Cubed Issue #10, Free Edition | Page 13

A century ago, Europe burned. The Central Powers and Entente were locked in mortal war, with no hope of immediate resolution and haunting casualty figures on both sides. From the blood-soaked mires of the Western Front, to the blistered earth of the Middle East, to the broken battleships of Jutland, lives had been lost in their thousands. The First World War was a time of horror, hatred, fear, jingoism, pride, heroism and cowardice. It gave us great works of film and literature, and an insight into the darkest corners of the human soul - as well as events which rocked the course of the world to its foundations. But despite all this, it has not yet broken through as a popular setting for video games. Despite all the technical prowess which prevailed at the time, the massive slaughter in which games so often glory, and the attractive prospect of a setting with no living participants (and therefore small risk of controversy), the War to End All Wars has been depicted just 25 times in games listed on Steam, compared with almost 200 appearances of its later cousin. Perhaps this is down to the geography of video games. The United States only entered the war a year before its conclusion, and despite sustaining 50,000 casualties doesn’t have an iconic battle on the order of Verdun, Vimy Ridge, Gallipoli or the Somme. Japan’s involvement was fairly minimal, and in a theatre far from the trenches. This lack of cultural memory of the war may explain its obscurity. Whatever the reason, the following games explore the range of views on World War I we’ve seen in our industry so far. Whether this war gains more attention with the release of Battlefield 1 we shall have to see. Darkest of Days I n this independent shooter lurked a web of good ideas. The depiction of battlefields as largely open areas rather than a succession of enemy-filled corridors was inspired, and the game is up until now one of very few depictions of the Eastern Front in 1914, where Russian soldiers fought Austrians and Germans in relatively open battle. Unfortunately, the game was let down by its execution. Jumping back and forth between WWI and the American Civil War left the storyline unfocused, and the game concluded with a wholly unsatisfying monologue from a man in a room. The upgrade points were largely worthless, and weapon choice, while accurate, was small. If available in a sale, it comes recommended simply for its grim depiction of the Eastern Front and its seldom-mentioned horrors. 11 Iron Storm/World War Zero I t’s hard to determine if World War Zero is tasteless or biting satire. Set in an alternative 1964 where the war never ended, two essentially fascist power blocs slug it out interminably, until you’re tasked with a breakthrough. It’s a classic shooter, with the protagonist lugging around a large rucksack full of exotic weaponry and blasting armoured enemies out of the way. If the game has any nuance in its approach to war, it hides it very well indeed. Yet we still get the sense that the war was hell, and at no point is it precisely gloried in in the way we might expect from this kind of gung-ho adventure. It remains a cheap purchase for PS2, and a curious slice of alternate history for fans of The Man In The High Castle. Valiant Hearts: The Great War T imed to coincide with the centenary of the Great War’s beginning, Valiant Hearts was a hard-hitting tale of the stories behind the war. Following four protagonists on different sides as they try to survive in a world descending into chaos, the cartoon art direction hides a fascinating heightened reality style of storytelling. More of an adventure game with puzzle elements than a straightforward war game, Valiant Hearts can proudly stand as one of the best examples of First World War drama created in recent years. I