I have to admit it; I expected something different from this game. I fully understand that that statement alone is going to get me trolled. It wasn't that the game was misrepresented or anything, it was just that I bought into the hype train and had expected a lot more being that the game has been released a year into the now current-gen console cycle. That's not to say that it's a bad game, because it's not. After having the opportunity to play through it, I personally feel it's awesome.
Being that I expected something different I initially began to formulate my review of this game a few hours after playing it and felt mixed emotion, so instead I decided to take a few days and let the campaign digest. The conclusion that I came to was that I had a great experience. There's eye candy galore, the story is great and the gameplay mechanics are solid. All told, the game was a hell of a lot of fun.
The first thing I was impressed with were absolutely the graphics. The game is beautiful; Every chance I got I stopped and simply walked around to see the world.
The second thing I noticed was the story. The story is great and proves that video games are moving in the right direction when it comes to story development. Gamers play as sir Galahad, a member of The Order, or more commonly known as a knight of the round table. What's really cool here is that while the setting of the game is placed firmly in the late 1800's, there's a futuristic twist by way of cool weapons and gadgets. These tools and weapons feel great and even though they are out of place for the years that the game takes place, they do not make the setting or timeline seem awkward. They fit right in. I never once felt like I was out of place. The developers did a great job here because games I've played in the past that attempted something similar simply couldn't pull it off.
The sound is fantastic. The weapons sound strong; Impacts look great and the feedback feels perfect. I really got a sense of satisfaction from watching a frag grenade explode or watching thermal bullets fill an area with fire.
Character Narration is something else I really enjoyed. As I mentioned above, the story drew me in and also made me really feel as though I knew the characters in the game.
The biggest gripes I heard leading up to the release of the game were that there weren't enough werewolves in the game and that the game was too short. I'd like to address this in two parts.
Firstly, I saw plenty of werewolves (or half-breeds, as they are called in the game) and I honestly had far less fun engaging with them than I did with the gunplay facing other humans. The reason is that half-breed fights were always close-quarters and I wasn't really able to take advantage of cover and I also was never able to find a good vantage point to attack.
The game's length is something that is probably the biggest complaint of the game. I find this sort of absurd. I found the game to be perfect in length. I have a family and to be honest have yet to beat any current-gen game that is in the 40 hour range. I just don't have time and I also don't have that long of an attention span. I also have no idea what the story is in games like that. I couldn't tell you personally anything about the story of FarCry 4. Why? The game is simply too long and there's too much going on to follow every last part. The Order, on the other hand (I know I've mentioned this two other times now) I could tell you almost every detail of the story. It's far more engaging, far more dramatic and feels very cinematic.
So the question remains, is The Order all it was cracked up to be? In my opinion absolutely. It's a great story, a fun shooter and a downright sexy looking game. Should everyone run out and buy it? It depends on the type of game you like. If you are into compact cinematic stories and cover-based gunplay, then yes. If you are looking for 40+ hours of gameplay in a sandbox, then I'd rent or borrow it first. I do think that no matter what, you need to try it. I think you'll be glad you did.