Stormrise
Preview
Post-apocalyptic RTS mayhem
by William Thompson
previewed on X360
Controlling the war
Real time strategy games don’t have a good time when it comes to consoles. Gamers have had issues with the control scheme which was more than likely developed with a PC in mind. PC controls in RTS normally consist of clicking on a unit (or group of units) and selecting a command to issue the unit. Console gamers have a much harder time due to the inadequacies of the console controllers when it comes to RTS. This may be about to change with the advent of Stormrise, which has been built specifically with consoles in mind.
From what we have seen and been told, more than 90 percent of the commands can be done using only the two analog sticks and the A button on the X360 controller. This will no doubt translate fairly easily across to the PS3 version, but how it will port back to the PC remains to be seen.
Destroyed landscapes
Visually, the game looks very good. The locations certainly have a post-apocalyptic feel with semi-demolished buildings, a lack of plant life and acid rain apparent. The main view in the game is dependant on the unit which you are currently controlling, similar to FPS games. Although this seems an interesting perspective for an RTS, it may be wise to have units situated in higher areas (or indeed use aircraft units) for a bird’s eye view of the overall situation. The units themselves look decent and the variation should be enough to satisfy strategists.
The variation in unit types will no doubt enable gamers to work out different strategies for combating each enemy unit type. Will players be able to rush tank-rushes (although we haven’t seen any actual tank units) to win most situations? We would hope not in this era of real time strategy games. Of course, playing against an AI is one thing, competing against other human gamers is another story. Stormrise features four-on-four matches, with the ability to join or leave a game at any stage. Other multiplayer options include a two-player co-op campaign which can be played with a friend sitting next to you (with a split screen mode), or with a friend online. This will undoubtedly improve the games replayability.
No need for PCs?
Real Time Strategy games have long been a reason to be a PC gamer rather than a console gamer as the control system has been so much better with a keyboard and mouse. If the Stormrise control scheme works as well as it is hyped up to be, there may be one less reason to hang on to your PC. Although the game itself might be nothing revolutionary visually or even gameplay-wise, if the new control scheme works well, then we may just lose a few more gamers to the consoles. We are certainly looking forward to seeing more of this game as it nears release.
