| Super Stardust HD | |
|---|---|
PlayStation Store icon |
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| Developer(s) | Housemarque |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Director(s) | Harri Tikkanen (creative director) |
| Producer(s) | Ivan Davies (senior producer) |
| Designer(s) | Harri Tikkanen |
| Composer(s) | Ari Pulkkinen |
| Version | 6.00 |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable |
| Release date(s) | PlayStation 3
PlayStation Portable
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| Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, co-operative multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | Download |
Super Stardust HD is a downloadable game for the PlayStation 3 video game console developed by the Finnish company Housemarque. It is also known as Star Strike HD in Japan.
The game objective is similar to the classic Asteroids and Robotron: 2084 that requires the player to destroy virtually everything on screen combined with a frenetic pace that is more reminiscent of modern titles such as Geometry Wars. The game itself is an enhanced version of the classic Amiga game Super Stardust, itself a sequel to the game Stardust. Super Stardust HD was one of the games given by Sony as part of their 'Welcome Back' package because of the PlayStation intrusion.
A version for PlayStation Portable titled Super Stardust Portable was released in November 2008.
Contents |
The objective of Super Stardust HD is to score as many points as possible by destroying rocks and enemies. The player controls a small fighter that can move in any direction on a spherical shield surrounding a planet, while simultaneously firing in any direction independent of its movement. The ship is equipped with three unlimited-fire weapons ('Rock Crusher', 'Gold Melter', and 'Ice Splitter'), a limited arsenal of bombs, and a boost capability that grants a brief moment of invincibility and recharges after use. The player can upgrade their ship's primary weapons, equip the ship with a single-use shield, earn extra lives and points, and increase their supply of bombs, by collecting power-up tokens dropped by certain rocks and enemies. The game is over when the player has lost all of their lives.
The planetary shield that serves as the game's playfield is bombarded by waves of rocks that begin drifting in random directions around the planet. Each rock is made of one of three materials that is most easily destroyed by a particular weapon (though all rocks can be destroyed by any weapon). Additionally, various enemies (also susceptible to certain weapons) arrive in waves and attempt to destroy the player by either colliding with or shooting at him/her. Contact with these enemies or rocks will result in one life lost or if you have only one life it will result in a game over.
Super Stardust HD provides several modes of play, such as arcade, planet mode, and endless each with their own online leaderboards. The default game mode, Arcade, takes the player through a series of five planets, each consisting of five main phases, the last of which is a boss battle. Planet Mode allows the player to play any one of five planets in the same way, ending the game after the planet is complete. Both of these modes support both single-player and two-player cooperative play. Endless mode is where you face an endless wave of enemies where you try to get the highest score.
The Solo add-on pack (available for download via the PlayStation Store) adds several extra gameplay modes. Endless Mode pits the player against a continuous onslaught of rocks and enemies, gradually speeding up the action over time. Survival Mode challenges the player to last as long as possible while the playfield is filled with indestructible objects. Bomber Mode challenges the player to score as many points as he/she can using only bombs and a single life – primary weapons and the boost ability are disabled. Finally, Time Attack mode challenges the player to complete a planet's worth of rocks and enemies in the shortest time possible - losing a life in this mode incurs a 3-minute penalty. Solo expansion was released in April 2008.
With the release of game update version 2.40 on the 2 July 2008, Playstation trophy support was added to the title. This made Super Stardust HD the first official title to release trophy support on the Playstation 3. A total of 17 trophies are available for the game.[3]
A new Team Pack was also released on 2 July 2008 which includes split-screen co-op and deathmatch modes. The pack also offers an additional orchestral soundtrack in 5.1 surround and a ship editor. The Team Pack was available for purchase ingame or via the PlayStation Store before being removed with the 2.40 firmware. It was reinstated on July 15, 2008, in a store update after Sony's E3 press conference.
Stereoscopic 3D support was demonstrated in CES 2010 and was released in June in the same year. Super Stardust HD was the first 3D game for the PS3 that runs 720p resolution in 60 frame/s for both eyes (120 frame/s).[4] Original 2D version supports full 1080p/60 frame/s.[5]
A new Impact Mode (available for download via the PlayStation Store) add-on pack was released in April 2011.[6] The weapon system of the ship is now fitted with an experimental new matter-to-energy boost engine technology. Players can activate the boost and stay in boost as long as they can hit meteors and enemies with it. Impact Mode also features much higher score multipliers.
Metacritic awarded the game a 85 out of 100 on PS3[11] and 69 out of 100 on PSP.[12]
Super Stardust HD has sold approximately 400,000 units for the PS3 as of September 2010.[13]