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The Order: 1886 does not achieve everything it should in its six-hour runtime. Neither wasted a second of their epic durations, either, which reinforces my argument that, so long as a game does everything it needs to, exactly how long it takes to do so really shouldn't matter. Gamers who grew up during the PlayStation 2's period of industry dominance are used to deeper time-sinks: Grand Theft Auto III was a 20-hour commitment, and Clover Studio's magical Okami necessitated double that, at least. The Marquis de Lafayette provides the few laughs in 'The Order: 1886' That's a game bulging with possibilities, and I'm only just beginning to scratch at its potential six or so hours in. #Spec ops the line playtime portableI'm slowly playing my way into Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on the 3DS, but when you've an hour-plus train journey of a morning, portable gaming becomes an essential pastime. I've had BioWare's critically acclaimed Dragon Age: Inquisition since it launched, but reports that it takes a good ten hours to even begin to reveal its sweetest charms is proving an obstacle. #Spec ops the line playtime fullIt can actually be an off-putting factor for me if a game is said to be full of hours-consuming content. But I do know that, for me, life's cluttered with family, work and other responsibilities enough that devoting substantial time to any single game really requires effort. There's no equation for producing a perfect time-in-versus-money-out gaming experience. I'm still picking my way through the charming Wii U exclusive Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, and I'm reliably informed that's not a slog – I've put in maybe five hours so far, and I'm only a handful of puzzles from the end (albeit with a few of those diamonds yet to discover). This is no definitive list of brilliant games that won't eat up your every waking hour, but off the top of my head Journey, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and the aforementioned, Platinum-developed bullet-hell-goes- Gears-of-War blast of Vanquish stand out as superb examples of games that get in, deliver maximum bang for moderate buck, and get out again before the sweat's soaked into your pants. 'Journey' is over in two hours, and perfect But there are plenty of other short games that I have loved, and even revisited for further playthroughs. Would I pay £40 for it, or whatever retailers are asking for? Hell no. It's okay, perfunctorily engaging for a fleeting period, familiar to handle and possessing a few neat twists (and a couple of telegraphed ones) as it makes its way to an unsatisfactory conclusion. I don't agree with this idea of more gameplay hours representing better value for money, or that we, as gamers, are owed a certain amount of playtime for every pound we put in. To me, it doesn't matter if a game is short so long as it's good. #Spec ops the line playtime codeShoot, duck, reload, repeat – save for the brief stealth sections with fairly poorly implemented cover, and a single instance of touchpad deployment, where a Morse code message is sent to a patrolling airship via a series of holds and pokes. A memorable story would have served it well, as its gameplay is certainly nothing to slap a seal of approval on. It's a pretty ballsy – or, more accurately, entirely naïve – move given there's no certainty of a sequel, and it's greatly disappointing that Ready at Dawn didn't do more to make The Order entirely self-contained. The steampunk-inspired, alternative-timeline Victoriana atmosphere is inviting, indeed – but the whole thing's over long before a number of narrative strands are tidied. And it's well acted, too – Steve West brings a Mark Strong-like tone of upturned authority to the lead protagonist, Galahad, and Frederik Hamel has a ball hamming it up as French-American colleague-turned-pursuer the Marquis de Lafayette. ![]() Its grimy London environments, from blood-smeared hospital wards to filthy Underground tunnels and the cobbles of a dilapidated Whitechapel, bounce from the screen. Drop-dead gorgeous visually, The Order: 1886 makes the most of its powerful platform in that respect, and its mythology-meets-science story and setting resonate with terrific potential. ![]()
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