Mars: War Logs

Although I don't find myself really a person who reviews, so apologies upfront if this is abrupt and or a bit of a bore - I took it upon myself to test the waters with Mars: War Logs.

The game if anything, is very reminiscent of other games, whether that be cheating in terms of a review or not is really up to you, I felt that I was comparing it to other games that were no doubt really good ones. Why I did this was is because Mars: War Logs really is a game made up of others, which is totally fine and somewhat expected. So purely mechanical, the game is very polished. The inventory system is easy to navigate, and accessible with hot keys and skill wheels all abundant and charming.

Crafting:

There is a crafting system that works quite well was pretty damn good however the game abruptly ends (I'll get to it in a bit) so the somewhat deep crafting kinda falls flat if there isn't much actual gameplay. Essentially the crafting comes down to four important things, upgrading your weapons with loot/junk you found, same with your armor and assembling ammunition for your nail gun (I'm gonna rant about this a bit later heads up), or stimpacks for you to heal yourself in combat. Overall, pretty competent and if anything else, very interesting and upfront. There's no mistaking what you're doing and you can recycle pieces for a chance to get some of your parts back to slap on a new combinations that give different buffs. Again, all a bit redundant since the game itself doesn't last beyond ten hours or so, and most of that is fetching and conversation.

Dialogue & followers:

Dialogue, well obviously to anyone who has seen the quicklook, it is bad. So bad it is somewhat funny, but still very bad. No sense trying to defend it, however it's terribleness kinda dissipates once the first act lets call it, finishes. Once you get into the weird mars dust-punk (not really sure if thats a thing) urban junk sprawl there aren't that many voices that make your ears bleed, which is actually interesting since the most NPCs you deal with from here on out are females. Nevertheless the writing is a bit icky and kinda flat but you find a real sense of character and attempt. If anything else, there is a whole section of lore and WRITTEN TEXT, reminiscent of the good ol' days hoo ahh, within the menus itself. Codex lovers here you go. This is probably the best reads in the game, which is stupid since its tucted away and not very apparent in the actual game. It's really what kept me interested was reading all those tidbits, that was the actual universe itself, too bad they didn't flesh it out more.

I guess thats why they called it war logs, because the main character, Roy has written all the events that occur in the game. Also this changes later on, but well I mean thats not really important. So really the dialogue is kinda shit, and the conversations are a bit weird but I wouldn't expect anything else from French developers. Also there is somewhat a brief romance option between two of your followers, but since this game works on a pre-determined short schedule, like all of these things its all very flat and weird and pretty dumb. Oops oh well, but at least you can close your eyes and hear that mediocre voice acting whisper sweet ten-.

The followers play a very aybsmal part in this game, never really doing anything except getting in the way or being conversational set pieces. I found most of them forgettable, except the awkward romance tidbits and philosophical decisions in conversation. In combat though, they were merely bullet sponges or pieces getting in your way. Also the technomancer follower (spoilers!1!111!!!) cast was so long that while I finished the person she targeted by the time she zapped, it was me who took the damage. There are four followers you acquire throughout the game, although only one can be with you at any time. They all have different personalities but none of them seemed really anything to get attached to.

Combat & Additional Traits:

What else could I really talk about without really just telling you to go out and try it for yourself. If you're the one to read reviews, you'll probably just want an overall jist of the things, so there is probably one more component that matters the most in this game, and that is the combat, the piece that probably make or breaks it for anyone on the fence.

The combat is very competent. This is what feels like it was taken from a textbook of other successful games, reminiscent of Arkham Asylum or Witcher the combat is fast paced (or can be paused in a tactical view) and interesting. You can really dominate your opponents if you work efficiently in your role. The stat wheels have three section, although you don't have to commit to any section really, one is more towards the brawling, actual fighting with more damage and health, the other section is more of sneaky, bleed damage and nail guns - - - Oh its time to bitch about that real quick, the nail gun works as an off hand support, that is pretty broken since the cast animation is all but zero, so you could potentially kite everyone in existence with it, however it is also pretty shitty and useless, its more of a secondary skill than what you'd assume as a pretty dope ranged class option and shooting fools on Mars. Oh well, just try and use it and you'll be somewhat disappointed especially since how everything else in the combat is pretty satisfying. - - The last wheel doesn't unlock until a specific plot point at the end of the first act, the technomancy class - which is pretty much just a space wizard kinda thing. All it is, electrical based damage, which you can use to stun lock your enemies, or add to your weapon or shield up yourself yadda yadda yadda it all says it there.

Personally I found myself maxing out the nailgun, all of the melee and just the stun from the technomancy section. The game kind of makes a big deal about the latter, but ain't no space wizards gonna blow my mind. At least you get to choose what you want, and don't have to commit without being penalized.

There are also traits within the game, that more or less resemble a Fallout trait. Doing specific tasks unlocks them as well as points per level, selecting these traits is in its own menu so look for it as it isn't on the tech wheels at all. These traits are pretty generic, whether it be better crafting or recycling or specific bonuses in combat.

After combat there's a bit of an interesting concept. Whomever you defeat in combat isn't dead. They are on the ground after you shot half a dozen nails in them or smashed their face in with a copper tube, all human enemies roll around indefinitely and you're given the option to loot their body. However you can also kill them for 'serum' which is the in-games currency they don't really get into, because why would they right? Anyways, you get the option of murder for additional money and a negative karma addition. I haven't personally seen the effects of negative karma, but the game advertises that NPCs will recognize your alignment.

I will give it credit that I never ended up slaying anyone and lots of npcs acknowledged how I was a good person. Whether they relate or that was just the lines anyways is up to you. However if anyone is curious on the necessities of taking this extra step to acquire more serum, I will let you know that it isn't needed. I played a pure 'good' character and found myself extremely rich. The game itself simply does not have a lot of gear and content for you to save your money up for. Which is extremely disappointing all things considering.

Overall:

If you're still reading now, I thank you. Overall the game is kinda flat and odd but it's quite a curiosity. If anyone has time to take a brief dip from the constant cliche of AAA games and their story arcs, I do really suggest you check out this budget RPG. Especially if its on sale from it's already inexpensive 20 dollar price. The game itself is roughly ten hours or so, and there's never a part that really dragged on more than it should. Like the metacritic and other reviews around me, assuringly the game is very average in terms of score. I do value it a 3/5 here, or a 60% in a hundred percentage score. It was a fun weekend and I liked what I played. However I will admit it had a lot more flaws than it should have. I only wish they flesh the game out more, either in a sequel or DLC. Preferably a sequel. Would be a waste to see it vanish in the sands of Mars.

3/5

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One thing I liked though that I thought should be separate was the ambient music. For some reason I liked the soundtrack, whether it was only just one long drawn out track it was pretty damn good on my ears. It's pretty unnoticeable but it is really up my alley in terms of taste. I emailed the dev team only to be shut down that all the files are locked away and not available. Bummer.