An Effective Discovery Tree

So many games these days make you go through the motions of research, but its not really research. Instead, these are inevitably 'activated' abilities that merely increase some unseen numbers (bonuses to attacks, more hit points, better resource gathering capacities, etc.) rather than introducing new mechanics to the contest. War Of The Worlds instead conjures favourable comparisons to the research trees of X-Com, where real research was conducted with tangibly critical implications for the course of play thereafter. Proper or fortunate decisions can make or break a military effort, and almost all have sensible and starkly recognizable identities in the course of gameplay.

Researching different classes of vehicles and machines for example will give you units with greater speeds and reaction times, better weapons, and instantly fathomable cosmetic distinctions from their counterparts. Newer Martian Scout Tripods will look different, their hydraulics and leg mechanization technology will sound different, and their beams will be different as well. Hearing an unseen group of new units can be quite worrisome and alone adds immeasurable feeling to the fight. Human Zeppelins can provide the Ironclads with the capacity to shell targets accurately instead of firing blindly, tunnelling tanks can burrow underneath an enemy's defenses and emerge on the un-fortified side of a base area, and Submersibles can be a nasty coastal thorn. Martian Flying Machines can bypass ground defenses and pick their engagements, the kamikaze robotic Drones can deliver unpleasantly powerful payloads to the Human masses, while the dreaded Tempest walker can lay waste to entire battlegroups on its own using its dual 80kRk x-rays and Black Dust canister launcher - a land dreadnought essentially with the most disturbing (and satisfying) beam audio of all.

Page 6: The Thrill Of It All.

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