ShootMania Storm PC
  • Publisher: Ubisoft
  • Release Date: Apr 10, 2013
User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 42 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 42
  3. Negative: 6 out of 42

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  1. Juranec
    Apr 10, 2013
    10
    I don't play many FPS games, but this one is really simple to understand and fun to play. You don't have to choose guns or so, just run around and shoot at other. Still have fun after almost a year of playing (since closed beta).
  2. Likan
    Apr 10, 2013
    7
    In my humble opinion Shootmania is the first shooter in over a decade to actually hold a candle to its venerable ancestors in the same genre, Quake (3) and Unreal Tournament (99). For those of you who know these games well, just think of Shootmania as a well-executed mix between the two in terms of character-handling, weapon feel and overall game speed and sense (with a small twist, I'll get to that).

    If Q3 or UT99 doesn't ring a bell, let's just say Shootmania is a very "core" multiplayer FPS. Across various team or FFA game modes (Capture the Flag, Dominion, Last man standing, just to name the most well-known, there's actually a lot more) you are pit in small-to-medium sized arena against other players with a single weapon and a couple of health points. And that's it! No power-ups, no additional weapons to pick-up (although some maps include particular tiles which provide life regeneration or control of a specific weapon as long as you stand on them). In some modes you will respawn immediately upon death, in others death means waiting for the next round, CS-style.

    That's the beauty of it! By going back to the arcade-FPS fundamentals, Shootmania is both very accessible (no complicated multi-layered objectives or elaborate weapon selection to remember or unlock) and very hard to master, as it focuses solely on the most basics of skills precision, reflexes and tactical sense.

    Some people are put off by the relatively neutral (some say bland) graphic design. While it is true the "ancient ruins upon green scenery" is far from spectacular, its merits are many it's rather undemanding and will behave well on lower-end rigs, I find it quite soothing (agreable relief from the frantic action) but most importantly the action remains clear at all times which is paramount in this type of game.

    Shooting is well handled (no ammo but instead an automatic reloading timer preventing mindless spam), the controls are responsive and the weapon inertia is familiar. Movement is very satisfactory in its simplicity. At first, it's a basic WASD ZQSD scheme to move strafe, space to jump and you're all set. You will then discover and master wall-jumping and most importantly, the ability to tremendously boost your speed based on the use of the Space key and your character's intertia. Hard to explain, hard to master, yet very fun once you get the hang of it.

    SM is a fairly community-oriented product, and while it means there's already a plethora of game-modes and an almost unlimited supplies of maps (ranging from great to "wtf?"), it also means the orientation of the game (and ultimately, his success) will heavily depend on its population.

    I'm writing this review as the open beta ends, and I must say I'm disappointed to note that the most popular game modes include Royal (Last Man Standing with a twist) or Battle (Dominion with a twist), as I find them to amongst the least interesting. Simple case of player taste here. Alternatively, it's become quite hard to find, in Europe at least, good servers proposing iCTF (instagib-CTF with the railgun-equivalent) or any instagib modes for that matter. I'm also dubfounded by the success of modes such as Obstacle (a kind of obstacle racing, no shooting involved) which is arguably fun and original but in my view quite far from the game's original intent.

    The population is a bit on the elitist side but the general attitude remains several orders of magnitude better than the modern military shooters will all know. In other words, you won't be flamed endlessly if you are a beginner, which is quite agreable in this gaming age!

    Overall, if you are longing for "old-school" arcade shooters like Q3 or UT99 or are looking for an arcade shooter that rewards player improvement over sheer playing time, and a steep-but-manageable difficulty curve doesn't frighten you then give SM a try, it's definitely worth its moderate price.    … Expand
  3. EXtraDonut
    Apr 11, 2013
    10
    Shootmania at this point has to be my favourite game to sink time into. Some would argue that this game is too "simple". Yes it may be simplistic in its design, but this simplicity allows the users to get creative with the tools they are given. Multiple different game modes are already released as well as a whole lotta custom maps. Over time this number will continue to grow and more content will keep flooding in. Both from community creators as well as nadeo themselves. I highly suggest giving this game a try, as it is quite addicting.

    Mind you it is a twitch shooter, so don't expect to be able to just run around at normal speed and do good, you gotta go fast and react to fast movement. Simple game, hard to master.    … Expand
  4. Jamarra
    Apr 12, 2013
    3
    No variety, no weapons, low skill cap and no meta game. And... And... And... 20€... This game doesn't deserve such a score. It's too empty for what we can do in game.

    It's 3!
  5. Starbi
    Apr 11, 2013
    10
    This game is really skill-based. There's one gun (apart from the 2 other you don't/can't really use that much). Basically you join a server and your fun with one gun. This simplicity is so not spectacular, yet so good executed and satisfying. Just that over-sized number popping on your screen when you hit someone with a well-aimed rocket is feeling so good just like a well-aimed rocket in Quake 3.

    The ranking system is motivating and makes sense. You don't get a higher rating by playing more or having a better K/D ratings (there isn't even one: only hits), instead you get higher by being higher in the match scoreboard then other players who have a higher rank than you.

    A very big part is the map editor which is really easy to use, but lacks in variety, especially for a FPS which relies on precision. Because of the countless maps servers never get boring and you almost never see the same map twice.

    The main gun, a rocket, has 4 shots to offer which refill automatically fairly quickly. Because of the the fact that a rocket is a rocket it dosen't hit immeadiately. Estimation and precise aiming are question, even more through that, that the rocket has no splash damage only pushes you a bit and only direct hits count.

    The other two guns, a really slow grenade-launcher thingy which explodes when near to a player which is only available when underground or in tunnels and a laser which... lasers stuff. O_o

    The many gamemodes are really weird and take a bit to understand. Outside of "Melee" which is a basic deathmatch-FFA. There's no "standard" gamemode like CTF, TDM or KOTH. I like that it really brings fresh air into the FPS genre. This gamemodes also can be fully scripted. There's plenty of usermade gamemodes, one of my favourites being the team-based "Speedball", in which there's a ball in the middle of the map and a player needs to carry it to the other pole, capturing it, without dying. He can also pass it by shooting teammates. It really reminds of FPS football.

    The last thing I will mention is the graphical performance. Not only does it look really good and has nothing to hide, but it runs fast like BF3 tends to lag on 20-30 fps lowest settings on my desktop. This game: 60 fps solid on highest settings.

    BUT what's the best part of it? YES, it's only 20 bucks. So much fun for just... TWENTY bucks. I played the beta forever and still it is not getting boring. There's some flaws in it but they are just getting bombed off by the fun and satisfaction of this game. :D    … Expand
  6. korkow
    Apr 14, 2013
    9
    As a big fan of "skill" shooters like Counter-Strike and the Unreal Tournament, I decided to give ShootMania a shot. Everyone is given an equal playing field: No powerups, addons, leveling, or any of that garbage. That was always my least favorite aspect of CoD, because even though I was a skilled FPSer, people with better guns/upgrades had an unfair advantage. At first I was pretty confused by the game modes and the weapon mechanics, but after an hour or so it really started to click. I ended up playing for five hours straight and missed dinner time without even noticing. The unique "Elite" game mode is by far my favorite so far. It's a 3 v 1 battle, where lone "elite" player has a laser, insta-gib gun and 3 HP, while the other 3 players have rockets, but only 1 HP. The elite player has to either kill the other three players or capture a flag at the opponents spawn area. The adrenaline of being the lone laser player is AMAZING, especially knowing your teammates are watching you. Overall, the clever, new, different game modes are really what makes this game unique and worth playing. Also, the openness to modding and creation ensure that as long as there is a community, there will always be plenty of variety. Speaking of community, most of the players so far have been SUPER friendly and helpful. I really wish there was voice chat though, because a lot of people seem like they'd be fun to chat with. While this game has kept me very entertained so far, it still needs a fair amount of polish. The server mechanics are a bit bugged, as I've had several matches where the server has gotten stuck at the end of the match, or even just crashes. But that's the sort of thing that could easily be patched... I hope. The bottom line is, if you enjoy Unreal Tournament, Quake, or Counter Strike, this game is DEFINITELY worth playing. If your favorite part of Call of Duty is racking up experience points and leveling up, then you might want to wait for the next inevitable iteration of Call of Duty.… Expand
  7. Rockodss
    Apr 16, 2013
    8
    1st of all. @Jamarra. This guy ain't bright enough to know what he is paying for... yes you paid 20$... for AN ALPHA VERSION YOU KID. Stupid brats buying alpha/beta games then complaning it doesn't have enough content.... kids these days.... By the time I bought the game, they added 2 new game modes and 2 new weapons.

    Can be modded, people can make their own maps, host their own serv    er. So many things can be done and customize in this game. Feels like in the quake/unreal days. Very very glad I bought the game early.… Expand
  8. Luhgnut
    Apr 27, 2013
    10
    Shootmania has so many subtleties that it takes practice. This isn't a COD point and shoot. It's all about anticipation. Reading the other player and shooting where they are going to be and not where they are. You don't "switch" weapons, meaning you don't have a loadout that you tweak. There isn't game imbalance because everybody is equal in ability. There are literally THOUSANDS OF MAPS available, official and community generated as well as custom user skins. The game runs great on lower powered PC's, the netcode is VERY good, it's responsive and fast. If you're looking for a Call of Duty or Modern Warfare, you won't find it here, and the game should never be compared to those games. It's created for tournament play and you play against others from around the world. Very addicting.… Expand
  9. LHR_Redemption
    May 2, 2013
    9
    I am just going to start out by saying that as soon as i heard about this game i was already hyped, now with that out of the way how did the game turn out. As soon as i started playing it, i was instantly brought back to Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament which resonated with me. It is fast paced action and twitch like reflexes are required especially against good players. We will see how much this game continues to catch on and maybe being in some new fans to fast paced shooting.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 43 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 43
  3. Negative: 0 out of 43
  1. games(TM)
    May 20, 2013
    80
    An unpretentious, sharp-edged thrill of a skill-based shooter. And we haven't said that in quite some time. [Issue#135, p.123]
  2. DarkZero
    May 14, 2013
    80
    If you want to shoot people in a different way and have a tolerance to learn, then ShootMania is the place to go and do that, and the future can only look brighter once the community floods the game with their creativity.
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  3. CD-Action
    May 13, 2013
    70
    Addictive, fast, balanced gameplay quickly induces the state of total focus which is the most important source of pleasure in ShootMania. [CD-Action 06/2013, p.70]
See all critic reviews »