Starsiege
Encyclopedia
Starsiege is a mecha
-style vehicle simulation game
developed by Dynamix
and released in 1999. Starsiege is set in the Metaltech/Earthsiege universe, which contains its predecessors Earthsiege (1994), Battledrome (1995), and Earthsiege 2
(1995), as well as action game Hunter Hunted (1996), strategy games Mission Force: Cyberstorm (1997) and Cyberstorm 2: Corporate Wars
(1998), and first-person shooters Starsiege: Tribes
(1998), Tribes 2
(2001), and Tribes: Vengeance
(2004). Starsiege is the end of the Earthsiege series and the beginning of the Tribes series.
The combat units of the Empire are represented by the Imperial Police and the Imperial Knights. The former paramilitary group is responsible for maintaining order in the colonies. The Knights, led by Grand Master Caanon Weathers, are the military's elite and are provided with the best pilots and equipment; naturally they are based on Earth. The Knights have customized versions of the standard HERCs.
The inequality between the colonies and Earth foments rebellion. In 2802 there are two guerilla movements on Mars, the Free Martian Alliance (FMA) and the Martian Liberation Front (MLF). The FMA concentrates on destroying and capturing Imperial infrastructure and supplies. The MLF focuses on killing Imperial personnel and sympathizers. Both groups operate from underground bases and make do with modified mining HERCs and tanks. The rebels partially offset their disadvantages with superior weapons taken from the alien "Tharsis Cache"; an underground stockpile of alien technology discovered by rebels while digging new tunnels. Eventually the rebellion becomes too great for the police to contain and the Knights are deployed to Mars to crush the insurrection.
The Cybrids are a race of sentient robots responsible for the first Earthsiege. They are led by the first Cybrid, Prometheus, who is revered with god-like status. The Cybrids established themselves in the outer solar system after being defeated two centuries before during the first Earthsiege. Since then they have built up their strength for another bid to destroy humanity and claim Earth for their own. Like the Martian rebels, the Cybrids discover their own cache of alien weapons and adapt it to use, but their cache is inferior to the Tharsis Cache.
Notable Cybrid units include the elite Platinum Guard - those closest to Prometheus - and the heretical Metagen. The former have access to customized HERC designs. During the Cybrid campaign, the player is ordered to destroy Metagen units. They are little mentioned in the human campaign; in the final mission Cybrids supposedly guarding Prometheus abandon their posts and refuse to fire on humans for "unknown reasons."
, offering a range of different locations throughout the game and in multiplayer battles, including Earth, Titan, Luna, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. There are two campaigns, Human and Cybrid. The human campaign places the player as a member of the Free Martian Alliance.
Gameplay in Starsiege revolves around mechanized combat - piloting HERCs and tanks in combat against opposing vehicles. Both types of vehicles can be controlled via any combination of keyboard, joystick, or mouse. Every vehicle has a unique performance, though this can be modified somewhat through customization of parts. Customizing the player's vehicle is an important element of gameplay, particularly in multiplayer - a proper balance between all of the components is necessary to assure the player a reasonable chance of success.
Multiplayer gameplay includes classic modes deathmatch
, team deathmatch, and capture the flag
.
awarded 7.7 out of 10, highlighting the well presented package and cutscenes, graphically impressive (whilst sparse) landscapes, intuitive controls and the longevity of the multiplayer mode. The minimal sound effects were criticised, with muddled voice-overs, and some of human HERC models were felt to be a bit bland and generic.
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
-style vehicle simulation game
Vehicle simulation game
Vehicle simulation games are a genre of video games which attempt to provide the player with a realistic interpretation of operating various kinds of vehicles. This includes automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, military vehicles, and a variety of other vehicles...
developed by Dynamix
Dynamix
Dynamix, Inc. was an American developer of computer games from 1984 to 2001, best known for their flight simulator, Red Baron, the Front Page Sports series, Betrayal at Krondor, and their online multiplayer game, Tribes.-History:...
and released in 1999. Starsiege is set in the Metaltech/Earthsiege universe, which contains its predecessors Earthsiege (1994), Battledrome (1995), and Earthsiege 2
Earthsiege 2
Earthsiege 2 is a mecha-style vehicle simulation game developed by Dynamix, produced by Frank Evers , and released in 1995. Earthsiege 2 is set the Earthsiege universe, which contains its predecessors Earthsiege and Battledrome , as well as action game Hunter Hunted , strategy games MissionForce:...
(1995), as well as action game Hunter Hunted (1996), strategy games Mission Force: Cyberstorm (1997) and Cyberstorm 2: Corporate Wars
CyberStorm 2: Corporate Wars
CyberStorm 2: Corporate Wars is a turn-based strategy game developed by Dynamix and released in 1998 as a sequel to MissionForce: CyberStorm...
(1998), and first-person shooters Starsiege: Tribes
Starsiege: Tribes
Starsiege: Tribes is a sci-fi first-person shooter video game. It is the first of the Tribes video game series and follows the story from Earthsiege and Starsiege. It was developed by Dynamix and published by the company now known as Sierra Entertainment in 1998.-History:A sequel, Tribes 2, was...
(1998), Tribes 2
Tribes 2
-Legacy:On November 20, 2002, Sierra released an update for Tribes 2. This update contained two new game types, new maps and updates to address several issues. Sierra, which is now part of Vivendi SU, licensed the franchise to Irrational Games for a third installment; Tribes: Vengeance was...
(2001), and Tribes: Vengeance
Tribes: Vengeance
Tribes: Vengeance is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game of the Tribes video game series. It was developed by Irrational Games and released by Sierra Entertainment in October 2004...
(2004). Starsiege is the end of the Earthsiege series and the beginning of the Tribes series.
Plot
In this time, humanity is nominally united in an Empire, led from Earth by the Immortal Emperor Solomon Petresun. Petresun's policy is the defence of Earth at all costs. While Earth is prosperous and well protected, the colonies on Luna, Mars, and Venus suffer from increasingly harsh regulations and production quotas.The combat units of the Empire are represented by the Imperial Police and the Imperial Knights. The former paramilitary group is responsible for maintaining order in the colonies. The Knights, led by Grand Master Caanon Weathers, are the military's elite and are provided with the best pilots and equipment; naturally they are based on Earth. The Knights have customized versions of the standard HERCs.
The inequality between the colonies and Earth foments rebellion. In 2802 there are two guerilla movements on Mars, the Free Martian Alliance (FMA) and the Martian Liberation Front (MLF). The FMA concentrates on destroying and capturing Imperial infrastructure and supplies. The MLF focuses on killing Imperial personnel and sympathizers. Both groups operate from underground bases and make do with modified mining HERCs and tanks. The rebels partially offset their disadvantages with superior weapons taken from the alien "Tharsis Cache"; an underground stockpile of alien technology discovered by rebels while digging new tunnels. Eventually the rebellion becomes too great for the police to contain and the Knights are deployed to Mars to crush the insurrection.
The Cybrids are a race of sentient robots responsible for the first Earthsiege. They are led by the first Cybrid, Prometheus, who is revered with god-like status. The Cybrids established themselves in the outer solar system after being defeated two centuries before during the first Earthsiege. Since then they have built up their strength for another bid to destroy humanity and claim Earth for their own. Like the Martian rebels, the Cybrids discover their own cache of alien weapons and adapt it to use, but their cache is inferior to the Tharsis Cache.
Notable Cybrid units include the elite Platinum Guard - those closest to Prometheus - and the heretical Metagen. The former have access to customized HERC designs. During the Cybrid campaign, the player is ordered to destroy Metagen units. They are little mentioned in the human campaign; in the final mission Cybrids supposedly guarding Prometheus abandon their posts and refuse to fire on humans for "unknown reasons."
Gameplay
As a simulation, Starsiege offers players the ability to pilot a wide variety of massive bipedal war machines known as HERCULANs (Humaniform-Emulation Roboticized Combat Unit with Leg-Articulated Navigation) (or 'HERCs' for short), as well as several tanks. Set in 2829, Starsiege contains an array of advanced technology, and numerous upgrades are available for each vehicle. Starsiege takes place across a number of planets and moons in the solar systemSolar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
, offering a range of different locations throughout the game and in multiplayer battles, including Earth, Titan, Luna, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. There are two campaigns, Human and Cybrid. The human campaign places the player as a member of the Free Martian Alliance.
Gameplay in Starsiege revolves around mechanized combat - piloting HERCs and tanks in combat against opposing vehicles. Both types of vehicles can be controlled via any combination of keyboard, joystick, or mouse. Every vehicle has a unique performance, though this can be modified somewhat through customization of parts. Customizing the player's vehicle is an important element of gameplay, particularly in multiplayer - a proper balance between all of the components is necessary to assure the player a reasonable chance of success.
Multiplayer gameplay includes classic modes deathmatch
Deathmatch (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 capture the flag
Capture the flag
Capture the Flag is a traditional outdoor sport generally played by children, where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base...
.
Reception
Starsiege received moderately good critical reception. IGNIGN
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...
awarded 7.7 out of 10, highlighting the well presented package and cutscenes, graphically impressive (whilst sparse) landscapes, intuitive controls and the longevity of the multiplayer mode. The minimal sound effects were criticised, with muddled voice-overs, and some of human HERC models were felt to be a bit bland and generic.