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THE ORDER 1886 TOPS THE CHARTS

25/2/2015

10 Comments

 
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And so, despite being met by an industry-wide sigh - all the reviews have basically said "Really nice graphics, shame about the average gameplay and lack of lifespan" (including our own, more or less: we didn’t hate it, just… mehhhhh... pehhh... feh) - The Order 1886 has ascended to the tip of this week's All-Formats UK games chart, like a desperate Rihanna flashing her knickers from the top of Big Ben.

This leads us to conclude one of two things: either reviews don't matter anymore, or The Order 1886 is the gaming equivalent of a beefy sports car that gets really bad mileage to the gallon. 


Why… uh… why dis happen den, daddy?


OH SO QUIET
Of course, we shouldn't forget that February is a quiet time for games. Being lazy/drunk, we dunno how many games were shifted in total last week, but it's telling that the only other really new game in the Top 10 is the unappealing Evolve. The rest of the chart is mostly propped aloft by older, cross-platform, cross-generation games - strongly-scented perennials like Grand Theft Auto 5, Minecraft, FIFA, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and some poxy wrestling game. 

However, said chart is also further evidence of just how little is on offer in terms of current-gen exclusives. Or, at least, exclusives that could only really happen on current-gen systems.

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We suspect The Order 1886 is probably being seen as the first good use of the PS4's power - finally, a justification (if only in visual terms) for upgrading to a new generation. 

Over a year on from the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One, neither system really offers much that screams "next gen". 

Frankly, we're not completely sure that The Order 1886 really manages it either - but it's certainly one of the prettier (if not prettiest) of the current-gen games.

In other words, it’s more likely a hopeful chance to show off, than a game people are buying for the gameplay it offers. It probably serves to make PS4 owners feel a bit better about being over-enthusiastic, early-adopters of the new hardware. 

In fact, just like owning that beefy car which can do 200mph, but never getting a chance to let rip with it due to the fact that a) You live in a town, dummy, and b) That’s over the speed limit. Buying The Order 1886 still isn’t letting rip, but at least you're sitting at a set of traffic lights, loudly revving your engine so everyone knows just how much power is under the bonnet. If that's what you want to spend your money on... then alright. Enjoy your mid-life crisis, baldy.


However, from Sony's perspective, it might be just what the system needs - at least in terms of reassuring people that there are likely to be even better looking, and significantly better playing, games yet to come. It's just a shame it couldn't have been bolted to a game that showcased what this generation can do beyond merely giving everyone's eyeballs a saucy licking.

FROM THE ARCHIVE:
  • SCHAFER & MOLYNEUX SITTING IN A TREE
  • REVIEW: EVOLVE (PS4/Xbox One)

10 Comments
Monsieur Milk
23/2/2015 11:51:47 pm

I believe it's pretty straight forward. It's a Michael Bay style of game. I refuse to call these types of games by any other name. Lots going on on the screen, nothing under the hood, but make a ton of sales out of the blocks. Homefront was one, and every Crysis except the first one was too.

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kelvingreen link
23/2/2015 11:54:27 pm

I was lucky enough to win a PS4 in a competition but it's gathering dust because there is nothing out for it that I want to play. There are a couple of Kickstarted things that I'll be getting when they're finished but in terms of traditional games you can buy in the shops, nothing interests me. It shouldn't be like that after a year and a bit of the console's life.

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Wicked Eric
24/2/2015 01:28:50 am

I can understand wanting a big graphical showcase game, the new generation hasn't really got out of the starter blocks yet. Batman will probably be the first really good next gen title.

Although unlike the gentleman above me I have more games for my PS4 than I could ever hope to work my way through (mainly because PS+ vomits retro styled indie games into my face at a frankly alarming rate).

It may seem silly to buy a brand spanking new console, only to use it to play loads of stuff that looks like it belongs on the SNES, but I'm loving it. You can shove your big graphical showcases, I'll be shooting pixellated turds with pixellated tears of pixellated blood in Binding of Issac.

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jawafour
24/2/2015 01:48:10 am

I've only just noticed the peculiarities with Digi's time monitoring. This review appears tomorrow and the Duncan Fegredo interview will tickle our eyes on Friday.

I award your time tracking 1.24 out of 5.08; I liked the month but the days spoke of missed opportunities.

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Mr Biffo
24/2/2015 02:05:22 am

Stupid Digi, or stupid blog platform? Probably stupid both.

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Mr Smith
24/2/2015 02:12:29 am

Time travel, innit. Dr Who? Dr Biffo more like.

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Superbeast 37
24/2/2015 06:18:01 am

I bought it on launch day after reviews came out.

I absolutely love it. Really glad I didn't take any notice of the reviews.

That's the key. I read reviews for titillation but I don't really give a monkeys what they say anymore.

I've bought too many stinkers and no doubt missed out on too many cracking games by trusting reviews.

Doesn't help that the press seem to share the core gamers snobbish and elitist attitude to interactive movie type games although they deviate from the gamers over action-less Gone Home.

If they don't like the genres that I like then I don't give a damn how they rate it.

Funnily enough I find the gameplay sections no worse than the combat seconds in Uncharted or TLOU.

Never saw the press ripping those games to shreds because Gears of War wipes the floor with them. Unlike 1886 those titles don't have the excuse of being an interactive movie.

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Mr Smith
24/2/2015 08:00:13 am

Does Gears of War actually wipe the floor with Uncharted though? I always preferred Drake's more nimble acrobatics (and the ability to jump, climb, and actually move) to Gears' boulders-of-treacle avatars. Had to play Gears on easy because there was no point trying to move during fights, turning it into a kind of Time Crisis rip-off. Duck, shoot, duck some more.

Where does 1886 stand betwixt these two?

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Superbeast 37
24/2/2015 11:40:56 am

Well you have a point. Uncharted is more than just a cover shooter.

TLoU on the other hand plays identically to a vanilla cover shooter in my eyes.

So perhaps Uncharted gets a bit of a pass - and so does Tomb Raider 2013 which I love to bits and preferred to Uncharted.

So yeah the cover shooter sections in Uncharted play like The Order but in reality TLoU is the best comparison.

Gears of War has probably the best technical implementation but it could be that nostalgia makes me remember it for being better than it is and other games have caught up?

End of the day though I just wanted to say that TLoU (a game I love and that was highly rated) plays identically in the combat sections to 1886 in my eyes and yet the press didn't irrationally and unjustifiably attack it like 1886. I smell a rat. It's almost like a baying mob attacking 1886 now.

The advantage 1886 has over TLoU is that I don't spend 12 out of 16 hours scouring the scenery for ammo and crafting mats. Its more concise. It offers the same number of hours of fun but far less filler.

Keith
25/2/2015 12:51:06 am

I've not really seen this baying mob, most of the reviews I've seen have seemed to follow the pattern of wanting to like the game more, but finding it ultimately dull.

I think the reason that The Last Of Us wasn't criticized was that the crafting and the searching for ammo felt right for the world, and the environments felt properly immersive - that the story was mostly told as you went along rather than in cutscenes helped too

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