Logic is a GOOD thing. Review

Logic is a GOOD thing.

Well, Well, Well, and as I review yet ANOTHER strategic title I’ve found the main flaw with this game to be that THIS ENTIRE GAME MAKES NO DAMN SENSE!!! I think I’ll start off my whole review by stating that the people who came up with the idea of having islands float around in the air connected by bridges has got to start sleeping more and lay off the speed. The ideas for games these days are getting more and more ridiculous. And yet, they keep on making them! Someone make the madness stop!

And another thing… each

unit has its own disability. I can understand that much, I think it’s a good

idea to have each weapon have its own weakness, otherwise the game’s no fair.

But to what end? The cannons in NetStorm can only shoot in 90 degree

angles (either straight up or down, or straight left and right). WHY??? If I’m

going to buy a god damned cannon, I want it to shoot every direction I please

or I want to know why!!!

And don’t even get me started on how stupid the unit AI is (that’s right,

the guy in your computer controlling YOUR units). Your units attack the closest

enemy object, only. Not the enemy that you want to attack, NOOOO, we’re not

smart enough for that, we have to attack the closest object!!! And your golems

(like peons in Warcraft, they get you money) will walk

off a broken bridge to their death because the AI is too stupid to realize that

that section of bridge has been broken off. The units are so stupid, it takes

the heart out of a strategical attack. When you have to plan for all the stupid

stuff the programmers were too lazy to do themselves, you find yourself wondering

why the hell you’re playing the game.

As for game play, NetStorm isn’t that bad, it’s really ingenuitive and actually quite original. NetStorm is definitely unlike anything you’ve ever played. Multi-Player games (which is what NetStorm was originally designed for) are much more interesting than single player missions. NetStorm is set up so that when you play multi player missions, you can choose to play against people of different technology levels. Instead of like other games where you pre-determine the technology level before the game for everyone, your tech level permanently advances throughout the entire time you own and play the game. This can viewed as good or bad thing.

The good news is, you get

to advance through the different levels and eventually become God and

kick everyone’s ass, and the bad news is, when you start out, everyone kicks

your ass. So no matter what game you play, very rarely is there a level playing

field. I must admit, however, this is very refreshing compared to other titles,

and unlike Warcraft and C&C,

you don’t have to start over from scratch every single time! I’d have to say

this is the only truly satisfying part about the entire game. Even though it

makes no sense, and the game is poorly assembled, when you actually start playing

and you’re lucky enough to get an even match (so the game is actually fun),

it’s not all that bad. Unfortunately, when you look at the game from its different

perspectives, separately, you get a pretty ugly picture.

Graphics are mediocre. While some effects during game play like sacrificing the opponent’s priest are pretty cool, most of the units and buildings are decent but nothing to be proud of. For the most part, graphics were below average, and I was not impressed.

As for sounds, they’re even more annoying than KKND!!!

DAMN! That’s pretty bad. No variety whatsoever in sounds at all, most are simply

generic. Whereas in Warcraft there were multiple acknowledgments,

you only get one per unit in NetStorm, and boy, are they bad.

If you’re someone who buys those “nature CDs” that have the sound of the ocean recorded on it, then you’ll like the music in NetStorm. Since the loose plot surrounding the game is based on weather elements (rain, wind and thunder), I guess someone thought they’d be smart and put some of those “peaceful nature” tracks on the game. I didn’t like it, maybe other’s will, but I’ll leave that up to you.

To sum up NetStorm for you: it is refreshing, and probably as original

as you can get in this genre, but I saw Activision doing a lot of stuff with

the game that didn’t make any sense. Most people who like the way that Warcraft,

C&C, or Dark Reign

was setup, will probably dislike this title. My advice to you is to be cautious.

Go download the demo

first, before you buy. This game will be split up and down the middle in terms

of who likes it and who doesn’t. But in my opinion, this is definitely the most

frustrating strategy game I’ve ever played.