Super Stardust HD Will Turn Your Thumbs Into Dust
And you'll keep coming back for more.
Published: July 9, 2007
Super Stardust HD is a new version of the classic shooter released on the Amiga 500 in 1993 developed by Finnish developer Housemarque, but you wouldn't know that had I not just told you -- the game kept a pretty low profile until it was released. The game stealthily debuted on the Playstation Network recently at the moderately low price of $7.99.
Stardust isn't very verbose, dumping you into the game after a brief menu explanation of the various power-ups and weapon types. At first, players will be fooled by the seemingly simple gameplay: destroy incoming asteroids and don't get killed. This is the core aspect of the gameplay, but thankfully, Stardust has a wealth of strategies and depth as you progress through the game. There are a total of 5 planets with 5 phases, each bringing more and more waves of debris that rival the clutter seen here in the TPS office. The asteroids have a pretty simple trajectory, they just float around and will change course if a stray bullet chips away at them. Unfortunately for you, there are nastier hazards out there in the SSHD galaxy: all kinds of enemies from metallic snakelike bosses to UFOs can't wait to get their hands on you. These are much harder to deal with, because they will actively chase you as you try to kill them off and simultaneously dodge assorted space junk. Be sure to look out for the green rocks: they contain powerups, shields, extra lives, etc.
Simple controls make staying alive an easier task. Instead of complicating the gameplay, they complement it. Shoulder buttons handle weapons and a boost ability that allows you to run away from trouble in a pinch, while the two analog sticks control movement and shooting. There is no motion functionality, but it's for the best: any implementation of this feature would serve as little more than a distraction, and probably make the game needlessly difficult.
The enemies and rocks are different on each planet, and although the idea remains the same throughout the game, you'll have to adopt different strategies and plan ahead. Weapons can be strengthened to 100% each, with a temporary 200% overdrive. It is important to think about what weapon would best take out the asteroids and boss you are going to face in the future, because you're all but screwed if you find yourself without the right tool for the job. The longer you go without kicking the bucket, the higher your point multiplier climbs, giving you a much needed boost when beating a phase early or grabbing point powerups that litter the planets.
One feature that we are disappointed to see left out is a multiplayer co-op mode. Although there is a local co-op, which is somewhat limiting due to the fact that two players have to share the same screen, we can't help but wish SSHD offered more. Unfortunately for gamers, the potential for online multiplayer goes unrealized. The game does have an online leaderboard though, which makes it easy to compete with your friends for bragging rights -- but good luck beating the rest of the world, the current top scores are in the hundreds of millions.
Marred slightly by a lack of online multiplayer, which isn't a huge deal (especially considering that Stardust isn't a full retail title), Super Stardust HD is an absolute blast.
Stardust isn't very verbose, dumping you into the game after a brief menu explanation of the various power-ups and weapon types. At first, players will be fooled by the seemingly simple gameplay: destroy incoming asteroids and don't get killed. This is the core aspect of the gameplay, but thankfully, Stardust has a wealth of strategies and depth as you progress through the game. There are a total of 5 planets with 5 phases, each bringing more and more waves of debris that rival the clutter seen here in the TPS office. The asteroids have a pretty simple trajectory, they just float around and will change course if a stray bullet chips away at them. Unfortunately for you, there are nastier hazards out there in the SSHD galaxy: all kinds of enemies from metallic snakelike bosses to UFOs can't wait to get their hands on you. These are much harder to deal with, because they will actively chase you as you try to kill them off and simultaneously dodge assorted space junk. Be sure to look out for the green rocks: they contain powerups, shields, extra lives, etc.
Simple controls make staying alive an easier task. Instead of complicating the gameplay, they complement it. Shoulder buttons handle weapons and a boost ability that allows you to run away from trouble in a pinch, while the two analog sticks control movement and shooting. There is no motion functionality, but it's for the best: any implementation of this feature would serve as little more than a distraction, and probably make the game needlessly difficult.
The enemies and rocks are different on each planet, and although the idea remains the same throughout the game, you'll have to adopt different strategies and plan ahead. Weapons can be strengthened to 100% each, with a temporary 200% overdrive. It is important to think about what weapon would best take out the asteroids and boss you are going to face in the future, because you're all but screwed if you find yourself without the right tool for the job. The longer you go without kicking the bucket, the higher your point multiplier climbs, giving you a much needed boost when beating a phase early or grabbing point powerups that litter the planets.
One feature that we are disappointed to see left out is a multiplayer co-op mode. Although there is a local co-op, which is somewhat limiting due to the fact that two players have to share the same screen, we can't help but wish SSHD offered more. Unfortunately for gamers, the potential for online multiplayer goes unrealized. The game does have an online leaderboard though, which makes it easy to compete with your friends for bragging rights -- but good luck beating the rest of the world, the current top scores are in the hundreds of millions.
Marred slightly by a lack of online multiplayer, which isn't a huge deal (especially considering that Stardust isn't a full retail title), Super Stardust HD is an absolute blast.
