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Starship Troopers (First Person Shooter)
Encyclopedia
Starship Troopers is a first-person shooter
game developed by Strangelite Studios
and published by Empire Interactive
. The game is based upon the canon
of the film Starship Troopers
by Paul Verhoeven.
Set five years after the events of the film, the game lets players assume the role of 'Marauder Zero Six' as they assault the planet Hesperus which has been invaded by the Arachnids
. The game features footage from both the original Starship Troopers and Hero of the Federation
films for pre-mission briefings and has a small, cameo voice-over from Casper Van Dien
introducing the first mission, along with his popular line "Come on, you apes! Do you want to live forever?!"
mode, except a score and the number of kills are also recorded.
There are three different levels of difficulty, easy, medium, and hard. The level of difficulty affects the AI
of the bugs, meaning they will notice you, and begin to attack you sooner on hard than on easy. The different levels also affect the amount of ammunition, and grenades available throughout the missions, and the health of the boss bugs, making them more resilient on hard.
Most missions involve a player completing a single objective, with obstacles on the way. For example, the player's ultimate objective is to rescue comrades. The player may have to find the soldiers, protect them, retrieve supplies, fix equipment, and then escape.
During the course of a mission, a player may run into one or more bosses
, often a Royal warrior or a bug that performs a heavy support role, such as a plasma bug or a tanker. As the game progresses, and tougher enemies are introduced, better guns are made available to the player.
, Team Deathmatch and Co-op
. The most popular mode is Co-op which sees players defending a mechanic from an onslaught of arachnids whilst retrieving parts to repair a dropship to escape in. The network and lobby functions of Starship Troopers were provided by Demonware
who have now withdrawn the services.
Promised dedicated server and modification tools
were never released, along with the closing of the official English forums player numbers in the multiplayer game were very low. The game also lacked any console or server commands which makes it impossible to execute a variety of necessary admin functions such as kick, ban or a map change. Lastly as the balancing of the weapons is directly inherited from the singleplayer mode this means that deathmatch play is not very competitive. A player who picks up the rocket launcher for example is likely to dominate the game because it scores significantly more damage compared to many other weapons, has an area of effect, can be fired rapidly and has a very large magazine.
Patches released for the game mainly focused upon improving bringing the game's multiplayer mode. The latest, version 5.24 released in December 2005, introduced 4 new DM/TDM maps and 3 new co-op maps.
and a 5 (out of 10) from IGN
, with both sites stating technical issues, such as problems with the AI and arachnid graphics as the reason for the low score. There are also very few character models, leaving most troopers looking identical. The sound bites used for the troopers voices are also repeated many times throughout the game, with some bites placed at inappropriate times.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
game developed by Strangelite Studios
Strangelite
Strangelite is a video game development company in the northwest of England. They were formerly owned by UK publishing house Empire Interactive, but in Mid-2006 they were bought by Indie Developers Rebellion Developments...
and published by Empire Interactive
Empire Interactive
Empire Interactive was a UK based video game developer and publisher founded in 1987. It was closed under administration on 4 May 2009.-About Empire Interactive:...
. The game is based upon the canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
of the film Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers (film)
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier , directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise...
by Paul Verhoeven.
Set five years after the events of the film, the game lets players assume the role of 'Marauder Zero Six' as they assault the planet Hesperus which has been invaded by the Arachnids
Bug (Starship Troopers)
The Bugs are an extraterrestrial race in the novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, its film adaptation , sometimes also referred to as the Arachnids, although this is a misnomer, as the aliens are not related to Earth arachnids...
. The game features footage from both the original Starship Troopers and Hero of the Federation
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is the 2004 direct-to-video sequel to the 1997 feature film Starship Troopers. It had a $7 million budget as opposed to the $105 million of the original. Even though the film received only a direct-to-video released in the United States, it was granted a...
films for pre-mission briefings and has a small, cameo voice-over from Casper Van Dien
Casper Van Dien
-Early life:Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane , a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a...
introducing the first mission, along with his popular line "Come on, you apes! Do you want to live forever?!"
Single-player
The single-player game features a campaign mode consisting of a series of missions connected by mission briefings. After a level is completed it is then available to play in a Level Attack mode, which is similar to a time trialTime trial
In many racing sports an athlete will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. In cycling, for example, a time trial can be a single track cycling event, or an individual or team time trial on the road, and either or both of the latter may form components of...
mode, except a score and the number of kills are also recorded.
There are three different levels of difficulty, easy, medium, and hard. The level of difficulty affects the AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
of the bugs, meaning they will notice you, and begin to attack you sooner on hard than on easy. The different levels also affect the amount of ammunition, and grenades available throughout the missions, and the health of the boss bugs, making them more resilient on hard.
Most missions involve a player completing a single objective, with obstacles on the way. For example, the player's ultimate objective is to rescue comrades. The player may have to find the soldiers, protect them, retrieve supplies, fix equipment, and then escape.
During the course of a mission, a player may run into one or more bosses
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
, often a Royal warrior or a bug that performs a heavy support role, such as a plasma bug or a tanker. As the game progresses, and tougher enemies are introduced, better guns are made available to the player.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer in Starship Troopers consists of three different modes; DeathmatchDeathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
, Team Deathmatch and Co-op
Cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player or deathmatch...
. The most popular mode is Co-op which sees players defending a mechanic from an onslaught of arachnids whilst retrieving parts to repair a dropship to escape in. The network and lobby functions of Starship Troopers were provided by Demonware
Demonware
DemonWare is a software development company and a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. It was originally founded in 2003 by Dylan Collins and Sean Blanchfield. They were purchased in May 2007 by Activision, the deal also included Demonware's management and employees signing long-term contracts...
who have now withdrawn the services.
Promised dedicated server and modification tools
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
were never released, along with the closing of the official English forums player numbers in the multiplayer game were very low. The game also lacked any console or server commands which makes it impossible to execute a variety of necessary admin functions such as kick, ban or a map change. Lastly as the balancing of the weapons is directly inherited from the singleplayer mode this means that deathmatch play is not very competitive. A player who picks up the rocket launcher for example is likely to dominate the game because it scores significantly more damage compared to many other weapons, has an area of effect, can be fired rapidly and has a very large magazine.
Patches released for the game mainly focused upon improving bringing the game's multiplayer mode. The latest, version 5.24 released in December 2005, introduced 4 new DM/TDM maps and 3 new co-op maps.
Reception
The game received mixed to negative reviews, scoring 3.8 (out of 10) on GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
and a 5 (out of 10) from IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, with both sites stating technical issues, such as problems with the AI and arachnid graphics as the reason for the low score. There are also very few character models, leaving most troopers looking identical. The sound bites used for the troopers voices are also repeated many times throughout the game, with some bites placed at inappropriate times.