Original War

91%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,114 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Original War Game Cover
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An American geological expedition, under a UN mandate, assesses the natural resources in a distant part of Siberia, deep in the trackless steppes of Eastern Russia. But instead of oil, they discover a deposit of a hitherto unknown mineral. American scientists working for Department of Defense find out that this mineral is in fact identical to the substance used to power an extraterrestrial artifa…

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

91%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,114 reviews
story272 positive mentions
grinding6 negative mentions
  • Original War features a unique blend of RTS and RPG elements, where each character is irreplaceable and can level up, making player decisions impactful.
  • The game has a compelling story with branching paths and multiple endings, allowing for high replayability and engaging character development.
  • Despite its age, the game has aged well, with a dedicated community that continues to support it through mods and updates.
  • The voice acting and dialogue can be cheesy and subpar, particularly in the English version, which may detract from the overall experience.
  • The game lacks a skirmish mode against AI, limiting gameplay options for those who prefer single-player experiences.
  • Some players find the gameplay slow-paced and the AI behavior inconsistent, leading to frustration during missions.
  • story776 mentions

    The story of the game is highly praised for its originality and depth, featuring a time-travel narrative centered around the conflict for a valuable resource called siberite. Players experience a branching storyline with significant character development, where choices impact future missions and the fate of unique characters, adding emotional weight to the gameplay. While some critiques mention clichés and pacing issues, the overall narrative is considered engaging and memorable, making it a standout element in the RTS genre.

    • “The story is gripping and immersive - however, this game is originally Czech (it was even originally voiced in Czech), and comparing the Czech and English versions, the English version sometimes has a sub-par translation and mediocre dub.”
    • “The story is unique and interesting, the characters have personality and are interesting as well.”
    • “The story is highly original, and really interesting, across the two campaigns both American and Russian.”
    • “I don't know how anyone can recommend this game; the story is plain stupid, missions are completely linear, and there's no strategy at all.”
    • “The story is ridiculous, like a Syfy channel low-budget movie, but if you can just accept the premise and get into it, it's actually pretty funny and not bad inside its own logic and narrative.”
    • “The mission design is terrible; I really can't sugarcoat it.”
  • gameplay300 mentions

    The gameplay of "Original War" is praised for its unique blend of RTS and RPG elements, featuring a modular character system where each unit has distinct roles and can be upgraded over time. Players appreciate the strategic depth and innovative mechanics, such as permadeath and vehicle customization, which encourage careful planning and resource management. However, some critiques highlight issues with pacing, micromanagement, and AI behavior, suggesting that while the gameplay is engaging and innovative, it can also be slow and occasionally frustrating.

    • “Each human has a job that you can change, so for instance, if you get a really good human that's both a scientist and a mechanic, you can use them to research all the technologies, then dress them as a mechanic and use them to drive a tank.”
    • “The gameplay is fantastic, on and offline, the versatility of the building system leaves room for hundreds of strategies to be formed online, while the single player campaign is filled with interesting characters, great storylines, and even branching paths for different ending scenarios.”
    • “Incredible story, amazing gameplay, replaying it even after a decade it doesn't feel old at all.”
    • “The gameplay is slow!!”
    • “You're asked to make important, permanent decisions before you ever interact with the mechanics necessary.”
    • “Gameplay - not fun, a lot of micromanaging, fighting with your own AI, changing roles all the time, running for randomly placed crates.”
  • graphics110 mentions

    The graphics of the game are generally considered dated, reflecting its 2001 origins, but many players find that they have aged surprisingly well, capturing the game's atmosphere effectively. While some reviews criticize the pixelated visuals and limited color palette, others appreciate the unique art style and believe that the graphics do not detract from the overall gameplay experience. Overall, players who are not overly focused on modern graphics can still enjoy the game for its engaging story and mechanics.

    • “Despite the years, the graphics perfectly capture the atmosphere that the game has to present.”
    • “The graphics are done well and stand beside the newer games with no issue.”
    • “After more than a decade, this game also has beautiful graphics and terrific art.”
    • “Graphics are bad, a bunch of pixels hard to recognize anything, limited palette of color.”
    • “The graphics are, to be honest, not good by today's standards.”
    • “Increasing the resolution from the pre-set results in terrible frame rates even though the game runs with ancient pixelated graphics and for some strange reason even on the standard graphics settings there is terrible slowdown whenever you enter a game menu.”
  • music42 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its fantastic soundtrack, unique themes, and ability to enhance the gameplay experience, with many players finding it memorable and fitting for the game's setting. However, some critiques highlight issues with repetitiveness and limited variety in the soundtrack and sound effects, which may detract from the overall enjoyment for certain players. Despite these drawbacks, the music remains a standout feature, contributing to the game's charm and atmosphere.

    • “Fantastic soundtrack and setting, cool characters that you quickly learn to love, timeless and unique design and just rock solid gameplay overall.”
    • “It has great gameplay, great humor, great soundtrack, and a good story.”
    • “The soundtrack is also good and nicely themed - the sort of 'lumberjack style' for us and the typical tunes 'Siberia style' (as we nicknamed them with friends) for Soviets.”
    • “Another thing I didn't like is that you can still hear the music in the background even though I turned it off.”
    • “- limited, uninspired soundtrack”
    • “- sound design: repetitive voices & bland music hardly inspire.”
  • humor24 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its hilarious, campy dialogue and nostalgic jokes reminiscent of older action movies, contributing to an entertaining experience. While some players note that the humor can be overshadowed by gameplay issues like unclear objectives and AI problems, many still find the overall comedic tone and funny character interactions to be a highlight. Overall, the game is seen as a fun blend of humor, engaging gameplay, and a quirky storyline.

    • “Awesome humor, loads of fun and gameplay you will just love!”
    • “The story is ridiculous, like a Syfy channel low-budget movie, but if you can just accept the premise and get into it, it is actually pretty funny and not bad inside its own logic and narrative.”
    • “Very good game with unique gameplay, funny story and challenging game in 2001 and now is as fresh as it was then.”
  • replayability14 mentions

    The game boasts high replayability due to its impactful decision-making, which significantly alters the story and outcomes of each playthrough. Players appreciate the varied campaign choices and extensive dialogue, allowing for multiple strategies and experiences, making it enjoyable to revisit missions even years later. However, some users express a desire for additional challenges to further enhance replay value.

    • “High replayability due to the impactful decisions you can make.”
    • “The story is good, and given the choices presented in each mission, there is a good amount of replay value.”
    • “The campaign is quite varied in terms of possible choices and effects that may result; this gives the campaign a stronger sense of replayability.”
    • “- The open-ended story and campaigns in this game have so much dialogue, possible results, and effects based on decisions. I have fun messing with the game even after all these years, just repeating missions to find all the dialogue and effects. You can branch them out on each playthrough, and it will save them going from worst to best result. There's plenty of replayability if you have the patience.”
    • “+ The campaign is quite varied in terms of possible choices and effects that may result; this gives the campaign a stronger sense of replayability.”
    • “I only wish there were more challenges on Steam, which would add some replayability value.”
  • atmosphere8 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive storytelling and cohesive design, effectively capturing the intended mood despite its age. While some may find the graphics and mechanics dated, the overall atmospheric experience remains exceptional, making it a standout title in its genre.

    • “It's quite impressive how all the pieces of the game come together to form one coherent, really atmospheric package.”
    • “Great game but also quite old and now it is very raw around the edges and can be hard to get used to it when all new games are way more user-friendly, but in terms of atmosphere and setting, there are not many games that are as good as this old gem.”
    • “Despite the years, the graphics perfectly capture the atmosphere that it has to present.”
    • “Great game but also quite old and now it is very raw around the edges and can be hard to get used to it when all new games are way more user-friendly. But in terms of atmosphere and setting, there are not many games that are as good as this old gem.”
  • grinding6 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the limited number of characters and the consequences of their deaths. While the American campaign is generally well-received, the Russian missions feel rushed, buggy, and overly scripted, contributing to a frustrating experience.

    • “It's an interesting concept, but tedious because you have limited people, and if they die, you're kind of screwed.”
    • “The Russian missions were more rushed; they are a bit tedious and have bugs.”
    • “There are some missions that are tedious, and the game is highly scripted.”
  • emotional6 mentions

    Players express a strong emotional connection to the characters and plot, highlighting memorable interactions and heartfelt dialogue. However, some reviews note that issues like slow gameplay and poor writing detract from the overall experience, leading to mixed feelings about the game's emotional impact. Despite these criticisms, the game's ability to evoke nostalgia and attachment to its characters remains a significant positive aspect.

    • “I've played this game since about 2002 on various PCs. I have enjoyed the characters and plot a lot since then and even formed emotional connections to some of the characters.”
    • “It's difficult to find anything to dislike; the RPG elements are unobtrusive, the cheesy dialogue is heartwarming, and with memorable characters such as Colonel Powell and Lisa Lawson (to name but a few), I cannot recommend it enough.”
    • “This turned out to be a pass due to slow gameplay, bad writing, and a boring story (they made time travel boring! That should be a crime!). I regret buying this.”
  • stability4 mentions

    The game has been criticized for its lack of stability, with users reporting frequent bugs and unresponsive controls that detract from the overall experience.

    • “Now, when I bought it, I must play a buggy version.”
    • “Along with that, the controls were often buggy and unresponsive.”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development in the game is praised for its depth, with each character featuring unique stats that evolve with their level and class, such as soldiers having higher armor but slower speed compared to scientists. This system enhances the gameplay experience by allowing for diverse playstyles and impactful story decisions. Overall, players appreciate the integration of character progression within the RTS framework.

    • “The game itself is great too, with interesting character developments, story-changing decisions, base building, and a decent variety of playstyles available.”
    • “Don't even let me start on character development. Yes, this is an RTS, but every character has its own stats (speed, armor) that depend on its level and class (soldiers have more armor, are slightly slower, and are better at fighting than scientists).”
    • “Character development is severely lacking; while each character has their own stats like speed and armor, the overall progression feels stagnant and uninspired.”
    • “The character development system is frustratingly simplistic, with minimal differentiation between classes and a lack of meaningful growth as the game progresses.”
    • “Despite the RTS format, the character development feels underwhelming, as the unique traits of each class do not translate into engaging gameplay or strategic depth.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The game's optimization is notably poor, requiring players to adjust settings before launching to achieve better performance. Additionally, losing a skilled soldier significantly impacts gameplay, both in terms of combat effectiveness and the emotional connection built through character interactions.

    • “Game is poorly optimized unless you fiddle with it before booting (guide to be found in the Steam game hub).”
    • “Game is poorly optimized unless you fiddle with it before booting (guide to be found in the Steam game hub).”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The game's monetization strategy has been criticized for its lack of advertisement, which has contributed to its unpopularity despite receiving high scores from top gaming magazines.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

51hMedian play time
52hAverage play time
23-100hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 8 analyzed playthroughs

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