Take the fight back to the bug menace on a new planet. Become a Federation recruit in Starship Troopers: Continuum.
Many stories exist where bugs are the biggest problem. At times, they’re not too hard to handle. But Starship Troopers: Continuum makes sure to emphasize the “big” part. Inspired by the 1997 movie directed by Paul Verhoeven, the game sees new Federation recruits dealing with the bug scourge. Many different classes of bugs exist in the massive force that has dug in. Each with its own unique behavior, it is a wonder if any recruits will survive initial military service.
Landing on the planet of Janus-4, the Federation seeks to take control of the tidally locked planet and drive the threat from the surface. Whether or not the Federation’s goals will be realized is up to the recruits sent on the missions. Mind your ammo and be sure to scan your environment frequently in Starship Troopers: Continuum.
The bugs will stop at nothing to put down Federation soldiers without remorse. One missing magazine can spell the end for a From developer X R Games Limited, comes an arcade shooter with loads of action and no need to constantly feed quarters to an arcade box.
Similar to the start of the movie, Starship Troopers: Continuum throws players directly into the conflict. There is some time to prepare, but depending on the mission, certain loadouts may feel as though they lack effectiveness. One of the most important things to consider: how effective are certain weapons against specific bugs? Each player is given a set number of lives, usually 5. These lives are shared by a set of recruits a player might choose from in the Continuum. Once spent, it is “Game Over” for the player.
Starting out in Starship Troopers: Continuum isn’t too hard as there is a short tutorial well before a player sees action. Using a tutorial stage, the game explains the controls to the player in a simulation. It’s a nice feature since controls are as straightforward as a garden-variety arcade shooter. It allows one the luxury of gauging the effectiveness of specific firearms.
Once in the game, it was only possible to choose a gun when a checkpoint computer gave access to the Federation’s weapons surplus. Each gun that hasn’t been equipped to the character already costs a set price. The only way to gain this spending money is to complete both missions and the majority of their objectives.
There are two orientations that a player can choose from. Seated or Standing are the two positional settings in Starship Troopers: Continuum. Aside from that, a player can choose blink movement or smooth movement. For those wanting a truly immersive experience, Standing with smooth movement is probably the best. It is probably pretty hard to turn around and take out enemies from a seated position.
Behind the left shoulder is the side arm and behind the right is the main firearm. Using the second trigger on either controller, one can grab each respective weapon this way. To drop an empty magazine in Starship Troopers: Continuum, one will press Y or B depending on the controller being used at the time. Auto reload might be the most helpful feature in the game. Similar to arcade boxes, one must point down and press either X or A to reload the weapon. Manual reload gives one a set damage bonus, and while useful, it spells disaster for a solo player.
Warrior bugs, the most recognizable from the movie, are the second most annoying creatures in Starship Troopers: Continuum. Because of how they swarm, it’s a bit of a task to keep any given area clear of them. As a solo player, I found myself at death’s door many times because of just how long manual reload takes. Auto-reload is the only workaround for this issue. That’s fine, because automatic weapons seem to make very short work of the Warrior bugs. Because of how they swarm, turning with my back against a sheer wall kept me from suffering strikes from behind.
One of the things that took a bit of time to notice was the way the bugs recover. Some might run away to dig back into the ground for a few seconds. Others will stay in place and crouch, leaving only the armor plate on top of their head exposed. If left alone for too long in this state, Warriors will recover the majority of their health in no time.
It may take a couple of bullets to punch through, but there are always grenades I can throw at the bugs. Limited to four, grenades begin counting down once released from a player’s hand. This can be dangerous if one fumbles a grenade and it lands at their feet, which happened to me many times.
The blast radius of a given grenade is surprisingly expansive. Even if an enemy is of the flying variety, the blast coming from right under them takes them right out. With flying bugs having annoyingly frequent movement, grenades are a good way to save on ammunition. Of course frag grenades aren’t the only type one can use. A fair amount of gameplay and experience later a flash-bang can also be acquired. Using this is good for anyone seeking a path away from enemies in order to recover.
Warriors are not the only class that a player must deal with in Starship Troopers: Continuum. Just like in the movie, recruits must deal with the larger bugs many times. A few times, I came into contact with the larger bugs. They are slow, but each attack is essentially a one-shot kill. Glancing blows from their attacks severely damage a player, even if they’re just close to the target area.
The Spitter is one of the few larger bugs a player encounters in the game. Using a plasma spark to ignite the liquid in their body, they unleash a stream of fire. As these bugs are heavily armored, sharing the same type of carapace as a Hercules Beetle, conventional fire is mostly ineffective. Some hits from a rocket launcher will soften the creature up enough to be taken down by gunfire from a rifle.
During a fight with what’s known as a Plasma, enemies pour into the arena from virtually every direction. I found that semi-auto and full auto weapons are most effective for this fight. With the ability to dual wield at any time, one can regularity take out minion level enemies while waiting for an opening.
There are supply boxes that have grenades and magazines respectively. One must scan their hand in order to open these. It’s a dangerous choice to make, as it takes a few seconds with the hand steadily set on the scanner. Plasmas are ridiculously large compared to human recruits, but they remain stationary. This is an big advantage in Starship Troopers: Continuum, as they cannot escape the blast of a hail of grenades.
Each round is far more effective once their life bar changes to red. It is not hard to bust out both guns and wail on the giant bug. This fight is only made more difficult by the flying bugs that show up to aid the boss creature. Their hit box is one of the tiniest in Starship Troopers: Continuum, and they move very fast. With all the explosive barrels that litter this arena, they’re only hard to take out if one is not careful about their aim. For anyone unfortunate enough to be hit by their plasma bolt, it’s a one-hit kill if it makes direct contact.
The variety of guns available in Starship Troopers: Continuum is fantastic. For my personal play style, the Magnum appears to be the best side arm. While it only has a six-round chamber, its ability to punch through is unmatched by the other handguns that are eventually unlocked. Every rifle has variable amounts of recoil. The Morita, made famous by the movie, has the least amount of recoil.
One can compensate for the recoil of any rifle weapon by holding the handle at the far end. Starship Troopers: Continuum gives players access to one gun with one-hundred-round magazines. This is great for providing cover fire, but the recoil renders it ineffective for anyone looking to shoot with both hands.
Starship Troopers: Continuum levels are littered with various collectibles for players to find. Some look like the eagle on the Terran Federation’s crest. These help players unlock certain things that can only be accessed at camp. Other hidden items include seemingly inconspicuous helmets, that unlock varied amounts of experience. Depending on how much XP a person already has, it may help one get past a level they need to. Also, littered around the levels are Mobile Infantry helmets. These particular items allow a player unlock different customization for their soldiers’ avatars.
The graphics for Starship Troopers: Continuum are fantastic, considering what traditional arcade shooters look like. Humans are about as tall as the player wearing the visor. Being in a VR setting, the game really puts into perspective just how big the bug creatures are in comparison to the average human adult. Aside from the winged warrior bugs, it is likely many aren’t familiar with the bugs that look like a triangular shield. It is quite amazing as well to see just how the larger bugs scale compared to their smaller counterparts.
Music for the Starship Troopers: Continuum is fantastic and accompanies the adventure of the game really well. One might infer the game takes direct inspiration from the movie franchise for its audio. Each level has its own specific music track when the action gets more intense. When the tempo of the music increases and the enemies continue to pour into a level section, it’s hard not to feel like the ultimate Federation infantry unit.
Voice acting for Starship Troopers: Continuum is fantastic. Though, it is a bit cartoony when it comes to the soldiers themselves dying. But that is honestly in line with how death occurs in the movie franchise. While some may want a bit of realism for those parts, die-hard fans likely don’t have a problem with it. I feel it adds to the hilarity and ridiculousness of humans fighting giant bugs.
Starship Troopers: Continuum is a fantastic game for fans of the franchise. But it’s also a good time for anyone wanting to satisfy their nostalgia for arcade shooters. Having played through a fair chunk of the game, each level offers enough variety to keep battling enemies from being too boring. Weapon selection is amazing and the weapon market is a very nice touch.
For Starship Troopers: Continuum players looking for a team-up, multiplayer is also available. While it is a great feature to have, it appears that most current players are only online during the day. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to gather a team of random players any time past 9 p.m. It is possible to team up with friends who have the game as well. Additionally, those participating in a multi-person squad can see their stats versus others upon returning to the home base.
With a rating system that grades people on mission effectiveness, there is a good amount of replay value in Starship Troopers: Continuum. There’s nothing wrong with spamming the same mission repeatedly for the experience, as they do not end quickly. The game takes place 25 years after the first movie, so fans are treated to an entirely fresh storyline, giving the title its own time to shine. If you are a fan of classic-inspired titles or arcade shooters, be sure to check this one out.
