Stormrise Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 13th May 2009

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We rise up to the storm!

Stormrise Details:

	Strategy
	PC/PlayStation 3/Xbox 360
	The Creative Assembly
	Sega

16+

Out Now

1-2

Strategy games have struggled on the console platforms, with many failing to make an impression. With Stormrise, The Creative Assembly and SEGA introduce some interesting features aiming to open up the strategy genre to console gamers. Sadly though they’ve quite resoundingly failed and delivered one of the most frustrating strategy games to appear on consoles to date.

Stormrise is set in the distant future with the Earth devastated by a cataclysmic natural disaster. The game sees the Echelon and the Sai battling to survive in this hostile wasteland. The Echelon are the remnants of a superior technological people having survived the catastrophe through self-educed hibernation, whilst the Sai, the remnants of those left behind became a tribal faction, having learnt to adapt to their surroundings and the new environment. The differences between the two factions have spurred much animosity and hatred between the two races and the future of the planet now hangs by a thread as all out war breaks out.

Stormrise shares some similarities with Halo Wars that was released on Xbox 360 earlier this year. Firstly you are placed in the role of a Commander in the case of Stormrise, Commander Geary who takes to the field and commands his troops from the relative safety of a giant mech. The game also sports a slightly offset third person view, like Halo Wars. However bizarrely Stormrise doesn’t allow you to zoom out to get a better view of the battlefield instead you are given a holographic style map to give you a greater picture of what is going on. Sadly though this is very difficult to understand and can make planning your strategy and commanding your troops far more difficult then it has to be.

When Stormrise was announced developers The Creative Assembly promised to deliver an innovative control system that would make playing the strategy game easier for console owners. The control system in question is “Whip” select! Probably the most awkward, clumsy, frustrating and dare I say it, one of the worst I have ever encountered. Each unit on the battlefield is assigned an icon which sits on one of edges on the screen depending where it is in relation to you. To select a unit you are then required to whip the right analogue stick in its direction and hey presto you change to that unit. Sounds simple and it is if you only have a few units on screen, however as soon as you build up your forces and engage in battle selecting the correct unit becomes near impossible as you find yourself with numerous icons littering each edge of the screen all tightly packed together and in some cases even overlapping.

To further compound you woes, unit pathfinding also isn’t the best, as they will often get stuck on each other and block each others paths. The games difficulty is also rather unforgiving, even on the normal setting, which coupled the aforementioned problems makes Stormrise very laborious and so tiring to play that not many gamers will want to stick with after a couple of missions.

Missions in Stormrise follow the now standard real-time strategy formula of taking control of a set number of key locations that enable you to build up your resources before wiping out the enemy presence in the area. It’s all very familiar and the type of thing any strategy gamer will have seen countless times before. The developers have tried to make things more interesting by giving the different units special abilities, but the games awkward control system makes using these a task in itself. Maps serve up something of a new dimension to the way you plan your strategy. Units are able to move over roof-tops and through underground passes in addition to the planets surface. It’s an interesting addition that allows you to pull off flanking manoeuvres to displace entrenched enemy positions. Although like many aspects of Stormrise, this is spoilt by the previously mentioned poor pathfinding system! On a brighter note the game does come with a multiplayer aspect, but then again this will do little to add to the games lasting appeal as I don’t expect many will still be playing the game for long with all the annoyances it features.

Visually Stormrise isn’t the best looking game, but then it’s not particularly bad. The colour palette used is limited to browns and greys giving Stormrise a somewhat dull look. However, unit design is fairly good but this is then spoilt by animation that tends to judder and struggle to keep up with the pace of the game. Mission environments are pretty ugly although you could argue this is in keeping with the fact the world has more or less been destroyed?

The games audio design is probably one of its strongest areas. Voice acting is performed well, whilst the soundtrack helps to create the tense atmosphere of war while being upbeat enough to get the heart pounding. Sound effects are all in keeping with the games futuristic setting and wouldn’t be out of place in any sci-fi movies.

With Stormrise the developers tried out some new ideas however, due to poor implementation has ultimately created one of the most awkward and difficult to play console strategy games to date. Many who try it will struggle to keep playing to the end and soon tire of this frustrating take on the strategy genre. Sadly for those crying out for a decent console strategy game, Stormrise is definitely one to miss!