Mars From Spiders: Mars War Logs Out Now
Yes, that's an attempt at a David Bowie reference couched in, like, five other references. Because Mars War Logs comes from a company called Spiders, you see, and Bowie's band was called... and then I switched around the stuff to mean... and anyway. My job is really hard sometimes, everyone. But yes, Mars from the videogame studio Spiders (which I can neither confirm nor deny is from Mars) is out! It looks kinda like Mass Effect meets RAGE meets Chronicles of Riddick, which is quite a seductively sandy cocktail, if you ask me. But, at the same time, Cyanide and Spiders (truly, a winning combination) haven't had the strongest track record in the past. Hmmm. Perhaps the launch trailer after the break will knock some of the cobwebs off my purchasing finger?
Of course it didn't! That looked nice and all, but it was also entirely in-game cinematics. And so I remain intrigued, but decidedly indecisive. For those wondering what those scenes of people gazing wistfully and fleeing from monstrous MARS WAR CRABS were all about, here's some background:
"Mars War Logs takes you to Mars, nearly a century after a huge cataclysm that threw Mars and its colonies into chaos. You play as Roy, a renegade caught in the middle of a civil war, while different corporations fight over the most precious resource, water."
"Follow an immense main quest in which every choice counts, develop your character and your combat style by choosing among many different talents and skills. In dynamic, real-time combat, face fearsome opponents including some of the most terrifying creatures of Mars."
So it's a sci-fi role-playing game. Given the setting and seemingly solid production values, I have high hopes, but Spiders' previous work (primarily Of Orcs And Men) has displayed admirable ambition hamstrung by sub-50-gazillion-dollar budgets.
It's on Steam right now for a mere $19.99, suggesting it's maybe not the next Chronicles Of Rage: The Riddick Effect after all. But maybe it'll end up even more of a gem for that exact reason? We'll have a go at it soon, but until then, what's the consensus on this one?