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Starshatter: The Gathering Storm is a strategy-oriented space combat simulator. It is a remake of the original Starshatter, and the basic gameplay style is not much different, though both graphics and sound effects have been redone with full Direct X 9 support.The story takes place in the distant future in a galaxy known as the "Blue Drift" region where the two colonial superpowers, The Terillian Alliance and the Marakan Hegemony are gridlocked in a cold war standoff that, following a civil war in a neighbouring neutral system, escalates into open conflict. The main game revolves around four dynamic campaigns, which generate different events every time they are played, though major events appear in every playthrough to maintain the story. Each campaign begins with each side having a set number of ships and fighters, which are the deployed to perform missions. The player is able to perform a wide variety of missions, such as patrols and interceptions. The missions are based on the current situation in the campaign. Missions take place mostly in space, though air missions often appears as enemy landing sites are discovered. The player also has a chance to join a ground based squadron. If the player is destroyed in action, he may continue playing, despite his/her supposed "death". As the game goes on with the player gaining ranks, the ability to control capital ships becomes available. Ships range from small anti-fighter frigates to large carriers. There are usually fewer mission choices for capital ships, though earlier missions will have more unofficial objectives to due to enemies between the player and his/her target. Eventually, the player can take control of the entire fleet, and command fighters and capital ships from a carrier. The game becomes purely tactical at this point. |
