THE ORDER: 1886: I’ve played a lot of games over the, (I’m not saying), years I have been on this earth. This game is so beautiful, that I had hoped to ask it out for a romantic dinner for two. After saying yes and taking this beauty to my local Red Lobster, (cuz I’m a baller like that), I have come to realize that while I was with the prettiest game in the room, we just couldn’t talk about anything. Sorry Ready at Dawn, but there won’t be a second date. It’s 1886 (get it!) and you are in Victorian London as Grayson/Galahad. You are part of the Knights of the Round Table. Insert a nefarious plot here (let’s see..conspiracy, two parts rebels, oh and maybe some werewolves) and you and your Order (see what I did there!) set out to do your thing. I would do more of a plot review but I can’t. It’s that simple. It’s just a basic premise, and like my date, I was hoping for more. The game employs some stealth tactics, cut scenes, gun battles, another cut scene, puzzle solving, two more cut scenes, and before you know it your game is over. (Sigh)
I’ve never been to Victorian London, but I imagine they went in the past and walked around with a GoPro® camera and took shots. It's that detailed and beautiful. The London fog is present and creates a beautiful backdrop. You will also see a zeppelin flying in the sky. The characters look incredible and even their clothing is touched with the finest of detail. The ace for me though was the gadgets and weaponry. It’s like Nikola Tesla (no spoilers) and a bunch of Steampunks got together and said “let‘s all get together with some gadgets and electricity and make a baby”, and they did. The hacking tool is a great example of this. Utilizing both thumb sticks you manipulate an electrical current to match and short out an electric lock. Simply amazing in detail and you can honestly say that if they could do it back then, this is how they did it.
My evening out with The Order wasn’t all bad. I did walk away with a little beauty in my paws. For $20 more I received the collectors edition of the game and got my 7” Galahad Under Fire collectible. A little assembly required, but once you piece it together, it’s a great figure. It shows him holding the Falchion Auto Rifle. It's very detailed in all aspects from the leg bracers, to the gauntlets, to even the little details in the gun. It’s a good looking piece and will go excellent with any collection. Takeoff designed the figure and I must say, if I wore hats, I would ‘take off’ my hat to salute your work (insert cheesy drum beat for my incredibly cheesy one liner here). Speaking of which, add an original soundtrack!
The Order: 1886 was a bit of a letdown. I was hoping for something new and intriguing, but received a lot of the same old shtick, just in an incredibly beautiful and stylized package. You can get yours too (or get ahead of the curve with a cool Strategy Guide). I would have to say it is a Kardashian like video game. It is a really beautiful video game, but after spending some time with it you realize its over-hyped and nothing special.
* All images were acquired from various sources on the internet.