Caribbean cruise: in the Tempest Rising game, the alternative USSR fights the USA
On April 17, the Tempest Rising game was released simultaneously in Russia and the world, recalling the traditions of the iconic Red Alert. The strategy under the guise of an alternative story tells about the war between the USSR and the USA in a world where everything went differently after the Caribbean crisis. One of the parties to the conflict, the dynasty of the Storm, plays by all means the Soviet myth, as it is seen in the West. Izvestia was among the first to play the novelty and found that the project very skillfully appeals to nostalgia for the strategies of the 90s and the 90s themselves, too.
The Caribbean crisis in a new way
Tempest Rising is based on the Caribbean crisis, which in 1962 almost led to World War III and a nuclear apocalypse. In the fictional reality of the game, the USA and the USSR could not come to a peaceful solution, an irreversible process was launched, which turned into a global cataclysm. The devastating effects of years of war have led to the depletion of resources and the final transformation of the Earth into a world with two opposing factions.
"Customize the army for each mission individually, because, among other things, you need to take control of the mysterious but extremely useful vines of the Storm, which are becoming more and more numerous in the war-torn Land. There are many other dangers lurking in the shadows... and you also have to find out where the Storm came from," reads the official synopsis. The storm is the USSR, as the player quickly realizes.
For developers from Slipgate Ironworks studio, a new game is the debut in the genre of real—time strategy. Here, the gamer gets the role of a general, he builds bases, collects resources and trains troops to destroy enemy bases and fortified areas. Tempest Rising allows you to choose between the peacekeeping corps of the Global Defense Forces (GDF faction) and the Dynasty of the Storm (TD faction). A little later, they plan to add a third party to the game — the ancient Vet race with divine abilities. In general, everything is according to the canons of the genre, laid down by "Dune" and Command & Conquer in the 90s. Especially the strategic subseries of the latter, Red Alert and Generals.
The gameplay literally quotes Red Alert 2: there is a battle between two superpowers, and the struggle for a mysterious resource that arose as a result of exposure to radiation after a nuclear war and is a powerful source of energy.
How the gameplay works in Tempest Rising
In recent years, there has been a clear shortage of real—time RTS strategy projects in the gaming industry. There are practically no major projects, and everyone is forced to play the classics of the 90s and 2000s. Slipgate Ironworks studio has set itself the goal of restoring such releases to their former popularity.
Each of the two factions has huge story campaigns with 11 different missions, which are not limited to destroying enemy bases, but allow them to fight for resources, accompany key units, capture key points and hold them. A story campaign for the third faction is not planned yet, the authors are going to add it only to the multiplayer mode and the so-called skirmish.: fast battles against AI or other live players without plot clips, staged cutscenes and other "distractions".
The Russians are most interested in the "Dynasty of the Storm" faction, a militant alliance of Eastern European and Asian countries with pronounced Soviet features and headquarters in Bulgaria. The motto of the Army of the Storm is the thesis "Five-year plan in three years." The troops are losing out on their technology to the Global Defense Forces, but they are gaining in numbers and fanaticism. The founder of the faction is called Domovoy Molchalin, his son Alexey Molchalin willingly gives us orders and valuable instructions.
The developers have created memorable cinematic videos, and between missions, the warlords of the factions hold full—fledged briefings and tell the player about his goals - with intrigues, emotions and sometimes antics in the spirit of the classic pearls of Red Alert 3 with its fictional Soviet Prime Minister Alexander Romanov.
It is quite logical that the soundtrack in Tempest Rising is the responsibility of the same renowned composer Frank Klepaki, who made a name for himself in the gaming industry thanks to his fervent combat motifs, to the sounds of which tank trains and crowds of infantry went into battle. Therefore, the classic "cavalry charge" tactic also works here, often it is enough to select everyone with a frame and click on the nearest enemy barricade, trench or squad to win.
Tempest Rising is visually one of the most spectacular strategy games, standing on a par with Total War: Warhammer 3 and Sid Meier's Civilization VII. The love with which tanks are scattered for spare parts and how drones sweep away enemy fortifications after disabling air defense, at least makes you admire the picture, as a maximum makes a gamer fall in love with himself for many days, if not months.
The game was originally scheduled to be released on April 24 for regular gamers and on the 17th for deluxe edition buyers. However, due to a technical error, the game became available to all customers without exception on the 17th, so the authors promised to promptly select other gifts for "early access" customers.
But the main gift is that after the first hour you spend in the game, you realize that Tempest Rising seriously claims to be the best strategy of the year and, more importantly, the best way to go back 20 years ago, when the grass was greener and real-time strategy was exciting. Even the ratings are unanimous this time: 89% of Steam players recommend Tempest Rising and 87% of OpenCritic experts agree with them. There's nothing to do: it's a hit, and it's not just about the USSR and the opportunity to show American opponents who's in charge on Earth.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
