In a reimagined reality marked by the unprovoked Martian invasion of Earth's major cities in 1899, the young boy Eric Wells experienced a tragedy that would forever haunt him. Residing in the ravaged landscape of Leeds, England, he witnessed the brutal assault of a towering Tripod that tragically took the lives of his parents. Despite the devastation, fate spared the 10-year-old Eric, whose life dramatically shifted when the Martian colossus unexpectedly fell, vanquished by Earth's ordinary microbes.
Fast forward to 1914, the landscape has morphed into a radically different Manhattan, which now thrives amidst the ashes of its past. The relentless pursuit of technological advancement has birthed a dieselpunk/steampunk world where human creativity leveraged reverse-engineered Martian technology. As the Great War looms, Eric, now a 25-year-old Captain, commands the A.R.E.S. (Allied Resistance Earth Squadrons) along with a diverse team that includes Jennifer Carter, an American lieutenant, Patrick O'Brien, an Irish corporal, Abraham Douglas, a Canadian sergeant, and Raja Iskandar Shah, a Malayan lieutenant.
The pressure mounts under the leadership of General Sergei Kushnirov, a man deeply scarred by the loss of his family during the initial invasion. Alongside influential figures like Secretary of War Theodore Roosevelt and the enigmatic Professor Nikola Tesla, Eric's squad prepares to unleash their newly acquired steam-powered Achilles-class Battle Tripod, aptly named 'The Goliath' for its imposing presence. As tensions rise before a simulated war game pitting them against Captain Sakai's Japanese forces, the very foundation of their alliance seems on the verge of collapse due to the onset of World War I.
Then came the catalytic assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, jolting Eric and his comrades into face the menacing reality of a renewed Martian threat. Outraged by humanity's shortsightedness and the squabbling of its leaders, Eric embarks on a mission to unite his team against the specter of Martians, vowing not to let the world plunge into the chaos they barely escaped.
As the dust settles from their recent conflicts, a shocking truth arises: the Martian threat has merely begun. With the unleashing of their second wave of assaults, humanity faces towering, 100-foot-tall tripods that unleashing devastating heat rays upon unprepared cities, rendering Earth's defenses nearly useless.
The Martians strike again, launching a brutal blitzkrieg against the War Games, decimating A.R.E.S.'s forces as Eric and his team fight valiantly to fend off the destruction. This initial attack serves as mere reconnaissance, revealing their true intent—to evaluate A.R.E.S.'s tactical capabilities before initiating the full-scale invasion.
In an effort to combat the impending calamity, Kushnirov orchestrates an ambush in New Mexico. Eric's team, joined by local militia, engages the trio of wayward tripods. Their collaborative struggle leads to the downfall of two of these mechanical beasts, leaving only Eric's team and Wilson, a dedicated militia fighter, to confront their foes.
Guided by Wilson, the team discovers a sinister factory where humans are harvested and war machines manufactured for the Martians' invasion. With bravery, they rescue captives and obliterate the factory. Just as A.R.E.S.'s airship, the Leviathan, arrives to extract them, Kushnirov informs Eric of the Martians' strategy, designed to draw A.R.E.S. away from their New York stronghold, concealing the actual target of their invasion.
Meanwhile, chaos ensues in New York as the Martians breach A.R.E.S.'s headquarters. In the midst of despair, Roosevelt and his men fight with dignity against overwhelming odds. Just when all hope seems extinguished, the Leviathan and Agemmon, A.R.E.S.'s other floating warship, surge in to alter the fight’s tide. Together, they eradicate the Martian forces, reclaiming their stronghold and dealing a brutal setback to the enemy.
However, the tranquility of Liberty Island is shattered by the emergence of a colossal Martian spaceship from New York Harbor. A.R.E.S.'s fleeting victory is violently interrupted as the alien craft unleashes devastating heat rays. Reacting swiftly, Leviathan and Agemmon target the Martian ship, provoking a fierce counterattack. Struck by a lethal heat ray, Agemmon is obliterated into ashes.
In the ensuing chaos, the Leviathan tries to evade destruction but is tragically struck when debris crashes into its bridge, causing chaos. Dimitri, a critical crew member, is sent spiraling towards his doom. In a heart-wrenching moment, Kushnirov fights to save his son, but ultimately sacrifices his hold to regain control of the Leviathan, ending with a poignant farewell: > "I love you, Father!" as Dimitri meets an untimely death.
With Kushnirov now at the helm, he resolves to ram the warship into the Martian spacecraft, igniting a fiery collision that signals the end of the invasion. In the aftermath of this cataclysmic event, Roosevelt unites the survivors, instilling in them a renewed sense of determination as they commit to reconstructing their fragmented world while preparing to take the fight back to the Martians and reclaim their future.
