Fantastic presentation with sluggish controls. It's fun to look at, but not much fun to play.
The War of the Worlds' strength lies squarely in its presentation, which may be worth the price of admission alone. Stewart's narration is an immediate boon to the atmosphere, citing quotes from the novel that are appropriate to the particular area of the game. The setting is dark, brooding and shadowy, borrowing heavily (and appropriately) from the excellent Limbo. All throughout the game, the backdrop consists of unfolding violence and destruction as the massive alien tripods decimate the landscape. The accompanying music is well-crafted and perfectly complimentary, from flowing orchestral scores and scratchy old-time music that sounds as if amplified through a victrola, to ambient electronics towards the game's end. There are even excerpts from the famous radio broadcast peppered throughout. The sum of these parts can be effectively described as awe-inducing, and they only improve and expand as the game continues. There are "wow" moments all over the place. But while there's an effective portrayal of imminent danger, that nowhere is safe, the truth of this notion is fully embodied in the gameplay in disturbing and frustrating fashion.
Thus, we have the bottom line with which to describe War of the Worlds: awe-inducing and downright frustrating. The problem with being so heavily influenced by games such as Another World and Flashback is that the control schemes for those games were never very good to begin with. The trade-off was that, at the time, the idea was new and could be carried almost entirely by the presentation. It allowed for fluid animation the likes of which had never been seen prior. Those games also made effective use of puzzle-solving mechanics to keep things interesting. And while there are plenty of puzzle-like sequences here, The War of the Worlds insists on making them as inconvenient as possible, throwing electricity obstacles, spider-aliens, and laser beams in your path while trying to figure them out. Too many of these parts of the game feel like they were crafted with no other intent than to be pains in the ass. This game subscribes to the old-school NES mentality that you must perform every button press with perfect timing and when standing on the perfect pixel to succeed. Anything less than perfection at any given moment results in death and a restart from a checkpoint (which occasionally is positioned before extremely difficult sections that you must make your way through yet again). When you have to play the same section of a level over and over again to continue, even Sir Patrick's flawless voice-over execution becomes repetitive.
But the issue is not necessarily that The War of the Worlds is difficult. Games like Super Meat Boy and Dark Souls have made their names being both brutally difficult and incredibly satisfying. But the difference between these and The War of the Worlds is that the former titles play fair. The War of the Worlds demands that you be bang-on accurate and fluid in your movements when navigating the broken landscape while being simultaneously chased by a giant tripod and pursued by smaller laser-shooting pods. You're asked to jump from platform to platform with pixel-perfect accuracy while being chased by spider-aliens and threatened by laser beams. These become unreasonable requests when the game doesn't give you the tools to do it with. With fast-paced, action-oriented gameplay, The War of the Worlds should employ tight, quick and accurate platforming, allowing for dashing, turning, rolling and jumping at immediate demand to dodge numerous enemies, climb ladders and hop fire pits. Instead, we're given the smoothly animated but rigidly limiting and sluggish movement borrowed from Prince of Persia, Another World and Flashback. These games made effective use of their control schemes by rarely requiring speed and instead providing challenge in the form of logical puzzles. In general, they were "stop and think" games, whereas The War of the Worlds is often a "run, jump, and dodge" game. To put it bluntly, this was the wrong control scheme for this game.
To make things worse, even when you are seemingly under cover and protected from enemy projectiles, they'll often find a way to fire through said cover and kill your character anyway. It's never quite clear where you're safe. As a result, it's rare to successfully proceed through a new area when presented with it for the first time. At your next chance, you'll let experience govern your choice of cover and not your eyes, or even your logic.
Another thing about your eyes: you'll often be deprived of using them. The presentation is absolutely fantastic and downright breathtaking at almost all times, but it can also get in the way. On early stages, silhouettes of panicking citizens will race back and forth in the game's foreground. It's an exciting effect and truly aids in the desperate air about the game, but it's also quite intrusive. The shadows cover enough of the screen to eclipse your character as they pass, momentarily removing him from view. When so many steps need to be taken with painful accuracy, it's enough to cause an occasional error that you might not have otherwise made. But regardless, these problems do not occur often enough to outweigh the effectiveness of the presentation, and are ultimately minor gripes.
The War of the Worlds is certainly a title with its heart in the right place. The presentation is stunning, both in its visual and auditory properties. Sir Patrick Stewart's voice-over work is perfectly executed and a fantastic addition to the game. The primary issue is that, though it can be nostalgic, its control scheme does not complement the gameplay, which often values painfully perfect timing over an exercise of the mind. Ultimately, this is a title that is enthralling to watch but not much fun to play. The quality of the combined experience sits squarely on the fence, and the value of this 800 MSP title relies in the emphasis you personally place on a game's visceral presentation over its pure gameplay. If you greatly value such aspects, then this game is likely worth the asking price for those alone. But if you're not prepared for frustrating trial and error and the occasional urge to rage-quit, steer clear of this one.