Reviews - Steel Storm: Burning Retribution

The good:
=========
-Polished: good graphics, sound and gameplay
-Challenging enough without being too challenging.
-Translated into a lot of languages and you can add your own.
-Collaborative mission editor, also works while playing!
-DRM-free
-Uses GPLed darkplaces engine (also means you should be able to do lots of modding, additionally to the available in-game editor.)
-Cross-platform. Runs natively (and perfectly) on GNU/Linux.

The singleplayer alone is definitely worth the cheap price.
If you liked the first episode (now training missions since the recent update), the second one is more of the same, but with new enemies and weapons and a lot more missions + the unlockable first person mode (well, third person, but not top-down)
The full game (up to Burning retribution) offers 27 missions in total. Each mission can take from a few minutes up to 1 hour. Never really measured it, but the total single-player gamelength is easily worth the price.

There is also an IRC channel for players at #steelstorm@freenode. Not built into the game (like with Globulation), but a good way of connecting players and devs. ;)

The bad:
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-It is a bit repetitive.
-Not that innovative
-Has no immersive storyline (although care has been taken to add a good briefing to each mission)
-Insults you when you exit the game. Not a big deal, but I am not a fan of it...

The multiplayer is not very active, but it's also not dead. One can still find players, especially during weekends.

Note:
====
A new multiplayer mod called Towers of Doom just came out and looks quite interesting, so maybe the multiplayer activity will increase.
It is similar to DotA, i.e. you have weapon shops, AI units, turrets, 2 teams and the goal is to destroy enemy structures, except that it is a shooter.
It also introduces some new interesting weapons with area effect and repair powers and different tank chassis, so the game might get better in the next episodes. Stay tuned! ;)

Reminds me of Atari's classic "Vindicators!!!"

gghjkl;'

Steel Storm: Burning Retribution is an excellent example or old school spirit rejuvenated into a game that could well itself become a classic.

The controls are sweet and simple, basic 4-point movement on your keyboard, rotation via mouse, fixed forward aim, and primary and secondary weapons on your mouse buttons.

The gameplay is simple, yet effective, the graphics appear detailed, if a little small, and the soundtrack is simple yet functional (just wait until you hear repair, i’ve never heard a chime sound like repairing before).

As for performance, i could just about get it to lag on an i3 Dual at 2.4GHz when screen recording in 1080p with all the graphics settings turned right up.

Meanwhile, the enemies were fast and numerous, their weapons ever-changing.

You must pilot your hover-tank (did you get a little chill then?) around 25 missions collecting upgrades, repairs, and points as you flatten hordes of intelligent enemies before you.

If this doesn’t make you a man, then i don’t know what will.

A wonderfully addictive little game.

SS:BR is definitely one of those games that emphasizes the consequences of judging by the cover. While it has a number of features that would appeal to arcade fans, it has many faults, or rather lacks so many important features, that drag this game even below mediocre for me.

GOOD: There are plenty of explosions to be experienced through some beautifully detailed mission environments. Bosses are a challenge, and some levels are enjoyable to navigate around, with occasional optional objectives.

BAD: I have often felt that many video games had an unfair reception regarding repetition - For example, many considered HL2 to be repetitive, when I myself thought that game was full of variety and creativity throughout its levels - but SS:BR is truly an exercise in lack of variety. There's very little difference in mission objectives, and the enemy types are not vast. Despite the game dragging you to different points, it feels too arena-based. It really would have been netter if the developers tailored around a bit with the missions at least, if not the gameplay.
The difficulty is also quite unforgiving, even on easy. I like a challenge, but in SS:BR it feels too harsh with almost no reward for your efforts which is what I am about to get into...
Although it does what many games do not, and rewards you on campaign completion, it is still just a "First-person" mode (but really, it's THIRD-person). Ironically enough, the game's hugely repetitive nature makes that unlockable feature feel more rewarding than it really is, but in its own right, it's just not worth the effort. Unfortunately, the story does not make up for it either, and although missions have detailed briefings, it was difficult to pay attention due to this game lacking a compelling campaign.

There is some sweet arcadey action that is waiting for any curious player, but it will require a lot of patience and acceptance in order to find enjoyment in what was for me personally a rather mundane, if promising, titl

Good Top-down view Shooting

My Favorite JPN Language
なかなか面白い翻訳にされていて笑える

Great game, the only thing that disappoints me is the low activity rate at the multiplayer servers. But that does not really kill the fun for me :D
I am really loving this game period

I am stuck at the fourth level :-)

Disclaimer: Reviewer has only played the demo.

A few setup bugs (desura couldn't find launcher, had to set resolution via text file, first attempt had a framerate of around 5 seconds per frame).

However, once those were fixed, game was quite fun.
Smooth, responsive gameplay.
Decent graphics and sound (although sometimes things were a bit hard to see).

Like many games, there seemed to be no reason "not" to constantly fire (apart from it being noisy).

Also, again like many games, there was no time constraint or sense of urgency.

All up, a decent game. Well above average for linux, too.

Epic and beautiful game.