The Order: 1886 is set in Edwardian London in an alternate universe. The city will be fairly recognizable, though some landmarks have been moved a bit and some landmarks don’t actually exist due to it being in an alternate universe. The players are members of an elite order of Knights, forced to fight a centuries-old war against inhuman enemies with the use of advanced weaponry. The game begins forty years after the industrial revolution. This war will determine the course of history in a world where the industrial revolution came about and never ended; as an effort to win this unending war against the dark forces. The weapons used in the story are the most advanced for the time created by some of the most brilliant minds of the time.

The picture speaks of the quality.

It is the first time man has had the opportunity to have the upper hand in their struggle. Your character will be able to interact with real world characters in a similar style of play found in the Assassin’s Creed games. Fans of that series will remember the way the real life characters were able to aid in the story, players will also traverse real places from history in much the same way. In The Order: 1886, players will be more than witnesses to history they will have a direct hand in the way it takes shape; unfolding before their eyes. The Order: 1886 is a third-person shooter, developed by Ready at Dawn for SCE, and has been in development since the hiring of people began that would to a third-person shooter for the next generation consoles. The title was confirmed at E3 to be The Order: 1886.

The look and feel:

The Order 1886 promises to wow with the graphics using the Profx engine. The ProFX engine, licensed by Ready at Dawn, is known to handle 3D rending with amazing clarity and stunning visual effect. It has the technology to procedurally generate texture files, reducing their size, and delivering realty. The Ready at Dawn team has replicated a great deal of physical attributes to keep the realism of the game and give it a real-world look to add to the immersion of the game. With a built-in lens to the engine, the player will have a natural lens distortion and seen a grittiness in some area that would be present in real life spaces. If the story takes the player to a dirty scene the scene will look dirty and realistic to the eye, due to the way the game is filmed and enhanced.

Ready at Dawn was founded in 2003 in Irvine, California. The founders, Didier Malenfant, Andrea Pessino, and Ru Weerasuriya, were former members of the SCE subsidiary Naughty Dog. They were the developers that released the first title Daxter for PSP; this game was award high critical praise. They went on to create God Of War: Chains of Olympus, as well as Wii port title Oami. In 2008, the company ceased to create any more titles for PSP, returning instead their dev kits to Sony. But in 2011,they released God Of War Origins Collection.

This God of War was a port of their previous titles, with added HD graphics, dual shock controls and trophies; it was also the first God of War to support stereoscopic 3D; all this can be expected to push The Order: 1886 to the front of the line in anticipated next generation games.

Gameplay:

So far we know that it’s a third-person shooter. We admit that we like this perspective better than first person. We personally find that we can maneuver better seeing ourselves onscreen. We have no idea why this is, but hearing that The Order: 1886 was going to be in third-person, coupled with the preview at E3, made us both want to know more about it. The storyline is always a must for us as well: both of us being history buffs, we were intrigued by the story’s idea that the industrial revolution never ended; in fact we can say that is true. Since that era we have seen nothing but innovation in the world around us. The same can be said for the games we play. In this world of expanding use, in which consoles and games allow the total immersion of the player into a game via visuals, dualshock controllers and sound, these new titles carry a huge promise of hundreds of hours of exciting play.

Steampunk:

An example of Steampunk in Home from nDreams.

Steampunk has blossomed lately as a style that many people do enjoy, whether it is small pieces of jewelry or the full blown lifestyle; many people enjoy and dress the part, and in Home there is a good amount of steampunk-styled fashions and accessories from a wide variety of makers.

Home is known for allowing the many styles that we enjoy in the real world to translate here, and with the offerings we have, it makes it easy to enjoy steampunk in Home. We have an estate in Home that is designed in the steampunk motif: the classic Paris Clocktower estate. It boasts all the design trappings of steampunk, with its massive cogs and chains that run the tower’s clock behind the large pane of glass. The view is of Paris, France — albeit with a flying gargoyle — and there is a well-crafted interior design that should satisfy the tastes of fans. There is even a game that has that steampunk feel in the COGS platform game, where one rotates puzzle cubes to connect steam pipes and cog wheels. We have LMOs as well, with offerings of the Codeglue pogo stick, the Hellfire Speedwings and the nDreams Steampunk Horse, and all are well designed in traditional steampunk fashion.

And, of course, there is also a nice variety of clothing options for Home steampunk fans, along with companions, active items and more. nDreams, Sony, Juggernaut and Digital Leisure have all thrown their top hats into the ring. This is what we have here in Home to enjoy the steampunk life, and it does seem to blend into the  styling of The Order: 1886 smoothly. We in Home want to express our tastes with what we have, and this is indeed a treat to the fans of the genre.  At this early stage, we can only look to this game and hope for the quality that the preview presents; hopefully the developers have not just a great idea, but great execution. If so, we may be witness to the next major AAA game IP being born.

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