Millennia in the future, humanity has spread across the stars. Multiple planets have been developed to support human life, but all have been attacked and destroyed by aliens bent on destroying the expansion of man. The Armada are aliens now focused on earth and wiping out humanity. Can you fight back? Originally designed as an online multiplayer role playing game (RPG) shooter, the game ended up being available for up to four players to participate at the same time on Sega Dreamcast. There are six “sub-species” of man that you can choose to help fight the Armada. Attacking the aliens is just one way to gain experience and upgrade your character, but so is creating trade routes to make money, or helping other ships arrive at their destination safe. Plenty of missions with a wide-range of different goals are available. The Dreamcast was Sega’s final gaming console release, and is widely praised by video game enthusiasts across the world for the quality of platform and device reliability. Peer systems such as the Nintendo 64 or the Sony PlayStation often fall short in areas where the Sega Dreamcast excelled, such as mind-blowing graphics, easy and comfortable controllers, and just the total graphics and computing power available. True gamers appreciate what Sega did with their last push in the hardware market, and the system is universally recognized as ahead of its time. One of the reasons the game play was so strong was the “GD-ROM” technology used for game discs, each issue holding 1GB of data, far more data than a CD-ROM’s standard 650MB. That extra memory allowed game builders to create depth and richness in the games developed that is still beloved by many gaming enthusiasts. You can see the use of that extra memory in Armada, where the depth of color and game play exceeds anything else available during this era. Sega continues as a game developer still, but many give them their highest rating for the last time they created hardware. The controllers for the unit had available “Rumble Packs,” which allowed users to feel as well as see during game play. Unfortunately it was a system that fell victim to the lack of acceptance of Sega’s previous consoles (the 32X and the Saturn), as well as many gamers awaiting the PlayStation 2 that was due out not long after Dreamcast’s release. Dreamcast also doesn’t play DVD’s which reduced its ubiquity for buyers, but that didn’t stop the platform from creating exciting and memorable games with lots of excellent play such as Armada. Due of the stability of the platform created by the Sega Dreamcast, the game doesn’t show any lag, even during the most graphic-intensive play, which is revolutionary for turn-of-the-century consoles. Armada was created by Metro3D Inc., and gives a seamless game experience to the end user. Taking on the Armada amongst the orbits of earth and beyond, still provides plenty of gameplay challenge to even the most experienced gamer. The large variety of quests, and the ability to save your ship, even upon game death for future play via the Dreamcast memory card slots, makes for a fun game either as one player or with friends.
Armada arrived on store shelves without a lick of good pre...ss. Some hailed it as the Dreamcast's worst game, while others mockingly called it "Asteroids RPG" and ignored it. Armada was supposed to be an online multiplayer game. When Sega didn't have the gaming network ready, Metro3D was forced to cut all multiplayer aspects of the game and adapt what it did have into a good game. While Armada isn't for everyone, it is unique, fun, and original.
It is thousands of years in the future, and humanity has scattered its seed among the stars. After thousands of years in isolation, humanity split into six subspecies that mistrusted each other. Seemingly stirred by the warp engines of these new civilizations, swarms of biomechanical entities attacked and decimated the shattered human race. Survivors gathered on Earth and united against the Armada, each bringing a unique philosophical and technological perspective to the table. But is the Armada really "bad?" You select one of the races and begin your quest to save humanity and battle against the Armada.
Armada is a mission-based space opera with many similarities to the PC and 16-bit classics Star Flight and Star Control. Each race's starships have their own strengths and weaknesses - experience bonuses, different weapons, better warp engines, etc. Instead of periodic battles, however, Armada's universe is teeming with things to destroy. Battle is a rather chaotic but strangely enjoyable affair. When looking at the game, the comparison to Asteroids becomes obvious - you turn, thrust, and shoot in a very similar style. In addition to those three Asteroids mainstays, you have power pods, which act as multipurpose sacks of energy. Each pod can be dumped into your shields for temporary invincibility and shield repair or can be thrown in the furnace for a massive Armada-searing explosion. Both uses of the power pods have their place, and it's up to you to use these strategic elements to their best advantage. However, you can avoid battles whenever you please by kicking into warp and simply avoiding them. However, you can't avoid all battles - every ship destroyed nets you a modicum of experience, which, in turn, leads to level-ups. For every four experience levels gained your ship will be upgraded, which is a satisfying visual and play reward. If you come up against an enemy that is too strong for you, then you can simply go somewhere else and level up, upgrade your ship, and try again later. If you want, you can establish trade routes between starbases to make money; you can help distressed carriers get to their destination intact; or you can just explore and kill as many enemies as you can. Armada, as it was originally developed for online play, is the antithesis of the "on rails" concept, constantly generating new ships to rescue, allies, and other mini-events to enhance your bottom line. To encourage this kind of play, Metro3D's designers have made Armada as penalty free as possible. After departing Earth, you will have three lives to spend. When all three lives are gone, you will simply be reborn on Earth. After refueling, you're free to return to whatever you were doing - no loss of money, no loss of experience, and free power pods for all.Despite the attention to action, Armada is by no means a plot-free affair. You advance the story by completing the scripted missions doled out by characters on Earth. Missions are simple in structure but sometimes hard to do.
Overall Rating: 7/10
