Review: Mars War Logs

There is one thing I want more of in video games, and that is cyberpunk. Thankfully, Mars War Logs has it.

Mars War Logs is a third-person action RPG that uses Spiders Studios’ own Silk Engine. I went into this game hoping for the love child of Total Recall and Red Faction, and to a degree it’s what I got. Mars War Logs is influenced by the 1969 film Army of Shadows and its portrayal of the French Resistance during World War 2, plus the short stories of Phillip K Dick, such as “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” and “Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep,” which became the movies Total Recall and Blade Runner.

Spider Studios has done a fantastic job drawing from this pool and you can see these influences in not just the story, but even the design of the POW camp you start the game in. It’s got tall smoke stacks and industrial machines, but at the same time, slums, tents and a depressing air of poverty. Granted, it’s a prison, so your captors aren’t going to roll out the red carpet of you, but the feeling of despair is abundant. When Roy the main character starts to develop a plan to leave the camp you can feel the urgency and are compelled to make it work.

Mars War Logs is set on the now-populated planet of Mars almost 100 years after a great solar catastrophe tilted Mars on its axis, cut off all communication with earth and fell closer to the sun. With the atmosphere no longer able to filter the dangerous solar radiation, most life was destroyed and the survivors had to hide underground; this was too little too late, and most began to mutate. As the years progressed, guilds, corporations and governments that rose from the ashes began to war over the few remaining agricultural areas. Making water the planet’s most valuable resource. Without water, there is no life on Mars.

The main story — although a little slow and vague at the beginning — really takes off about 30 minutes in, gaining depth and answering some important questions about the war and situation you find yourself in. It was great to see that talking to your fellow prisoners (that you may not want as friends), evil guards (who you could very well need as friends) or the downtrodden and disrespected mutants (whom I wanted to help) would change the way the story would evolve. This potentially evolving narrative really made me hunt around for additional side-quests as I wondered just what change I could really affect. No all side-quests are earth-shaking, but still, they all worked to remove the boring grind I could have experienced.

Voice acting is one of the few gripes I have with Mars War Logs as it doesn’t have the oomph it needs in some parts. At times, people are raging but sound only mildly agitated, which is weird.

Combat is much like Red Faction although much more melee-orientated. It’s well balanced and easy to grasp, yet brutally unforgiving. I found myself being overwhelmed if I wasn’t careful. It’s also very difficult to hit enemies as you need to directly face them to target them, but standing still means you’ll set yourself up for death. Moving and targeting is extremely difficult, and while I eventually learned of Mars War Logs‘ target lock, the game throws so many enemies at you at once that it’s hard to plan accordingly.

Like Knights Of The Old Republic, Mars War Logs has dialogue options which change and affect other choices you can make and will even evolve the game itself and its ending. Character development is maintained with a brilliantly simple talent system. You get XP from quests and kills, and you can spend those points in 3 trees: Renegade (stealth and subtly) Combat (damage and health) and Technomancy (spells). You can access Feats by completing prerequisites, and those add to your experience generation or increases the chance of looting additional gear. These are all supported by an easy-to-use crafting system. I’ve noticed that everything except the gear you start with is modifiable by adding handles, blades, additional armour or other useful add-ons.

For a $20 game, Mars War Logs is well worth its $20 cost and provides many hours of involving storytelling and good old fashion fun. It’s available now on PC, though looks set for a XBLA and PSN release in late 2013.