The Tomorrow War is a space-sim/shooter inspired by the fictional works (by the same name) of famous Russian author Alexander Zorich.
Taking place in the 27th century, The Tomorrow War puts you in the shoes of a cadet of the Northern Military Aerospace Academy. The United Earth Empire has expanded humanity beyond the edges of the solar system and into the vast milky way galaxy beyond. But, the United Earth Empire is not the only superpower in this galaxy – and it is the UEE’s war with its adversary Konkordia that will drive this game forward.
It’s an interesting enough premise for a game in a genre that is all but dead. But will this game prove worthy enough to purchase, or will it be yet another Space Force: Rogue Universe? Another horribly designed space-sim that only serves to further alienate gamers worldwide from this once great genre?
My retail copy is on its way for a full review, but before it arrives we’d best take a look at what this game promises to deliver.
The Tomorrow War was scheduled to be released in Europe in 2007, but has somehow been delayed by two years. In the meanwhile it’s been released in Russia by publisher 1C Company and any marketing effort that was behind it previously has vanished. As a result there has been no real mention of this game on any major gaming website, in spite of it’s recent English language release.
It’s impossible to tell just how badly the game matches up to more recent releases in the visual department until I get to play it. But looking at the screenshots, some of which I’ve strewn throughout this preview, it obviously won’t win any beauty contests. Still, given the amount of space-sims we’re seeing nowadays (next-to-none), there is really no reason to linger over some missed marks in the visual department.
Let's land on that planet!
And it is in the gameplay department where The Tomorrow War promises to shine. It is no space-sim the likes of X3, but leans more in the direction of space combat simulations such as FreeSpace and Wing Commander. So it’s a story-driven game with intense combat and cutscenes, but without the free-roaming and trading elements of today’s most famous space-sim: Freelancer.
But, The Tomorrow War promises to be not just a straight-up space shooter. Aside from the usual flying and shooting in space bits, you’ll also be able to direct your ship to a nearby planet and plunge into its atmosphere for some aerial dogfights. No loading screens, no automated piloting, just plain and simple straight atmospheric entry and exit. Another feature you might recognize from older space-sims is walking aboard battleships and space stations in between missions.
Also interesting are the adjustable settings: The Tomorrow War can be played in a variety of game modes ranging from hardcore space-sim to arcade space shooter. Being able to pick the control scheme that best suits your play style seems like it’ll make the game appeal to as wide-ranging an audience as possible. But there is a good reason why most other space-sims focus on only one mode of flight: it’s difficult to balance a game around several varying flight models without breaking one or two of them.
Enormous spaceships to protect and destroy? Check.
Developer CrioLand certainly seems to have picked the best features of older space combat simulators to form their game around, but it’s quite obvious that the production quality is lower than these legendary titles. The visuals look to be outdated even by 2007 standards and – given that it’s a Russian game distributed by 1C Company – the voice-overs are likely to suck as well. I only hope it won’t be as bad as Star Wolves 2 – another 1C Company game – which had an intro that appeared to be little more than two Russians attempting – and failing – to speak English over TeamSpeak.
Still, Star Wolves 2 was an excellent and very enjoyable game in spite of it’s audiovisual failings. As long as CrioLand manages to implement the wide variety of features well and the gameplay – and control scheme – hold up, The Tomorrow War could yet be well-worth a purchase.
At least the spaceship designs look to be of good standard. The fighters look very much like modern-day airborne fighter jets, which makes them look deadly and recognizable. And the larger spacecraft look like exotic variants of modern-day battleships; you know, the seafaring ones. Large utilitarian and gun-toting designs that appear quite human in their design. Perhaps not quite realistic, but it certainly looks good – and a little more familiar than the ships found in most space-sims.
The HUD appears to be a mixed bag. The cockpit view seems fairly well-designed with a solid space fighter vibe to it, but it also looks set to block 1/3rd of the screen from your view. The third-person HUD looks to be no better, with a wealth of rectangular boxes strewn across the sides of the screen in a very minimalistic fashion. They don’t look good and with their lack of distinct colours, I’m not convinced that they’ll clearly convey the most important information at the most important time; like a missile on your tail.
It doesn't look all bad...
In spite of its potential, The Tomorrow War is still a 2 year old Russian game. It may be the first genuine space combat simulator in a long time, but that should not make it an automatic purchase for space-sim fans.
1C Company’s track record in production values does not bode well. We already know that The Tomorrow War will not look great, but what if the rest of the design is similarly dated? Will fancy gameplay features be able to overcome horrible voice-overs and poorly designed menu’s? Or will CrioLand prove that space-sims ain’t dead yet and deliver an outstanding space shooter experience?
With its remarkably promising gameplay elements and potentially disastrous production values and design decisions, it seems quite impossible to tell how this game will turn out. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a genuine new space combat simulator to enjoy, but it still remains to be seen whether this one will actually be enjoyable …
My advice: wait for the review.
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