Reviewed: August 20, 2003
Reviewed by: John Bowlin / Mark Smith
Publisher
Garage Games
Developer
PomPom
Released: August 8, 2003
Genre: Arcade Shooter
Players: 2
ESRB: Everyone
8
9
6
7
8.1
System Requirements
John - GarageGames is a web-based game publisher that has smaller, budget games available for purchase and download right off their web site at www.garagegames.com. I have not had a chance to play any of their games before playing Mutant Storm, but if this game is any indication of the quality of their games, then I think I may have been overlooking a very nice resource for those smaller, more addictive little arcade style games. Mutant Storm gets its roots from the old arcade classic Robotron, complete with the ability to move and shoot in different directions. It is a very classy version of that old school arcade game.
Mark – Personally, I feel Garage Games is selling themselves a bit short by comparing Mutant Storm to only Robotron. I’ve been sneaking in sessions of Mutant Storm 3-4 times per day (everyday) for several weeks now and I have seen gameplay elements from Tempest, Asteroids, Space Invaders and of course the self-proclaimed Robotron and Smash TV. This is addictive arcade gaming at its very best.
John - Typically you will want to move and shoot in different directions and Mutant Storm is designed with this ability in mind. The game also supports a dual-stick Gamepad, which would probably be ideal for this type of arcade game, but unfortunately I didn't have the appropriate hardware to try this. Mutant Storm lets you redefine the controls but I had no problems using the default number keypad and mouse while I was playing it. The game lets you move with the keyboard and aim/fire with the mouse. Even the keyboard controls coupled with the mouse made for some pretty decent controls, though, and the game was very responsive.
Mutant Storm basically just sends wave after wave of enemies at you that you must clear out, there's no story or anything to get in the way of its pure "twitch" arcade style fun. It gets more and more challenging with each new level. Sometimes like in Robotron there will be big hulking enemies that can block your fire to try and prevent you from killing off all the enemies. Some of them do shoot back so you have to maneuver around and avoid getting hit. Also there are crystal-like asteroids on some of the levels that break apart into smaller chunks when you hit them reminding me a lot of Asteroids, another great classic arcade game.
Every now and then you'll get the opportunity to pick up a power-up which can make your weapon stronger or give it heat seeking missiles or multi-shot or give you a shield or something along those lines. Picking up the power-ups before they fade away is pretty important for finishing the levels. You can also use a limited number of "smart bombs" to blast away lots of enemies at once. One nice feature of the game is that it will adapt the difficulty to your ability level.
Mark - Not much I can add here except I too started off playing Mutant Storm with the mouse and keyboard then I remembered I had a brand new Saitek P2500 Gamepad. My first game using the gamepad had me reaching level 22, whereas I was lucky to break the 10th level mark using the mouse and keyboard.
The ability for true analog movement in any direction with one stick while firing in any direction with the other is unparalleled. This is the “ultimate gamepad game” and I encourage any gamepad manufacturers to contact Garage Games immediately and make a deal to bundle Mutant Storm with your product.
John - The game let me go up to 1024x768 and it has some nice colorful 3D effects, but this is strictly an arcade shooter, it's not like there's a lot of textures or level design to appreciate here. The graphics are suitable for the genre and they have a kind of psychedelic style to them. It's like your in some kind of bad trip 70's nightmare and you have to blast your way out of it.
Mark - Here is where I have to disagree with John, as I was literally blown away by the graphics. Sure, they aren’t in the same league as the big AAA titles using the latest 3D engines, but Mutant Storm ran at an amazing 1600x1200x32 with Trilienar filtering and 100% particle effects at blistering framerates. Each of the 89 levels (or at least the 31 I've seen) were breathtaking with swirling vaporous backgrounds and pulsating glowing colors on the foreground objects.
Your ship and those of the enemies are nothing more than simple icons really with little detail, but you can easily recognize the various shapes, which also indicate the threat level. Some of the larger enemies like the jellyfish and the rotating gun turrets showed much more creativity.
Special effects are wonderful ranging from a variety of lasers and missiles to the radiating smart bombs blasts and spinning defensive shield array. Everything is overly saturated with color and just a marvel to watch, let alone play.
The screenshots can’t do this game justice since they are still frames of a game that is CONSTANTLY in motion. The board will tilt at crazy angles base on your position relative to the center and as the number or enemies decrease the camera slowly zooms in to frame you and the furthest enemy. The intro and exit animations for each level are so fluid that motion sickness is almost guaranteed.
John - The sound effects were noisy and irritating, I don't think there was any real music to listen to but I quickly turned off the speakers when playing this game since the sounds did nothing but distract me. Suffice it to say, the game was not hurt by the lack of sound, although some nice soothing music would have been nice, or maybe more appropriately some Iron Butterfly In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
Mark - There is no music but the sound effects are ripped directly from all of those 70’s and 80’s arcade games listed above. While they might be “noisy and irritating” they are also perfectly matched to the style of gameplay. I’d swear the entire Tempest sound library is buried in this game complete with futuristic sounds and that hollow reverb that gives the game a “spacey” feel. For even more fun, turn down the sounds (not all the way) and pop in some Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream, or Enigma.
John - There are supposed to be 89 levels here, more than enough to kick anyone's butt I'm sure. I never got to see even half of them but they are generally very similar, just more and more baddies to blast away with each successive level. If you manage to beat all 89 levels you are supposed to be awarded a "white belt" and can then proceed through them again, getting all 8 belts up to the Mutant Storm Black Belt level. Apparently you have to have godlike reflexes to get to this level, so that counts me out.
There is also a two player mode that I didn't have the opportunity to try but it looked like it could have been a lot of fun, you get to play two players on the screen at the same time so you can team up to blast away all the little weird critters in wave after wave. Even if you can't try the multiplayer mode, you might like the idea of the global high score list online that lets you compete with other players who also have the game.
Mark - I’ve logged at least 20 hours with this game over the past two weeks and I just hit level 31 today. Yes – the game is that hard, but the great thing is it is so addicting that you will keep coming back for more and never get tired. You will eventually learn the patterns of the enemies and develop tactics for each level. On my 31-level game I made it to level 22 before I lost my first ship. When I first started playing Mutant Storm I lost a ship on just about every level.
The game does checkpoint after every 10 levels so you can start a new game at your highest checkpoint, but (and this is a big BUT) you are not awarded a Starting Level Bonus. This means if you start at level 20 you will not have as high a score as if you had worked your way up from the first level. Tempest players will remember that you could start from checkpoint levels and get an bonus to instantly boost your score.
The two-player mode that John mentioned is still in beta form but should be fully implemented soon. It’s a nice option to have, but I thought the game was considerably more fun solo and in my case I only had one gamepad so player 2 had to resort to the mouse/keyboard combo.
Since this game can be downloaded from www.garagegames.com at a budget price, that offers a very good value if you like arcade style games.
John - What is there left to say? If you enjoy twitch style arcade games then you will enjoy Mutant Storm. If you remember the classic Robotron and enjoyed that game you should really get a special kick out of Mutant Storm, since it's for all intents and purposes an updated modernized version of that classic style of game.
Mark - If you have ever played any of the arcade games I mentioned above then go download this game immediately. If you have a dual analog gamepad then download this game immediately. This is one of those rare pieces of software that doesn’t commandeer a major portion of your system or your life. You can sneak in a quick game at lunch, or whenever you have a free 10-30 minutes. As addictive as crack and as hallucinogenic as LSD, you might need some rehab after a few weeks of Mutant Storm.