Zadzooks: The Order: 1886 review

The Knight of the Round Table clean up England’s werewolf infestation in the third-person, cinema-driven epic The Order: 1886 (Sony Computer Entertainment America and Ready at Dawn Studios, exclusive to PlayStation 4, $59.99).

A player controls the legendary Galahad while working together with some of King Arthur’s finest warriors as they continue to not only battle an age-old foe of half-breed lycan monsters but attempt to squash a growing rebellion against the Empire.

Here’s the intriguing rub. The Knights exist in a Steam-punk-inspired Victorian England set at the infancy of the Industrial Revolution. Massive zeppelins hovering in the skies are commonplace along with terraced homes, and soot-laced cobblestone streets, and a near-suffocating color palate throughout that is almost monochromatic.

To survive for so many years, the Knights have harnessed the magical powers of a liquid called Blackwater that heals them and also stifles the aging process.

This intriguing plot plays out though an interactive universe tapping into some of the oppressive, supernatural wonder of movies such as “Underworld” and “Van Helsing.”

Developers obviously pour their hearts into the meticulous creation of environments and virtual characters while harnessing the power of the PlayStation 4.

That means Galahad’s garments fluidly move with every twitch. Textures are so detailed one can almost feel them on everything from blood-stained walls to rusted gate bars, wood grain handles and leather patches on clothing.

Simply bumping into a full-body skeleton in a hospital and having individual bones rattle, or even watching lantern flames quiver with every breeze, was jaw-dropping.

Tools are as visually stunning. Picking a lock, for example, is an eye-opening delight. A player sticks a screwdriver-like tool into the keyhole. He twists and depresses the controller’s analog stick and trigger and when the vibrations subside, it unlocks a tumbler, all while he watches an X-ray view of the lock mechanism through the door.

Developers also load up on cinematic conventions and use long-cut scenes to progress the story. Not only do they make gamers play in a widescreen format (black bars on top and bottom of the screen) but add shaky cameras during heated action and liberal rack focus (pulling from sharp resolution to blurry) to highlight areas and character interactions.

Unfortunately, Ready at Dawn’s developers put so much effort into design that they ran out of steam when it came to offering an exciting story or any innovations to game mechanics.

Under the narrative, it’s amazing how boring and uninspired a group of gruff, weapons-packed, near-immortal warriors can be when conversing. Galahad is a humorless curmudgeon. He reminded me of a cross between Sean Connery in “Zardoz” and Robert Shaw in “Jaws.”

His gruff brethren wander around mumbling until thugs pull weapons on them.

Furthermore, the encounters with the lycan half-breeds are intermittent and uninspired and rarely deliver the potential of a plot promising epic battles.

Under the game mechanics, I’ve seen it all before during the firefights as Galahad can take cover, grab weapons from fallen opponents, apply slow-motion magic to target groups of bad guys, blah, blah, blah.

A player also spends way too much effort on quick-time events, overused throughout, as he must hit the current controller buttons at the right moment to save his character, move an object, open doors or pull a trigger.

Now, Let’s talk about missed opportunities. The Knights’ weapons and toys come from the great, electrified inventor Nikola Tesla.

A scene early on, which should have been brilliant piece of interactivity, plays out as a like a kid unable to touch the treats in a candy store.

Galahad stops by Nikola Tesla’s gadget workshop in the catacombs of Winchester to take a look at some weapons. He can wander aimlessly around, and stops to examine a piece of paper or a tool, and he eventually test-fires a really bland sniper rifle.

The encounter in the laboratory looks stunning and sports some of the best-looking Bunsen burner flames in the history of video games, but it’s still tedious.

And, why is Galahad only able to shoot a fairly boring rifle when Nikola has a tempting TS-23 Arc Induction Lance sitting on a test table?  I really want to play with some outrageous stuff.

Luckily, cooler weapons are eventually available after leaving the lab. Especially impressive was the Thermite Rifle.

This baby blasts a cloud of aluminum-oxide grit at enemies and then owners shoot a super-heated flare to watch the bad guys burst into flames from the molten metal.

However, here we go again, once my character wields the rifle on a small mission, he then gives it away to a comrade. Now I am stuck using pistols and rifles again. Really?

We needed more “Gears of War” action and much less “Heavy Rain” stammering.

Alas, when the last depressing notes of a cello creep from the screen, “The Order: 1886” offers about seven hours of action amidst some really tedious plot lines.

Its strength lies with the potential for a sequel. Ready at Dawn has built an astounding sandbox to play within. Let’s focus on a more exciting story, toss in much more action, especially battles between knights and monsters and the Order’s 1887 adventure could be revolutionary.