Game:

Sturmwind (2013)

Duration: 13:39

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What is this? It's Sturmwind (or Sturmwind: Windstärke 12), a game published by RedSpotGames and developed by Duranik. Some time ago, I heard about this game and preordered it...so long ago that I actually forgot about it until recently (an email in my inbox). Originally in development for a long time (since 1997...originally under the name of "Native" for the Atari Jaguar CD), the game was finally shipped out on April 24 (at least for me) from RedSpotGames and can be obtained at Play-Asia as well.

The funny thing about this is that I accidentally bought this game twice when I didn't exactly intend to (though games like this don't come often and it's good for the publisher/developer). I bought a Limited Edition version of this game from RSG and it was later revealed that you could get a stuffed plush of "Krakor" (an enemy in the game). However, my original order didn't have it. It was said that you could also buy a few LEs from Play-Asia that had the plush included, so that's what I did...buying a second LE in the process. Little had I known, if I just checked RSG's website out, I could have bought the plush by itself and added it to my order. Instead, I jumped the gun and thought that the plush was a Play-Asia incentive or something. Ah well. To make things interesting, I got my Play-Asia order first, even though I ordered RSG's copy a long time ago...I need it though because I bought two other Dreamcast games; Rush Rush Rally Racing and Wind and Water.

You can read some more about Sturmwind at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturmwind

and you can get the game at:

http://www.play-asia.com/Sturmwind_Windstrke_12_Limited_Deluxe_Edition_w_Krakor/paOS-13-71-x-49-en-70-500n.html

and

http://www.redspotgames.com/shop/

^ Bear in mind that the LE seems to be out of stock on RSG's page and I don't know how long Play-Asia will have copies.

To move along, what the Wiki article doesn't cover is the gameplay (for the most part). You have three difficulty settings and can get trophies that unlock bonus content in the game when you meet certain criteria during the course of the game (that you can conveniently look-up). When you're done configuring options or looking up trophy requirements, you can choose between two modes: Normal Mode (featuring all 16 levels with the ability to continue where you left off) and Arcade Mode (where you play through 6 stages and try to get the highest score...you can't continue though).

You will dispose of most of the space scum you deal with using three primary weapons: "L" or "Lichtblitz" (a versatile weapon of pretty good power, spread and the ability to protect above and below the ship), "N" or "Nordwest" (low power, but excellent spread as you see in the video; good against weaklings) and "R" or "Rudel" (Very powerful, but has low spread compared to the others and can't protect your top or bottom). Sturmwind is a pretty good shooter in the sense that while it is relatively simple, it does what it does well. For starters, the game ensures that every weapon is very useful in different circumstances (should you understand when and how to apply the right weapon for the right task). Sure, level 1-2 is manageable without Nordwest, but it's a heck of a lot easier if you use it right. However, you can challenge yourself as much or as little as you like.

Besides the primary weapons, you have the option of shooting from the rear to get sneaky enemies, fire a powerful charged blast (but can overheat and "sustain damage"...explained further on) and deploy the handy dandy (and super powerful) smartbomb in a pinch. Furthermore, grabbing a weapon upgrade that is the same letter as the weapon you are currently firing will give you up to two "options" that increase the firepower of your ship and protect you from damage. Speaking of damage, your ship essentially can take three hits before being destroyed. You start with your three weapons (and can switch between them), but when hit, you lose the weapon currently equipped and it becomes "OUT". If all three weapons slots say OUT, you lose. However, grabbing a weapon upgrade with a weapon that is OUT will restore it (at level 1 power) and as such, weapons are your life. When you charge a blast shot, you lose your weapon if it "overheats" while charging. There's an online leaderboard where you enter a unique code and put up your score and point multipliers...relatively simple....very functional.

Sturmwind is visually excellent for Dreamcast; there are plenty of colorful explosions and vibrant background activity and VERY detailed bosses and animations. The game usually runs at a blistering 60 (or 50) FPS with usually pretty small slowdown that doesn't hamper the experience much. The soundtrack is awesome too...to summarize (since I'm running out of text), the game is a good shooter and one of the few "post-death" (and "indie") Dreamcast games that really struck me as interesting (not Trigger Heart and some of those other shooters).

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