Order of War: Preview Friv Game

Immediately after a detailed study of the unusual World of Tanks, we were invited to personally look at Order of War. The developers proudly presented a new game and have repeatedly repeated that this is just a huge step forward compared to the previous project.

Operation Bagration was at a crossroads. On the one hand, entertainment, on the other - hardcore. The project stretched in both directions, but in the end it ended up in the middle. This is the main problem of the game. The developers from Friv5Online.COM, a few seconds before the demonstration, said that this time they had enough time and energy to do exactly what they dreamed of. What will the Order of War be?

If you've played Bagration , then remember that the opening cutscenes were stylized as wartime films. A map of Belarus, red and blue arrows cut into the front line, almost Levitan's voice inspires and broadcasts about the plans of the command.

Viktor Kislyi , the president of the company, first spoke about the visual component of the project: “Seventy best people day and night work on the appearance of the game and improve everything that was in Bagration ”. After that, he launched the first mission to show us a cutscene.

In Order of War, they abandoned the stylization of Soviet films. Briefings now look like screensavers in Tom Clancy's EndWaror Tom Clancy's HAWX. Blue color predominates, there are convex transparent screens - a kind of Vista. Editing has become more complex, and the matter is not limited to one map with arrows. Newspaper strips flicker on the screen, headlines reflect the situation at the front; a camera dives into one of the photographs, it passes through a room in which French partisans are shooting at the Nazis, then flies out through the window, and the video turns into a game. We rush to the troops and get them under the leadership.

It is a pity, of course, that the old style has been lost. There was something familiar about him. But the new one looks much more expensive and, frankly, more pleasant (or maybe more familiar - they have already imposed it on us). The changes also affected the interface. It is recognizable, but obeys the new style of Order of War.

The entire Friv5Online.COM team squinted at the reaction. And it seems that their expectations were met. We really liked it, even wanted to see the preludes for other missions. But the developers stopped our desires and immediately began to show the gameplay itself.

The change in design is just the first difference that the eye clings to. After ten minutes of playing, you notice the following. For example, there is no more abstract "headquarters" and "command" - real commanders give orders ( Patton , Eisenhowerand etc.). True, they do not have deep characters, but, as the developers assure, they differ from each other and should be remembered. Moreover, we will meet with them not only at the beginning and end of the mission, but also during the battle, and almost every three minutes. We captured an important height - the general talks about how well we did, how this breakthrough helped the American people, and why we are doing great now (all comments are accompanied by a video: either the tanks will be shown, then the aviation - depending on the circumstances). Didn't take the point, but bypassed the enemy from the rear? The commander appears again on the screen and explains our action. Moreover, if we lose the necessary position, then we seize it and again give it up, then the authorities will make a new speech. Phrases are repeated only from the third time.

There is no real benefit from such comments. But you immediately feel support behind your back, you believe that there is someone else who is interested in your actions. The effect of presence is increasing. This is rare in strategy games.

The generals also intervene in the event that the player starts to mess around and wastes resources in vain. Victor puts the tanks under attack - the general hints to him that this is not Tao. Then we inflict an airstrike on a bare field and do not kill a single fascist, they ask us to pull ourselves together and... return the support points.

Victor Kislyj said ten times during the presentation that making a game for Western users has to be somewhat different. Firstly, there is a lot to be explained, and secondly, to avoid being hardcore and, if possible, cherish the player ( “ We paid our debt to the Motherland with Bagration , now we are going to the West”). Many domestic strategists will hardly be pleased with this approach, but we are promised that if you put the Order of Warat high difficulty, you will need to use a pause every minute, plan, look for workarounds and all kinds of tactical solutions. And at low and medium levels, we will get a show, a spectacular and beautiful performance with elements of strategy and tactics.

Yes, now there is no crossroads - everything is obvious. The game should amaze not with the depth of tactics, but with beautiful battles, intros, plot. I would like to believe that all this will not ruin the strategy in Order of War .

As for our emotions, when we were shown the first mission, we wanted to play, yes. Let it be easy, albeit with the smell of American pots ... sorry, patriotism ... But it still looked very impressive. One wants to use an air strike just to see how tanks explode, how multi-storey buildings collapse. The epic is amazing.

To our question, will the tactical component die from such a spectacular bombing, the developers in unison stated that not only will it not die, but will become even more interesting. So they have already corrected the imbalance that was in Bagration . Remember, there the AI ​​was shooting at the nearest target, and not at the one that it could best destroy? The freebie is over, gentlemen, now the tankers, going into battle, say goodbye in advance to their wives, children, beloved dogs and small houses with a green lawn and a white fence.

They promise us even stronger armor for technology. We will no longer lose units instantly. This is done for the sake of the gameplay, and not for the return of historical accuracy. In Order of War, as mentioned above, they do not punish too much for errors.

For the rest, we are simply promised that the AI ​​will become much smarter and smarter, and the missions themselves will no longer be purely wall-to-wall. More room for maneuvers, more original missions. But we will probably talk about this later. There is still little information available.

Measure your strengths Friv5Online.COM has not forgotten about the multiplayer game. Artur Protopopov - PR Officer of the team - told us: “It was a shame that Bagration lost its multiplayer users very quickly. At first we played a lot ourselves, often appeared on the server, but, alas ... Still, there were purely technical flaws, plus the absence of a sane rating system. This time it will be completely different. In Order of War, the multiplayer mode is not an appendage to the campaign - it is being worked on very seriously. There will be two-on-two battles, ratings, statistics, awards and tournaments. " In general, the level of World in Conflict is there.

All kinds of decorations are great and necessary. I am sure that it is they that largely prolong (or even predetermine) the interest in online mode. And even very exciting battles can quickly get bored if the player does not receive rewards. It is only so far doubtful that Order of War will be very much fun.

The game is primarily single-player, and everything is tailored to the campaign. Spectacularity, cinematic camera and commanders' speeches are useless for multiplayer mode and do not make it more beautiful. It's like watching a movie with friends. Once - exciting, the second - also nothing. But would you agree to watch even a good blockbuster with excellent special effects and spectacular battles ten times in a row?

To in Order of Warit has become fun to fight on the net, it is necessary to practically develop a second game. Where not entertainment will be a hobbyhorse, but complex tactical battles and correct strategic decisions. It is almost impossible to do this in such a short time.

I hope that all of these conclusions are wrong. I am very sympathetic to the Friv5Online.COM team and I want them to do everything cool and interesting. But I have been working with network strategies for several years now and I know quite well how they work and what is required for exciting battles. Well, I'll be glad to be wrong.

"The graphic line of World in Conflict has finally passed," the developers say. We watched the game - very much like the truth. Infantrymen now differ from each other not only in animation, but also in appearance. The tanks are more detailed and beautiful. And most importantly, multi-storey buildings appeared (in "Bagration" , we recall, there were only tiny huts). Therefore, battles for cities await us, where the infantry will finally learn to run inside houses and fire from there.

In general, the game is much more beautiful than Bagration . Let's add to the graphics a technological interface and new videos that look more cinematic. We have no complaints about the appearance of Order of War .

The main thing is that the desire to do "beautifully" does not kill the tactical component. We do not require hardcore, but in strategy you still want to think, not just watch.

Order of War will be insanely successful. I do not doubt this for a second. A very high level project with a solid publisher and skilled developers. Our website wishes good luck to the Friv5Online.COM team. We believe in them, because they raise the level of the domestic gaming industry.