Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy, also known as simply Starship Troopers in the U.S., is a real-time tactics video game developed by Blue Tongue Entertainment and published by Hasbro Interactive under the MicroProse label in 2000. The game is based on both the 1997 movie Starship Troopers and the 1959 book Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein.
| Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Blue Tongue Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Hasbro Interactive[a] |
| Director(s) | Nick Hagger |
| Designer(s) | Nick Hagger |
| Programmer(s) | Shane Stevens |
| Artist(s) | Lloyd Chidgzey, Glen Dunstan |
| Writer(s) | Nick Hagger |
| Composer(s) | Stephan Schütze |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Real-time tactics |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Plot
editThe game is divided into three acts following the player's Mobile Infantry platoon from the start to the end of the war.
Act 1
editOn October 18, 2369, the player's platoon is first deployed to Klendathu at the start of the war only for the mission to end with a general retreat. The player's platoon, however gets stranded during the evacuation and is forced to deal with Plasma bugs to facilitate extraction, while saving any allied MI squads in the area. Shortly after Klendathu, on November 23, 2369, the player's platoon is sent to Zegema Beach to extract a weapons supply convoy in the area. Shortly after Zegema Beach, the player's platoon is deployed to the Arachnid Quarantine Zone in Dentana to save the local civilians in the area, while capturing a live Arachnid specimen in the process on January 20, 2370. The last two missions for this act take place in Planet P on February 28 and March 1, 2370, where the player is deployed to secure Whiskey Outpost while capturing further bug specimens. The act ends with the player's platoon in a cave labeled "Bug City," where the player's platoon facilitates the capture of the Brain Bug.
Act 2
editFive months have passed since the capture of the Brain Bug, and Arachnid Egg Fall Clusters have been attacking various planets in Terran-controlled space. The player's platoon was tasked with escort missions for Internal Security's officer Major Alexander Bishop, while repelling an Arachnid invasion of Mars, attempting to recapture a colony called New Wellington from the Arachnids for morale purposes, as well as learning the true nature of how the Arachnids were able to efficiently attack the Terrans especially with a key food processing facility and the loss of two key military research bases. Bishop and the player's platoon is deployed to Axel 6, a small mining outpost with very little strategic value to exfiltrate the commanding officer of the base as a potential witness. Major Bishop and the player learn that a high-ranking Federation officer, Colonel Holland, has been leaking intelligence of the major Terran bases to the Arachnids via the captured Brain Bug, in hopes of uniting humanity with the bugs. Bishop and the player's platoon succeed in killing Holland and the captured Brain Bug while saving scientists who were witnesses to Holland's treachery. Despite the nature of Holland's behavior, the Terran Council decide to cover up Holland's death for morale purposes and finish the battle.
Act 3
editAs of September 20, 2371, the Federation has managed to create new weapons and technology for use against the Arachnids and has begun a counter-offensive against the Arachnids to ensure the end of the war. The player's platoon was tasked with rescue missions for stranded Mobile Infantry troopers on Planet P, as well as students from a military academy used to train Psychics on the planet Sirius 3, and recovering ancient teleportation technology on Planet G. Shortly after the success of the mission, the player is sent to Klendathu for the second and last time to search for an Arachnid Queen. Utilizing psychic troopers to track the queen, as well as reverse-engineered teleportation devices for extraction, the player's platoon fights through arachnid forces to plant Nova bombs in the hive and manages to escape the cavern before it explodes. The war ends on New Year's Day of 2372, with the Terran military celebrating their victory.
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 68/100[2] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |    [3] |
| CNET Gamecenter | 7/10[4] |
| Computer Games Strategy Plus | [5] |
| Computer Gaming World | [6] |
| Eurogamer | 6/10[7] |
| Game Informer | 7.75/10[8] |
| GamePro | [9] |
| GameSpot | 5.4/10[10] |
| GameSpy | 78%[11] |
| IGN | 7.2/10[12] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 60%[13] |
The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b "News and Events". Starship Troopers Federal Network. Archived from the original on November 9, 2000. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ a b "Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy for Windows Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Schwarz, Richard. "Starship Troopers - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Walker, Mark H. (November 7, 2000). "Starship Troopers". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on December 7, 2000. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Bitterman, Thomas (December 4, 2000). "Starship Troopers". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on April 28, 2003. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Liberatore, Raphael (March 2001). "F Troop (Starship Troopers Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 200. Ziff Davis. p. 109. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Merison, Ian "Talith" (December 25, 2000). "Starship Troopers [Terran Ascendancy]". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on March 30, 2001. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Reppen, Erik (January 2001). "Starship Troopers". Game Informer. No. 93. FuncoLand. p. 130.
- ^ Molloy, Sean (November 22, 2000). "Starship Troopers Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 23, 2005. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Wolpaw, Erik (November 14, 2000). "Starship Troopers Review [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on January 8, 2001. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ McConnaughy, Tim (November 8, 2000). "Starship Troopers". GameSpy. GameSpy Industries. Archived from the original on June 20, 2002. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Butts, Steve (November 14, 2000). "Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Kuo, Li C. (February 2001). "Starship Troopers". PC Gamer. Vol. 8, no. 2. Imagine Media. p. 81. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Released under the MicroProse label