The Great Martian War
- Brand
- History Channel
- Year
- 2013
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- App
- Agency
- Impossible Pictures
- With
- Shaw Media
- With
- Secret Location
Objective
HISTORY (Canada and UK), with Impossible Pictures and eOne, needed the alternate-history TV film "The Great Martian War 1913–1917" to outlast its single December 2013 broadcast. A companion app let the fan audience already following the film keep living in its world on their phones after the credits rolled, with Secret Location planning to extend it with further content once it was out.
Solution
You play Gus Lafonde, a scout sprinting across No Man's Land in 1913 to get intel through to Paris, the battlefield rendered as a cinematic 3D runner. Tap the left or right side of the screen to switch lanes, swipe up or down to jump gaps and slide under obstacles, or just tilt the device to steer, while land mines, artillery strikes, tanks and Martian walkers try to end the run. Along the way you scoop up rations and Victisite, the alien metal fuelling the Martian machines, then spend it between runs on WWI-era power-ups and upgrades so the next attempt goes further. A run ends when you're hit; progress carries over through 18 player levels, unlockable journal entries in Gus's voice, and in-game achievements across the randomly generated battlefield stretches.
- 1
The game opens on the premise of the 2013 HISTORY TV film it extends: it is 1913, Martians have invaded Earth, and the player takes on the role of Gus Lafonde, a scout tasked with surviving the invasion and carrying intelligence on foot to Paris.
- 2
Players steer by tapping the screen or tilting the device.
- 3
Gus sprints forward automatically across No Man's Land; the player's input is limited to evasion, tapping left or right to switch lanes and swiping up or down to jump or slide.
- 4
Obstacles arrive in fixed waves along a memorized route — land mines, artillery strikes, tanks and Martian war machines — and hitting one or getting caught in a blast ends the run.
- 5
While running, players pick up rations and Victisite, the living alien metal that powers the Martian machines, scattered along the path.
- 6
Randomly generated battlefield stretches are broken up by scripted escape sequences through distinct enemy territories and larger set-piece environments.
- 7
Each run ends with a distance readout, and the game records the player's farthest run as the target to beat next time.
- 8
Between runs, players spend collected resources on WWI-themed power-ups and ability upgrades for Gus, and track progress through 18 player levels and missions that award further rewards.
- 9
Completing missions also unlocks journal entries written by Gus, extending the film's story beyond what the broadcast showed.
- 10
The game is free to play, with in-app purchases letting players buy supplies directly rather than earning them through runs.
