Stargate Resistance Review

Posted by Josh in PC, Reviews, Windows | 8 comments

Aug 21, 10

Stargate Resistance is a third-person shooter based on the television series Stargate SG-1. It is set during the second decade of the Stargate Program and after the end of Stargate SG-1. The game sees the return of the System Lords as they attempt to re-enslave the galaxy and it is up to Stargate Command(SGC) to stop them.

There are two factions and six classes. Both factions have three different classes to choose from, with each class having their own unique weapons and style of play. The SGC’s three classes are Soldier, Commando and Scientist. The Soldier acts as the main combat class, armed with a P90, Grenade Launcher and Smoke Grenades. The P90 is very accurate at close range and has a 50-round magazine and a high rate of fire but runs out very fast. The Grenade Launcher is powerful but requires a reload after every shot. Smoke Grenades are used to uncover cloaked Ashraks. The Commando acts as the sniper. Equipped with a a Sniper Rifle, .50 Handgun and claymores. He can detect cloaked Ashraks and is very effective at long range kills, however he is very ineffective at close range due to the handguns limited ammo and poor accuracy. The Scientist acts as the support class, armed with a 9mm pistol. Her secondary weapon can be used to heal teammates or poison opposing players, a very good weapon for decloaking Ashraks. She also has a deployable turret and healing dispenser which heals all nearby teammates.

The System Lords three classes are Jaffa, Ashrak and Goa’uld. Jaffa are the System Lords counter to the soldier. Armed with a Staff and Shock Grenades. The Staff is an effective but slow firing weapon that’s good at range and does not require reloading. The Staff can also be used as a melee weapon in close combat where it’s slow rate of fire is ineffective. The Shock Grenades can be used to blind your opponents before attacking. Ashraks are assassins, equipped with an A’tar Blade and Hara’Kesh. The A’tar Blade is the Ashraks main weapon and can instantly kill an opponent when hit in the back. The Hara’Kesh can be used to drain your opponents stamina to stop them from running away from you. Ashraks also posess a device called Reetou Karesh, a cloaking device that grants her the ability to become invisible. The Goa’uld are equipped with the Go’Wye Ribbon Device, which fries his opponents brain and distorts their vision, it can also be used to push back your opponents. Goa’uld are also equipped with a healing device known as a Maaynd Gem. It can be used to heal allies and yourself. Goa’ulds also possess a personal shield, while the shield is activated, only poison and exploses may hurt the Goa’uld.

Developed using the Unreal engine, the game looks visually impressive as you would expect. Particularly impressive is the effect of stepping through the gate, no matter how many times I’ve done it, I’ve yet to tire of seeing it. The lighting and textures look great. The artwork and enviroments look good. Character models are the only let down here, while they do look good, they are not nearly as impressive as the rest of the game.

The sound effects in the game are really good. From the Stargate dialing, to the Jaffa Staff blasts, tt feels as if many of the sound effects have been taken directly from the show itself. The Stargate theme music at the login screen is also a nice touch. The voice acting is minimal at best and what little of it there is, was done poorly.

There is no single player or tutorial of any kind in this game. This is strictly an online only game. However, thanks to the simplistic controls and limited class choices, the game has a very easy learning curve.

The gameplay is the strongest feature of the game. You’ll always be in the thick of the action due to the objectives drawing players from both sides to certain points of the map. The game however quickly becomes repetitive due to the lack of maps and game modes. There are only four maps, Stargate Command, an ice planet called Piramess, an Egyptian temple called Armana and an arena on the planet Leonops. There are also only 5 different game modes to play, Team Death Match(TDM), Capture the Tech(CtT), King of the Hill(KotH), Conquest and Arena. With only two different game modes available on three of the maps, while one map contains only one game mode. Stargate Command has Conquest and TDM, Armana Temple has TDM and KotH, Leonops has TDM and Arena, while Piramess has only CtT. It simply baffles me as to why all game modes are not available on all maps, especially when there are so little maps and game modes to begin with.

Lack of both game modes and maps isn’t my only issue with the game. There is no dedicated server support. In a fast paced shooter, the lack of in-game voice chat made communicating with teammates troublesome, having to constantly stop and type messages leaving yourself vulnerable to attack. Extremely limited character customization I also found to be a problem. Jaffa and Soldier can both unlock an extra outfit, however there is nothing for the remaining four classes. Although an extra outfit for all of the six classes can be purchased. Galactic Domination, which grants buffs to the faction dominating the planets, while it’s a nice feature, I can’t help but feel that the last thing the dominating faction needs is a buff which makes them stronger.

For €15 you could do much worse with your money. The game is fun and addictive, but it just feels incomplete. It feels like you are only getting half a game, with only four maps, restricted game modes and customization options. That being said however, I find myself constantly drawn back for more. The developers are frequently patching the game and with much more content promised, along with a growing player base, I highly recommend this game to Stargate fans. As for those of you that are not Stargate fans, I find it hard to recommend the game to you with the current level of content. I suggest you either hold out for a sale or wait until all the promised content is added.

Stargate Resistance is a PC exclusive, and is available from Steam, Direct2Drive and Firesky.

Advanced Combat Packs are available at Firesky and Direct2Drive.