Stormrise is The Creative Assembly's new bet for the console genre. A completely new control system, adapted to the limitations of the command, that in spite of offering good ideas, these do not finish curdling and it stays far from what could have come to be.
If there is a genre that suffers when making the leap to the consoles that is, possibly, that of the strategy in real time. Despite several attempts have been made, the quality of the titles of the genre is always far below what those same games are able to achieve in their natural environment, the PC. That is why many companies have begun to devise new formulas and ways to adapt the complex control systems to a command, which by its own design supposes a greater limitation of access to menus and when controlling all the units that are deployed by the map. Thus, in recent months we have seen Civilization Revolution, a major change of formula with respect to the original PC, or the latest Halo Wars.
Stormrise goes a step further, even though it also comes out for PC, with a game loaded with innovative ideas in order to facilitate the control system with a traditional command. However, despite having many virtues and great ideas, it gives the feeling that they have not been able to capture with all the success that could be expected, and surely the game has been far from the intentions of The Creative Assembly. His extensive experience in the genre of strategy has allowed them to come to the fore with an interesting game designed especially for consoles, although they should still continue to exploit their skills to get to create the definitive strategy work that all users are waiting for.
In a distant future??
Argumentally, The Creative Assembly presents us for the first time a futuristic setting. An experiment to control the climate has ended in a resounding failure, and in a post-apocalyptic world, two factions will face each other. On the one hand there are the Echelon, the human survivors who had undergone a process of hibernation in order to survive the climatic holocaust of the planet, and who have awakened many years later to try to give back to the world their old vitality and prosperity. They will be our first partners, with whom we will go through the tutorial and learn the ins and outs of the control system through the Campaign mode.
But the world has changed a lot, and there is a new humanoid race known as the Sai. It is about the humans who have been living on the surface of the planet during all this time, and who have adapted to the new weather conditions. A tribal race that has evolved and developed psychic abilities, in addition to a series of mutations. The Sai will fight to defend a territory that they consider theirs, given that the Echelon had renounced it when they hibernated and ignored everything that happened. At the level of the story, things will not go much further, leaving us confused on many occasions when we do not know well why we are fighting, or what we do by reaching certain scenarios. At the narrative level, it could have given much more, especially with that premise a priori so attractive.
Original proposal
If there is something that can not be reproached to Stormrise is the way in which it strives to surprise us with a novel control system, very original, which to some extent seems like a logical alternative to fully exploit the control command; but it also gives the feeling of being incomplete, as if it lacked something to offer us everything we need on the battlefield. The main characteristic of this game system is that we will not see the whole terrain from an elevated position, controlling all the advances of our troops and the enemy and giving orders from our position of privilege; Here we will have direct control of each troop, putting ourselves on the ground to see the environment from their angle of vision, and make decisions knowing in many cases lacking vision.
This causes us to feel to a certain extent halfway between a game of strategy and another of action in the third person, with the negative points inherent in this strange mixture. For example, what on the radar looks like a simple map, is full of winding alleys and, as we will discuss, several levels, and even try to move in one direction with a group of troops and we find a closed road, which should give the turn around and look for a path in another direction. This will mean losing very valuable seconds, much more than it may seem at first, given that the pace of the game is very close, without giving a moment of respite, forcing us to make all our decisions almost instinctively.
That is why we must get used to all the intricacies of Stormrise as soon as possible if we want to have, at least, a chance of victory. Something that does not help the default difficulty of the machine in Campaign mode, which will not allow us to experiment or get used to the intricate control. In addition, the game is not able to openly and clearly expose what we must do to deepen its playability, and there are many characteristics that we must learn by force, based on trial and error, which can be frustrating given that In many cases what is happening is incomprehensible. The most characteristic example of this is found in the combat system.
The game is governed by a traditional system of stone, paper and scissors, in which some units defeat others by default. The problem with this is that, although this is something logical and habitual within the genre, here it is strengthened to the extreme; if our troops have nothing to do against an enemy detachment, they will not even bother to shoot. They will stay facing each other, and slowly our men will fall, for no apparent reason. So, we must go little by little experimenting with different combinations of formations, until we get to know each other well both our troops and those of the rival, and know how to attack, where and when. It will not help to create many troops of one type, because if the opponent has a guy they can not beat, they will not even bother to fight.
The basis of the game will be to advance through the stage ending with the enemy troops while we take control of certain key points, which will become our bases, from which we can create new troops. However, the creation is quite slow for the pace imposed by the game, forcing us to not have a moment of doubt, and quickly create the type of troop we need. For this, it will be essential to know the symbols with which each one is identified, since at all times, even in the battlefield, they will be represented by that icon, and we will not have time to experiment or walk changing by the troops that we possess. Find the one we were looking for.
During the game itself, as we have said, the action is centered on the particular troop that we want to move, without having the possibility of seeing it from a superior view (there are some flying troops that can offer that vision). The map does not help much in this aspect, because we only have a small radar, being able to access the complete map on the BACK / SELECT button, which seems somewhat uncomfortable. At all times, on the screen, the icons of our troops will be present, as well as the points to which we must arrive and where there are enemies. To move around our troops, we must use the right analog stick; control a line that we can move 360º around us, and the icons that we are pointing will be highlighted. If we release the stick while this occurs, we will change the troop in question.
The units will be the usual ones of this type of games: we will have the infantry, the snipers, different types of vehicles, the mechs (that correspond to our Heroes and protagonists, that when dying in the Campaign mode will suppose the end of the game), flying units, etc. All of them have their logical attacks, in addition to some special attacks; Of course, the troops between the two factions will not distend too much, being altogether quite similar to each other. In addition, the technological tree is quite sparse in terms of progress for the units, being limited by the development of the game itself. In that aspect, it seems a shallow title, which does not exploit the potential that a similar setting should have.
Another point in favor of the game is the fact that, by combining the strategy with the action in the third person, it allows the luxury of developing battles at different levels; a vertical development that makes the game very good and that adds a new dimension to the genre. Although the gameplay of the title has enough defects in order to achieve the ideal levels of quality, it must be recognized that with a lot of practice and experience it is possible to get used to its complex game system. It is then when Stormrise gives the best of itself, bringing intense combat through its various game modes, especially online.
The Campaign becomes somewhat short, with about 10 hours if we take it easy (and taking into account the much-needed time of adaptation to the game). Then, we will have the classic Skirmishes and the multiplayer games over the Internet. The maps of these last two modes will be the same, of different sizes and for a maximum of 8 players, although it will be possible to participate only two contenders in the brawl. It will be in these cases where Stormrise shows its most strategic facet, since the vertical disposition of the scenarios will give a lot of game when we face other users, who will not have the powerful AI of the machine. These combats are won by killing the opponent, or by taking control of all the control nodes scattered around the stage.
Technical section
Taking into account that it is a real strategy game, the truth is that it offers a quite solid visual finish, with great environments and a very successful setting. Everything is bathed in dark colors, which convey the consequences of the Apocalypse of which the world was victim. The designs of the characters are not, however, at the same level; They suffer from an important lack of inspiration, especially when we see them from a close position (which will be quite usual), since we will find low resolution textures. In addition, their animations leave much to be desired in general terms. Of course, to compare, the Echelon lose the game clearly against the Sai, much more interesting and inspired.
In general, this section fulfills its purpose with some ease, even though it could have given something more of itself; especially in the cinematic scenes, which sometimes seem blurry. The sound section also reaches a high level, with an epic soundtrack full of great themes that transmit with great accuracy the warlike conflict that is being represented on the screen. The game has a very interesting dubbing to our language, which facilitates the transmission of the orders of our superiors. Of course, the relative shortage of troops will mean that on the battlefield we often hear the same phrases (more than usual in the genre), something that seems repetitive. The sound effects, very credible and achieved.
At a playable level, we have already explained quite a lot in the last paragraphs what this Stormrise offers. A game of strategy in real time quite demanding, both at the level of control and in terms of difficulty (the AI of the machine is relentless in this aspect), which requires a lot of practice on the part of the user to be able to exploit its full potential. Although the command responds perfectly to our indications, the limitations of its system cause that the frustration of not being able to do what we want arrives on the other hand. You can not blame the control system for anything, but you can blame a game system that wants to go beyond where it can be allowed.
conclusion
Stormrise is an interesting game that immerses us in a quite successful and satisfactory post-apocalyptic setting. The Creative Assembly has taken a risk with a completely new control system, in which we will have direct control over each of our troops. Technically remarkable, but too demanding to be able to adapt calmly to its playable requirements, and the information on the screen seems insufficient. Loaded with good ideas that have not finished, Stormrise is a complex gameplay that requires a lot of practice and experience but, once dominated, has many hours of fun to offer. The biggest fans of the genre will want to give it a try.
The best
Achieved climate
The Sai offer exceptionally appealing outlines and thoughts
*Original suggestion that can offer hours of fun ??
Worst
Misinformed data on screen
Textures of really poor troops
yet it requires a great deal of training and experience
It isn't the most recent or the most unique, it doesn't have the best execution, yet it can be fun in the event that you like the class. Great, yet improvable.
I love this game
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