Stormrise

The imprecise controls, bad AI and a completely missing overview make this game more hassle than fun. Stormrise raises a storm – of frustration!

We don’t know if the concepts of Stormrise will be followed for the future of the RTS genre in consoles, but now it is a game pumped with great ideas though these are not well executed. Strategy hardcores can find in it interesting entertainment, but as precursory of a new IP this first effort is pretty disappointing, especially in this PC edition.

That's one thing we didn't want to know: That Creative Assembly can create bad games, too. The main reason for this is a new control concept that went terribly wrong. It's almost impossible to control your troops which enables the otherwise dumb AI opponents (no control problems there) to dominate in massive battles. In addition to being unplayable, Stormrise requires Windows Vista and a DirectX 10-card, too.

What started as a strategy experiment became the worst case scenario of gaming. Ugly, impossible to handle and extremely demanding for hardware, Stormrise is possibly the worst strategy game of the year! If this is the future of RTS, I’d rather stay in the past!

Real time strategy with mediocre features, twisted storyline and boring gameplay looking for experienced gamer with a Vista PC. No takers? I am not surprised. Issuing orders is such an unnecessarily complicated task here that it takes a real effort not to throw the mouse in frustration. [May 2009]

The only things you'll get out of Stormrise are a headache and a stress-related heart attack from trying to select a unit. [June 2009, p.66]

A great idea that's failed because of execution. [May 2009, p.96]

Is there a single person at SEGA or at the Creative Assembly who thinks they made a really good game? A game someone would want to buy? It’s about time to consider some sacking in both companies. [Apr 2009]

An awful vision of strategy's future. [May 2009, p.69]

One can’t blame this failure on the studio's youth or lack of experience. The Creative Assembly Australia are not some clumsy outsourcers. After all, the well-received Kingdoms expansion to Medieval 2: Total War was entirely their doing. This is why Stormrise is not just another faceless RTS clone, but a total disaster.

A simple design idea for controllers created a massive chain reaction in how the game is played, and frankly, it’s for the worst.

It's a re-invented fifth wheel on a car driving the wrong way up a one-way street. [Issue#20, p.55]

There are so many incredible RTS games on the PC -- Stormrise is not one of them. Avoid it at all costs.