Mars: War Logs

Kudos for the ambition and price, but Mars: War Logs needs more work. A game that succeeds almost in spite of...

There’s also a B-movie charm to War Logs. It’s clumsily goodhearted, and has a couple of great moments where you feel like you’re affecting the world. Every bit of it needs more time and money, but it’s something of a surprise to find that I left the game genuinely fond of its big, fractionally-realised ambition.

Mars: War Logs is worth a go as long as you understand out of the gate it’s not a triple -A -title. But as a gamer, a true gamer, you may just find yourself some entertainment here.

Mars: War Logs, however, is not that kind of game. It's a game of flat, even mediocrity, that might not sink quite as low and be as broken as those niche titles I mentioned earlier, but doesn't have any of their highs either. Sure, there are a few neat ideas, but it's not enough. Ultimately, Mars: War Logs is as dull and barren as the planet it takes places on.

It's very clear that it wants to ape the best action-RPGs of the genre, but its too basal and hurried to pull off a single remarkable thing. It's a shame because Spiders' last attempt -- Of Orcs and Men -- was genuinely great, a game that similarly failed to be all it wanted to be, but at least had an interesting story and some wonderful presentation.

Mars: War Logs has big ambitions, but it feels like it was rushed out the door - perhaps due to budgetary constraints. The makings of an impressive game are here, unfortunately it just doesn't hold together particularly well.

At several points in the story, NPC are introduced who only increase the distance between the player and the world of the game, which is the exact opposite of what any game should be striving toward. It's a shame, really, as the fight mechanics and introduction hint at a really solid game that is almost there.

That being said, its Spiders’ ambition that leads to moments where you glimpse their ultimate goal, and that may be enough for some to see the adventure through to the end. With the game carrying a price of $20 currently, most may wish to wait for a drop before trekking through this mixed creation.