Super Stardust Hd Ps3

Dec 17, 2011  Super Stardust HD - Planet 4 - TARANIS: 22 Million points (a.k.a. Star Strike HD) - Duration: 10:00. Demodemoplayer 14,716 views.

It's hard to believe that Super Stardust HD recently celebrated its second birthday. Play the game today and it's still one of the most technically adept, brilliantly conceived and ultra-addictive shooting games available on the current generation of consoles. Where Xbox 360 has its Geometry Wars, PlayStation 3 has Stardust. Both superb, both essential.

The story of the game's genesis starts way back in 2004, when developer Housemarque had reached a corporate crossroads, having created state-of-the-art PS2 technology and several original PSP concepts just as the industry began its transition towards the next-generation platforms.

'We thought that PSP would be a great device to be working on and put in quite a lot of effort to make new game concepts to suit the device. We ported our PlayStation 2 engine and other technology infrastructure to support PSP,' explains Housemarque CEO and co-founder Ilari Kuittinen. 'Unfortunately, the game publishers were not interested in supporting PSP with original games based on new IPs, which were especially designed with the handheld in mind. On the PlayStation 2 front, the publishers seemed to believe in the summer of 2004 that it wasn't worthwhile to do any new original titles for PS2 either, because the launch of PlayStation 3 would happen in 2005 and the software sales would plummet immediately for the platform.'

In short, Housemarque had made a series of decisions that market trends and industry happenings proved to be the right ones, but that the game publishers themselves couldn't foresee. PSP's early progress was stalled by a mentality of porting existing franchises and PS2 titles across to the handheld, while PS3 itself was delayed by a year, eventually launching in the US and Japan at the tail-end of 2006.

Kuittinen continues: 'During the autumn of 2005 it seemed impossible to get any projects signed on either the PSP or the PlayStation 2, so it was even more unlikely we'd get into the next-generation console development business as it would have meant massive investments in new technology and concepts and we had depleted all our financial resources to make PS2 and PSP game concept pitches, game demos and prototypes. All this really changed when we saw Geometry Wars on XBLA in late 2005 and we were starting to see new opportunities that seemed like a perfect fit for a small developer like us.'

Initially that meant development of the game that would eventually become Golf: Tee It Up on Xbox 360, published by Activision, but the team's previous work on PSP concepts, along with its optimisation work on Guerrilla Games' high-end PSP title Killzone: Liberation meant that the team had good contacts at SCEE. At the 2006 E3, while taking a break from playing the God of War 2 demo, Housemarque co-founder and creative director Harri Tikkanen had his 'Eureka!' moment and from that point on momentum built towards a Stardust revival on Sony's new flagship platform.

'A few things needed to happen before he came up with the idea, so it certainly wasn't something that came naturally to him,' says Ilari Kuittinen. 'First, Harri had been going through the PlayStation 3 specifications available to us and started to realise the potential of the platform and how amazing games could be created for it. Secondly, Sony had started to contact developers like us and ask of our interest in developing downloadable PS3 games. These two things together made Harri start thinking of Super Stardust.. putting the game on a sphere, having a game with hundreds of real-time objects on screen, massive visual effects and so on.'

What is quite remarkable is just how quickly Super Stardust HD was developed - the game was complete in less than 10 months. However, in common with many Nordic developers, Housemarque has a strong technical focus and has built up a huge amount of experience in the many years it has been in business that held it in good stead for the oncoming trials.

'Obviously, lots of things have changed during the 16-17 years we have been creating games,' explains Ilari Kuittinen. 'We have seen many hardware platforms come and go and the games business grow tremendously. Having a £50,000 game-development deal during the Amiga days was huge, but now this barely covers costs for one developer for a year. This accumulated experience brings a lot of sophistication and professionalism into the way we make games. Instead of starting each game from scratch, we have a solid technology infrastructure, pipelines and libraries to start with. This also means that we can spend proportionally more time per game on content and gameplay than ever before, because we don't need to work on the underlying building blocks or core technology of the game.'

Focused development began in August 2006, but the team didn't receive the necessary hardware for a couple more months after that. Amazingly, many of the key technical decisions made on how the game would work were based on studying the specs and paperwork provided by Sony.

Super Stardust HD is a downloadable shoot 'em upvideo game that was released first for the PlayStation 3home video game console by Sony Interactive Entertainment, developed by the Finnish company Housemarque. In Japan, it is known as Star Strike HD. In 2015, a port for the PlayStation 4, called Super Stardust Ultra, was released. In 2016, Super Stardust Ultra VR, a PlayStation VR compatible version that contains Super Stardust Ultra, was released for the PlayStation 4. It's also available as paid DLC for Super Stardust Ultra.

The game combines the mechanics of Asteroids and Robotron: 2084 with a level of action found typically in modern games such as Geometry Wars. The game is an enhanced version of Super Stardust for the Amiga. Super Stardust HD was one of the games given for free by Sony as part of their 'Welcome Back' package due to the PlayStation Network outage in 2011. Super Stardust HD was the first title with trophy support on the PlayStation 3.^[1] The game received E and 3 ratings from the ESRB and PEGI, respectively.

A version for PlayStation Portable titled Super Stardust Portable (Star Strike Portable in Japan) was released in November 2008, and a PlayStation Vita game building on Super Stardust HD, called Super Stardust Delta Freddi fish and the case of the missing kelp seeds 1994. was released in 2012.

Gameplay[edit]

In Super Stardust HD, the player controls a space fighter craft that can move in any direction on a spherical shield surrounding a planet, while simultaneously firing in any direction independent of its movement. The primary threats against the player are three types of asteroids and various enemy spacecraft, which appear on the playfield at certain time intervals. The ship is equipped with three upgradeable weapons, a limited arsenal of bombs, and a boost capability that grants temporary invincibility and recharges after use. Each weapon is more effective against certain types of asteroid and enemies than others. Items include weapon upgrades and a shield that absorbs one fatal hit against the player's ship.

Super Stardust HD provides several modes of play, each with their own online leaderboards. The default game mode, Arcade, takes the player through a series of five planets, each consisting of five main phases, the last of which is a boss battle. Planet Mode allows the player to play any one of five planets in the same way, ending the game after the planet is complete. Both of these modes support both single-player and two-player cooperative play.

Updates and DLC packs[edit]

The Solo add-on pack (released in April 2008 and available for download via the PlayStation Store) adds several extra gameplay modes. Endless Mode pits the player against a continuous onslaught of rocks and enemies, gradually speeding up the action over time. Survival Mode challenges the player to last as long as possible while the playfield is filled with indestructible objects. Bomber Mode challenges players to score as many points as they can using only bombs and a single life – primary weapons and the boost ability are disabled. Time Attack mode challenges the player to complete a planet's worth of rocks and enemies in the shortest time possible – losing a life in this mode incurs a 3-minute penalty. The PSP version also received its own version of the Solo add-on pack, with only the Endless, Survival and Bomber modes, along with two new soundtracks. The Japanese version of the PSP game already comes with this pack.

With the release of game update version 2.40 on July 2, 2008, PlayStation trophy support was added to the title. This made Super Stardust HD the first title with trophy support on the PlayStation 3. A total of 17 trophies are available for the game.^[1]

The Team Pack was also released on July 2, 2008, which includes split-screen co-op and player versus player modes. The pack also offers an additional orchestral soundtrack in 5.1 surround and the ability to customize the player ship's appearance. The Team Pack was available for purchase from within the game and via the PlayStation Store before being removed with the 2.40 firmware. It was reinstated on July 15, 2008, in a store update after Sony's E3 press conference.

Stereoscopic 3D support was demonstrated at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show and released in June in the same year. Super Stardust HD is the first 3D game for the PS3 that runs at 720p resolution at 60 frames per second for each eye (120 frames per second).^[2] The original 2D version supports full 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second.^[3]

Impact Mode, released in April 2011 on the PlayStation Store,^[4] introduces much higher score multipliers. With weapons disabled in Impact Mode, the primary mode of attack is a modified version of the ship's boost capability, which remains active as long as there are targets to attack nearby.

Super Stardust Ultra[edit]

A follow-up to the game titled Super Stardust Ultra (known in Japan as Star Strike Ultra) was released on February 10, 2015 in North America and the PAL region on February 11, 2015 for PlayStation 4.^[5] It was essentially an enhanced version of Super Stardust HD, without being a direct port.^[6] It adds an exclusive mode called Interactive Streaming, which is an endless mode where the game is streamed live over the Internet, and viewers are allowed to help or hinder the player. A port of Super Stardust Ultra titled 'Super Stardust Ultra VR,' offering a unique perspective from within the cockpit, was released as a launch title for the PlayStation VR.^[7] The title was developed by UK based company d3t Ltd.^[8]

Reception and sales[edit]

The HD edition of Super Stardust received 'favorable' reviews, while the Portable, Ultra, and its VR version received 'average' reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^{[28][29][30][31]} In Japan, where the Ultra version was ported for release on March 12, 2015,^{[citation needed]}Famitsu gave it a score of one eight, one seven, one nine, and one eight for a total of 32 out of 40.^[13]

In 2013, the game entered IGN's Top 25 PlayStation Network Games list in the 4th position.^{[citation needed]}

Super Stardust HD has sold approximately 400,000 units for the PS3 as of September 2010.^[32]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abPurchese, Robert (July 2, 2008). 'PS3 trophies now in Super Stardust HD'. Eurogamer. Gamer Network.
2. ^Kuittinen, Ilari (June 10, 2010). 'Super Stardust HD 3D story'. PlayStation Blog Europe. Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
3. ^Leadbetter, Richard (August 8, 2009). 'Tech Retrospective: Super Stardust HD'. Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
4. ^Pinnock, Daimion (March 22, 2011). 'New Super Stardust HD DLC: Impact Mode'. PlayStation Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
5. ^Porter, Matt (February 8, 2015). 'Super Stardust Ultra Gets a Release Date'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
6. ^Morgan, Thomas (February 13, 2015). 'Digital Foundry vs Super Stardust Ultra on PS4'. Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
7. ^Robinson, Dave (June 28, 2016). 'Your PlayStation VR Day One Guide'. Crash Landed. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
8. ^'Super Stardust Ultra VR'. d3t.
9. ^Carter, Chris (February 13, 2015). 'Review: Super Stardust Ultra'. Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
10. ^Edge staff (August 2007). 'Super Stardust HD'. Edge. No. 178. Future plc. p. 94.
11. ^Leadbetter, Richard (June 18, 2007). 'Super Stardust HD'. Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
12. ^Parkin, Simon (January 8, 2009). 'Super Stardust Portable'. Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
13. ^ ^abRomano, Sal (March 31, 2015). 'Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1374'. Gematsu. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
14. ^Miller, Matt (February 24, 2015). 'Super Stardust Ultra: An Overly Familiar Alien Invasion'. Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
15. ^Gerstmann, Jeff (July 3, 2007). 'Super Stardust HD Review'. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
16. ^Myers, Dallas (January 2, 2009). 'Super Stardust Portable - PSP - Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
17. ^Dunham, Jeremy (July 2, 2007). 'Super Stardust HD Review'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
18. ^Shea, Cam (June 20, 2007). 'Super Stardust HD AU Review'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
19. ^Wales, Matt (June 21, 2007). 'Super Stardust HD UK Review'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
20. ^Clements, Ryan (April 17, 2008). 'Super Stardust HD Solo Review'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
21. ^Clements, Ryan (December 8, 2008). 'Super Stardust Portable Review'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
22. ^'Super Stardust HD'. PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. No. 8. Future plc. July 2007. p. 107.
23. ^'Super Stardust Ultra'. PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. Future plc. April 2015. p. 87.
24. ^'Super Stardust Portable'. PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. Future plc. March 2009. p. 94.
25. ^Rignall, Jaz (February 13, 2015). 'Super Stardust Ultra PS4 Review: If it isn't Broken, Don't Fix it'. USgamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
26. ^Croft, Liam (February 27, 2015). 'Super Stardust Ultra Review'. The Digital Fix. Poisonous Monkey. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
27. ^Hargreaves, Roger (February 19, 2015). 'Super Stardust Ultra review - Asteroids miner'. Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
28. ^ ^ab'Super Stardust HD for PlayStation 3 Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
29. ^ ^ab'Super Stardust Ultra for PlayStation 4 Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
30. ^ ^ab'Super Stardust Ultra VR for PlayStation 4 Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
31. ^ ^ab'Super Stardust Portable for PSP Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
32. ^Kovalainen, Jari (September 8, 2010). 'Suomalainen pelifirma tekee yhteistyötä Sonyn kanssa'. Kauppalehti (in Finnish). Archived from the original on September 11, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2018.

External links[edit]

• Super Stardust HD at MobyGames
• Super Stardust Portable at MobyGames
• Super Stardust Ultra at MobyGames
• Super Stardust Ultra VR at MobyGames