't activate games that are trying to be installed before the release date, so maybe that was the issue? Anyway, the game also came with an extra unit (the Heavy Bomber) that other retailers don't include. You don't get to use them until you gain the ability to call in air strikes (level 3?)

Overall the game is pretty fun. It's not as complicated as other strategy games, which is good. Sometimes strategy games have you focused more on gathering resources than battling, but this game is really about planning your attack and executing. Once everything is set up, there is a neat "cinematic" mode where the game will view the action from lot of different camera angles, kind of like war movie. You switch in/out of this mode by pressing the C button. I just wish I was able to save my replays in this mode to show friends/put on [...]. Oh well.

Overall a pretty fun game. I am recommending it.

... then gets difficult. Even on easy. It's a great game though.

Graphics are above average and running smoothly while maxxed out with a dual-core cpu and a GTX 550ti with factory overclocking. You're probably going to want something along these lines... and a fair amount of RAM to throw at it. Gameplay is fairly fast paced and easy to control but the camera doesn't pull back quite far enough to suit me sometimes. A minor gripe.

A larger gripe, and one that is pretty standard with this type of game is the battle fought trying to select units from the interface. Once they get spread around it's impossible to tell who is who, who is where and in what condition they are in. Goes with the territory I guess.

Hope you like Steam because it is a Steam-required game. Steam is an inconvenience and personally I'd rather not have to use it but it's not like anybody forces us to buy these games. So, if you're going to give a great game a one star review and go on a crying jag about how your "rights" were violated when Square Enix busted down your door, put a gun to your head and forced you to buy a Steam-required game then perhaps you ought to just pass.

As for the game's creamy center, it is very tactics heavy with an emphasis on flanking. What's new, right? Well... nothing really except that unit spamming absolutely will not work. To achieve victory you have to use the proper tactics for the situation at hand.

Something I like about the game is the cinematic mode that allows you to pause the game, plan your strategy, give the appropriate movement orders, unpause and watch it all unfold. The mode does have it's shortcomings though. Mainly, the camera cuts from unit to unit showing both your troops and the enemies. It looks cool but it doesn't allow you to get any kind of idea of just how well your strategy is working out. Luckily, you can cut in and out of cinematic mode to periodically assess, rethink and reposition. Even the greatest Armchair General is going to have to do this regularly. You might want to stay away from this entirely unless or until you have an earned confidence in your ability to react quickly and plan and execute the level of tactics that this game calls for. It doesn't take long at all for a German Panzer division, even when outnumbered or outclassed, to roll right over a bad strategy.

Admittedly, I haven't finished the game. I started it just recently and have logged maybe 10 or 12 hours on it. So far I think it is a great game, am very happy with it and don't expect to see anything that will change my opinion of that BUT I would only recommend the game to someone that #1.likes their RTS very heavy on the tactics with hell to pay for mistakes and #2.has a good system capable of processing large maps, large AI and physics programming and lot's and lot's of screen activity all at the same time. If I were you (and I know that I am not) I wouldn't even consider buying this game unless I had at least 3gb's of available RAM (available RAM, not your PC's total RAM), a healthy dual-core processor and a good med/high end GPU to run it.

Don't let those minimum requirements fool you. They're nothing but a marketing tool and you'll be disappointed if you aren't very well above them.

I love Blitzkried, sudden strike, Company of Heros, and I started to like this game but. . . Can't get past certain point game crashes.

I think it's a great game. I enjoy playing so much I go back to it repeatedly; sure would like to see a similar model and engine based upon battles in the American Civil War.