Release: March 24th, 2009
Developer: Creative Assembly
Publisher: SEGA
Genre: Real Time Strategy
Rating: Mature
As I awake, I’m almost immediately rushed into battle. Who am I? Where did I come from? Who the hell are all of these people around me? These are questions that our hero Geary couldn’t answer if he tried. Though amnesia is a tactic that’s used far too often, it works well here, building a much more enriched story towards the later parts of the game. However intriguing the story may be, the gameplay mechanics are so flawed, that chances are you won’t want to fight your way to the end of it.
Putting Things In Perspective
Stormrise takes the Real Time Strategy formula and throws it out the window. While at it’s core it is still an RTS, there are few relations that will seem familiar. The third person perspective is a nice change of pace from the traditional top down view, allowing players to feel much closer to the action. The level of detail put into individual characters and surroundings is quite astonishing when you consider the level that’s normally seen in a traditional RTS. While the variety of character models are limited, those available are full of life and will have you zooming in to appreciate all of their accessories.
Action? Check. Amazing detail? Check. Compelling story line? Check. With all of these components in place, you would think a gem was in the making for sure, but there is one huge flaw that drags Stormrise straight into the shitter, the control scheme. While I usually praise developers for attempting to be innovative, this time it’s not for the better. Whip Select, the new control style, seems like an awesome way to bring players closer to the fight without sacrificing control. However, give it a few rounds, and you’ll be begging for a top down toggle view.
Whip It.. Good?
In the beginning you only have three squads to control, spread so far out across the battlefield that there’s no confusion at all. It’s an amazing sense of control as you manage all squads on the fly, jumping from defensive to offensive strikes in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, as mentioned, this is in the beginning, when things are simple and squads are small. Once you get into larger battles, things tend to get much more complicated. You’ll quickly learn that the amazingly detailed third person perspective is not an optional view, and jumping from squad to squad isn’t as easy or straightforward as it once was.
Battlefields become increasingly smaller as a mission drags on. Between new outposts captured, a rapidly increasing number of soldiers, and vehicles both on land and in the sky, everywhere you look there will be a unit ready for combat. With all of your troops eager to please, it’s unfortunate that the hardest part of the battle is getting them to the action. Grouping units into squads of three is an advantage that needs to be expanded badly. Tasks as minute as overtaking a turret defended outpost can become devastating to your army, leaving you feeling helpless.
Helplessness aside, the layout of each level is such that all units will most likely be either directly in front of you, or right on your tail. Selecting your squads is done by using the right analog stick, placing all available units in a circle that covers 360 degrees of the battlefield from the current selected units position. When there are so many unit emblems on screen, it’s near impossible to select the correct one, as no separate organization of units are offered.
Freeze Frame
Selecting units can also be done from a Tactical Overview that proves to be no better than the third person struggle. In fact, there were so many instances where the game would freeze in this mode, that I would highly recommend that you stick to the third person view at all times. By frozen, I mean I switched to the Tactical Overview, only to find no possible way to exit, forcing me to restart the mission.
While control issues can be argued for better or worse, fundamental design flaws can’t. There are far too many instances where even the simplest of interactions will leave your army frozen in time. What makes this scenario so odd is the fact that the game its self will still be active, with enemies still approaching your location and you will still have the ability be able to switch between your squads, but the game will not allow commands to be issued. At this point you’ll have no choice but to restart the mission, or if you were lucky enough, reload your last save. I also encountered this problem on a unit-specific basis, where I simply was not able to access control of a specific unit or squad.
Warning: Severe Weather
It’s a shame to see all of these great components brought together, only to be crushed under the weight of poor design. Stormrise is such a perpetual frustration that it’s hardly worth a second look. If you’re a hardcore RTS fan, then give this one a rent, but if you’re just attracted to the awesome trailers that turned many players on to this title, then avoid this storm at all costs.
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