Adv: Storm [by Reflected Games]

Game Review:  Storm
Release: September 1, 2004
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Reflected Games
System Requirements: Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP, 300MHZ+, 64MB Ram, DirectX 3+
Players: 1
Price: $19.99
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Storm is an interesting mix of a game. It mixes some of the old-style graphics and play of Pocket Tanks and some brilliant backgrounds, sound and cut screens that lend to the game feeling pretty different than most games you've played.

In Storm you control a single space ship. The ship is rather saucer-esque and for whatever reason reminds me of the Psilons in Battlestar Galactica (the original). Your ship has an interesting set of physics to it as it drifts in different directions as you try to thrust in any of the 8 directions that you can move. In addition to being able to move 8 directions, the ship can also fire in 8 directions. In fact there are 3 different movement and a couple more firing options in the game. Joystick and mouse are probably the easiest way to move, though firing is definitely easiest while using a joystick that has the firing buttons set up in a cross so that you can use it like a second movement pad (like Smash TV, but with a pad). You can also use a different firing set-up where you fire with one button in whatever direction you are moving, and then you can use a different button to fire whatever direction you last fired. This allows you to nearly strafe and fire, which can be very effective and interesting as you try to gun-down your enemies.

There are several different types of enemies who fire a variety of weapons at you and thankfully you have a variety of weapons to fire back. Many of them are really cool and probably represent the most innovative part of the game. Most of the levels have you flying through a maze inside an asteroid where every shot you make leaves an impact crater in your surroundings. You can get more forceful weapons such as the pulse laser that make larger impacts and will allow you to blast through to other areas though there is really only a couple of levels where you need to do so.

The levels themselves offer a fair amount of variety. In some you do your typical blasting of all enemies, others offer more specific tasks such as picking up prisoners from the ground ala Choplifter, getting information from the mainframe computer, or blasting away Weapon Silos. The later levels become rather tedious as they offer a large amount of game playing space, and require to rather meticulously move through it all to ensure that you've found all keys to move through the doors that lead to later parts of the levels.

Overall Storm shows some cool moments and I think everyone will find the initial title screen to show off some of the cool effects that the developer has put together. However, I think that the rather difficult play control and so-so graphics will leave most gamers wanting for something more.

Graphics: 7
The graphics in the game trend back and forth between great and dated. The backgrounds are quite well done, and I did like the texture to the rock, however the curves to the rocks look entirely un-natural and the later levels lack the pizzazz of many indie games available. There were some neat effects to the explosions, however with the quality of explosions that you see in most indie games, the missing plasma effects becomes quite noticeable.

Sound: 9
I really enjoyed the soundtrack to the game, it is really just perfect for the game. The sound effects are also wonderfully done. The only down side I would say to the sound is that it wasn't extremely memorable or catchy, though it is quite good. The voice work in the game is pretty cool with a seemingly dis-interested female voice that really adds a coolness factor to the game that has to be heard to be understood.

Game Play: 6
The difficulty in moving your ship around is one of the biggest problems I ran into with the game. Every time I thought I could get past the graphics I went back to the point that moving my ship around was a nightmare. I believe the intended effect is for the ship to feel more realistic as thrusting in any direction causes the ship to move that direction, which causes changing directions very difficult due to the inertia of the craft. This leads to correcting and over-correcting again and again as you try to move your ship through the mazes without hitting the walls (which you inevitably hit time and time again). My fingers were always aching while playing the game, and that really isn't a good thing. Unlike many games where you can learn to play the game over time, Storm becomes easier but it remains a pain to control the craft.

Value: 7
The price seems a little steep for the game. It offers quite a few levels, but the excitement for the price is lacking in my mind. For those who enjoy working around mazes, the later levels will definitely work to your advantage as they are quite large and will take a long time in order for you to get through them. There are also 3 difficulty levels to keep you playing longer, though I personally didn't see enough in the game to warrant playing through each of the difficulty levels.

Concept: 8
The game feels a lot like Adventure meets HERO meets Pocket Tanks. The combination works pretty well when it works but lacks the constant excitement that would take the concept over the top.

Fun: 7
This may just be a personal preference thing, but I didn't find that the game was really all that fun. There were moments in digging through the landscape that were pretty cool, but as the game gets onto the later levels I felt more that the levels were tedious than anything else. The firing options do lend themselves to the occasional shoot-out between you and the enemies that are pretty cool. As you fire at the enemies bullets that hit each other explode and can hurt either your or your enemy (though they seem to have a lot less trouble guiding their crafts). For those enemies that out shoot you, you'll find yourself with a series of explosions coming back to your ship and getting closer with every shot that you take. It's hard to describe, but one of the cooler pieces to a face-off that I've seen in some time.

Overall: 7
Try as I might I just couldn't get myself to love Storm. Some players will find this game to be absolutely perfect. Strom has a great retro feel to it with a wonderful assortment of weapons that will keep you guessing as to just how cool the next weapon will be and some good twists in blasting through the rock in such a singular experience that all players should give it a try. If nothing else I'm sure you'll love the voices, cut screens and title screen.

Added: October 2nd 2004
Reviewer: Russell Carroll
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