Software:Starship Troopers (video game)

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Starship Troopers
European Windows cover art of the retail box of the game
Developer(s)Strangelite
Publisher(s)Empire Interactive and Destineer
Composer(s)Richard Jacques
EngineSWARM
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • EU: October 27, 2005
  • NA: November 15, 2005
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Starship Troopers is a first-person shooter game developed by British company Strangelite Studios and published by Empire Interactive. The game is based on the 1997 movie of the same name by Paul Verhoeven.

Set five years after the events of the movie, 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 the footage from the original movie and the sequel Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004).

Gameplay

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 trial 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, which means they will notice and attack players 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 bosses.

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.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer in Starship Troopers consists of three different modes; Deathmatch, 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 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 single-player 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 deals 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 the game's multiplayer mode. The latest, version 5.24 released in December 2005, introduced four new DM/TDM maps and three new co-op maps.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic46/100[1]
Review scores
PublicationScore
1Up.comD+[2]
CGMStar[3]
CGWStar[4]
Eurogamer4/10[5]
GameSpot3.8/10[6]
GameSpyStarStar[7]
GameZone6.7/10[8]
IGN5/10[9]
PC Format69%[10]
PC Gamer (US)45%[11]

The game received "generally unfavorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[1] GameSpot and IGN stated technical issues, such as problems with the AI and archaic graphics as the reason for the low score. There are also very few character models, leaving most troopers looking identical. The sound bytes used for the troopers' voices are also repeated many times throughout the game, with some bytes placed at inappropriate times.[6][9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Starship Troopers for PC Reviews". Red Ventures. https://www.metacritic.com/game/starship-troopers/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. Retrieved June 23, 2022. 
  2. ↑ Pinckard, Jane (December 14, 2005). "Starship Troopers". Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160624141648/http://www.1up.com/reviews/starship-troopers. Retrieved June 23, 2022. 
  3. ↑ "Review: Starship Troopers". Computer Games Magazine (theGlobe.com) (184): 55. March 2006. 
  4. ↑ Elliott, Shawn (February 2006). "Starship Troopers". Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis) (259): 71. https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_259.pdf. Retrieved June 23, 2022. 
  5. ↑ Walker, John (November 4, 2005). "Starship Troopers". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/r-starshiptroopers-pc. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Navarro, Alex (December 1, 2005). "Starship Troopers Review [date mislabeled as "December 8, 2005""]. Red Ventures. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/starship-troopers-review/1900-6140678/. Retrieved April 1, 2019. 
  7. ↑ Osborne, Scott (December 15, 2005). "GameSpy: Starship Troopers". IGN Entertainment. http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/starship-troopers/675889p1.html. 
  8. ↑ Eberle, Matt (December 15, 2005). "Starship Troopers - PC - Review". Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090122113431/http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r24478.htm. Retrieved June 23, 2022. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 McNamara, Tom (December 5, 2005). "Starship Troopers". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/12/06/starship-troopers. Retrieved April 1, 2019. 
  10. ↑ "Starship Troopers". PC Format (Future plc) (183). January 2006. 
  11. ↑ "Starship Troopers". PC Gamer (Future US) 13 (2): 37. February 2006. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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