Steel Storm: Burning Retribution

 PC
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 73 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 73
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 73
  3. Negative: 27 out of 73

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  1. phylumsinter
    Aug 4, 2011
    7
    This game was included in the Humble Indie Bundle, and i've played it for a good 5 hours as of this writing. The single player is simple: find enemy A to open force field B to reach exit C. This formula is tolerable, as there are usually some great moments of oldschool gunplay, ambushes and the like between A and C. What it doesn't provide, however, is a compelling reason to do anythingThis game was included in the Humble Indie Bundle, and i've played it for a good 5 hours as of this writing. The single player is simple: find enemy A to open force field B to reach exit C. This formula is tolerable, as there are usually some great moments of oldschool gunplay, ambushes and the like between A and C. What it doesn't provide, however, is a compelling reason to do anything except shoot - the story here is basically nonexistant, there are no characters that stick out in my mind and though it could be said that story is ALWAYS missing from this type of game, it would have been a welcome addition to this otherwise rather cookie-cutter shooter. That doesn't mean the game isn't a lot of fun for a bit, but it does mean that it doesn't leave a strong impression.

    The production level when it comes to sound feels quite decent, though you'll probably turn on your own music and turn down the basic sound fx (almost all explosions are the SAME explosion, etc). Again, serviceable, but nothing to write home about.

    The look of the game is unique - feeling detailed and cartoonish in equal measure - i wish there was more variety to the enemies... In spots, it feels like the old 'Desert Strike' isometric helicopter games of the 16-bit era with shots coming from all directions while you try to find a safe spot to flank from heavier enemies. Level design has some nice variety and clever puzzle-type elements and secret passageways that break up the monotony of "shoot-shoot-open door-shoot-shoot" that otherwise comprises the gameplay.

    This is for the developers: I love what you're working towards here, but it still feels like a work in progress. Give us some back story, or at least a combo scoring system (how about when you reach a quad kill, you speed up for 3 seconds? something along those lines). Likewise with scoring, an online leaderboard system and more fleshed out weapon system with upgradeable weapons would be awesome, and a great motivator to stay alive instead of charging into every situation. A way to collect cash and purchase stuff with points at the end of each level would make this game infinitely more replayable and a strong contender for full-price purchasing. I can feel this is a labor of love, I hope you read these possibilities and find a way to bring them to this awesome beginning of a series. With a little work and some additions, i have no problems seeing this become a full price game!

    Score 7 - points deducted for: overall game variety, length, sound design choices.

    **multiplayer does exist, but i was unable to find any games during my review period.    … Expand
  2. genoforprez
    Nov 6, 2011
    7
    This game is an extremely good romp as an arcade shooter. I enjoy it well enough playing with keyboard and mouse, but I absolutely love it with the 360 gamepad. It's not really a complex game. You just control a little ship that can rotate 360 degrees. You have infinite ammo but finite life. Shoot things until they explode, dodge bullets, and don't die! The game deserves to be knocked downThis game is an extremely good romp as an arcade shooter. I enjoy it well enough playing with keyboard and mouse, but I absolutely love it with the 360 gamepad. It's not really a complex game. You just control a little ship that can rotate 360 degrees. You have infinite ammo but finite life. Shoot things until they explode, dodge bullets, and don't die! The game deserves to be knocked down a few points, however, due to its rampant bugs. This is somewhat alleviated by the fact that it is sold at a very cheap asking price, but that does not change the fact that a commercially sold game should not sometimes start up with a black screen, shift half of the display offscreen during an in-game graphics change, suddenly lose textures, or just plain crash. For a commercial game, it still feels VERY beta. Hopefully they can get these issues worked out.… Expand
  3. gvazdas
    Aug 2, 2011
    6
    The game has some bugs and is very unpolished due to lag on my PC (my PC is quite strong and can run games on beautiful graphics). I do not know if it's a problem that the game is unpolished for ATI cards or not.
    The game has no story and therefore I was a little disappointed by that.
    The action is decent and unique, the weapons are also very fun to use. But, no matter what, the game is    The game has some bugs and is very unpolished due to lag on my PC (my PC is quite strong and can run games on beautiful graphics). I do not know if it's a problem that the game is unpolished for ATI cards or not.
    The game has no story and therefore I was a little disappointed by that.
    The action is decent and unique, the weapons are also very fun to use.
    But, no matter what, the game is literally a lagfest when you play multiplayer.
    On a match of 5 players in the Single-Player Objectives Missions, the game's FPS drops to 20 and lower. Therefore, the game is unplayable unless you have a strong platform to play it on.    … Expand
  4. KillDeer
    May 15, 2012
    7
    I paid a dollar for this game. It's worth at least twice that. Gameplay is a bit repetitive but its fun to play. The art and textures are fairly tight and have a nice style without sacrificing 3d graphix
  5. JonesR
    Dec 1, 2011
    7
    Wow! This game is WIN! It's both a top down and a 3rd person vehicle shooter (your choice). The 3rd person view rocks with the Borderlands cartoon style graphics. The game reminds me a lot of the old arcade shooter Tempest. Plus it's got some Madballs maze blasting. Online co-op up to 16...sick! Controller enabled! If you bought the humble pack and you've put this one off, don't wait anyWow! This game is WIN! It's both a top down and a 3rd person vehicle shooter (your choice). The 3rd person view rocks with the Borderlands cartoon style graphics. The game reminds me a lot of the old arcade shooter Tempest. Plus it's got some Madballs maze blasting. Online co-op up to 16...sick! Controller enabled! If you bought the humble pack and you've put this one off, don't wait any longer. it's time to play!… Expand
  6. Larux18
    Jan 25, 2012
    7
    After some pretty mediocre top-down shooters Steel Storm: Burning Retribution seems like haven with great weapons and excellent level design as well as multiplayer and its own level designer. But this game has a limit on how good it gets since sometimes it can feel a little bit lacking of the fun we see in other top-down shooters and it seems to get repetitive if you play it for to muchAfter some pretty mediocre top-down shooters Steel Storm: Burning Retribution seems like haven with great weapons and excellent level design as well as multiplayer and its own level designer. But this game has a limit on how good it gets since sometimes it can feel a little bit lacking of the fun we see in other top-down shooters and it seems to get repetitive if you play it for to much time and there are several bugs that can hopefully get fixed by patches soon enough. After I am done with the bad it seems that there is still hope for this game since there is a lot of fun to be had even on co-op multiplayer since it makes it funner blasting all the enemies with some friends. Fortunately the frame rate is great since I always had a solid 60FPS and the requirements to run this game are not that high. The cheap price of this game makes this a recommendable title despite some issues that can be fixed mostly by patches. I think this is worth your especially if you get it during a steam offer just make sure to download the demo first to see if this is your type of game.… Expand
  7. JimCorbett
    Dec 4, 2011
    5
    The combat in this game is the same throughout every level you play. There is no intro to tell you what controls do what, what the pickups do for you and so forth. It gets boring after about 20 minutes of play. If you paly it in mediation, however, you may be able to extend you play time. I personally finished all the levels in about 6 hours on singleplayer. Not really worth a pickupThe combat in this game is the same throughout every level you play. There is no intro to tell you what controls do what, what the pickups do for you and so forth. It gets boring after about 20 minutes of play. If you paly it in mediation, however, you may be able to extend you play time. I personally finished all the levels in about 6 hours on singleplayer. Not really worth a pickup unless you are a fan of these type of games.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
55

Mixed or average reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. PC Gamer
    Aug 11, 2011
    65
    Simple, explosion-packed action is what SS:BR looks like, and that's exactly what it'll deliver. Nothing more, nothing less. [Oct 2011, p.78]
  2. Everyeye.it
    Jun 14, 2011
    75
    Steel Storm is a nice scrolling shooter, with a few innovative features (as the first person view you can activate at will). Too bad it delivers a quite short experience.
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  3. MEGamers
    Jun 13, 2011
    60
    Its good fun, but only for limited time and then it gets pale.
    Read full review
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