By now you’re probably familiar with the cult classic film Starship Troopers. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, it focuses on a number of soldiers that are called upon to take care of giant arachnids, who pose a dangerous threat to the galaxy. The movie has been a hit for years amongst the community, but, surprisingly enough, it’s never really had a chance in the video game market – till now, anyway.
Offworld Industries is currently working on Starship Troopers: Extermination, a 16-player co-op first-person shooter with tower-defense elements. It’s currently in Early Access, meaning it still has a bit of a ways to go before final release. But it’s definitely in playable form now, and, more importantly, it gives you ample opportunity to kill bugs dead.
While there’s still some content we’d like to see added to the game (like, for instance, a single player story mode), Extermination has plenty to offer for fans of the movie, as well as newcomers intrigued by the chance to kill dozens of bugs in one flail swoop. Provided you aren’t eaten alive first, of course.
The Only Good Bug Is a Dead Bug!
The first thing you’ll notice about Extermination is that, while it proudly wears its first-person shooter badge on its beaten chest, it has some other elements at play. That includes tower-defense, or simply building up items in your base. This means walls, ore stations (to generate power), ammo stations and several other items. Of course, your resources will only let you use so much, so you have to think quickly in order to find the best way to fortify everything.
Once that’s done, you and your friends can team up to mow down big and small bugs alike, using whatever ammo you can get your hands on. This is where Extermination thrives, though we do admit it gets a little repetitive when it comes to certain missions. But the game follows the core mechanics of what the movie does, so no genuine complaint there.
On top of that, there are different classes available – our favorite is Hunter, but there’s also Operator and Bastion for those that want to try something different. You can also unlock new weapons and equipment, along with perks to increase your soldier skills.
Best of all, the game’s got great communication amongst your team, thanks to a “Ping” system that helps you keep close contact. You can also choose which group of Roughnecks you want to play alongside, provided they still have room for you in your ranks.
Overall, there’s more that can be done with the gameplay – particularly more powerful weapons, which we assume are coming – but Starship Troopers: Extermination is good fun, especially with a squad of your friends in tow.
The Presentation Doesn’t Bug Us
When it comes to visuals, Extermination isn’t bad. The game runs at a fairly smooth clip, though the frame rate does drop quite a bit when it comes to the bugs that pile onto the screen. The explosive effects are outstanding, especially ones that send bug pieces flying all over the place. There’s also a good deal of variety with the planets you’ll visit, and the nighttime levels are really something, as arachnids could literallycome out of nowhere.
Along with that, the game has good audio, including music cues from the film, along with authentic sound effects (the bug screams are something else) and fairly usual soldier chatter. I’d like to see more actors from the film step up for this, but, remember, this game is still in development. At least get Michael Ironside to scream if we want to live forever. C’mon!
Everyone Fights, No One Quits
How you approach Starship Troopers: Extermination really depends on your love of the original movie. If you’re not familiar with it, the repetitive missions may throw you off slightly; and you may just wonder why everything isn’t simply nuked from orbit. (Because ground soldiers are better, that’s why!)
But fans and those that love a good sci-fi romp with their buddies should find a lot to enjoy in Extermination. Its authentic nature, paired with its good old-fashioned destruction and a reliably cool tower-defense system, makes it worth a look, even in its early state. The final game should really be something, provided we see more additions as time goes on.
As it stands, however, Extermination is well worth jumping into. Would you like to know more?
GAMERHUB RATING: 3.5 (out of 5) JOYSTICKS
