Steam Deck Playable!Welcome to my review of Starship Troopers: Terran Command. This game is brought to us by developers The Aristocrats (Blitzkrieg) and publishers Slitherine Software (Warhammer 40,000: Gladius). Starship Troopers: Terran Command is a strategy game played with an isometric view on the battlefield.
This is an ugly planet, a bug planet!
I love the Starship Troopers original movie starring Casper Van Dien, but can this modern game keep me as interested as the first movie did? Continue reading to find out. You can also check out our previous reviews.
The Game
Like the movies, the game is based on the mobile infantry fighting in the war against the Arachnid threat. In Starship Troopers: Terran Command we find ourselves tasked with helping the people of Kwalasha, the desert planet. This planet is harsh and overridden with bugs and it’s down to the mobile infantry to save the day, again!
In this game, we can build and develop the mobile infantry to strike the arachnids where it hurts. During our battles on the planet Kwalasha, we can battle in numerous ways. Not only can we send in rifle troops, but there are other types of troops such as snipers, engineers, rocket troopers, and more.
However, our troops may come across as a tough bunch of ragtag roughnecks, but the bugs are bigger and badder. The key is to make sure you place your troops in proper placement. If a set of rifle troops are behind another, they won’t fire to help avoid friendly fire. I quite like this as it gets you thinking about the formation properly and not just chuck a ton of troops in one place and forget about them.
You can also use elevation to your advantage. Pop some snipers up on a cliff and they’ll have a huge vantage point on the Arachnids in the valley below, for example. This works really well so make sure you use the elevated points whenever possible. However, in some cases, the Arachnids will have the advantage and be up on those cliff tops. For example, the bugs have spitters which throw a big blob of acid at the mobile infantry. These are a nightmare when higher than your troops, this is where grenades come in handy, lob them up and watch them burn.
One thing you’ll quickly learn is that this game has a lot of bugs… and not the kind of bugs that cause your game to run slow or crash… the kind that you’d wish you never met whilst they drive their spikey claws through your leg, chest, and face. However, they’re no real match for the Morita Assault Rifle that the mobile infantry rifle troops use. Strength in numbers.
Whilst progressing through the game you’ll come across various bases that you’ll need to capture and rebuild. You’ll be able to train new troops to assist in the battle as well as new defensive structures such as the HMG turret. This thing tears through bugs like a hot knife through butter. It’s incredible. You will need to make sure it doesn’t overheat by having some troops on standby to also help tear through the incoming bugs.
Look & Sound
The graphics are actually surprisingly good for a strategy game. I wasn’t expecting too much from the graphics, but when you zoom in you can see the developers have put some real care into the textures and 3D models.
The minimum specs for the game are also easily achievable for PC gamers these days. To be fair, the recommended specs are also not too harsh for a new PC game.
Minimum:
OS: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 (64 bit), Windows 11
Processor: Intel Core i5 or equivalent
Memory: 8GB RAM
Graphics: Geforce GTX 1050/ Radeon RX 560
DirectX: Version 9.0
Storage: 10 GB available Space
Recommended:
OS: Windows 10, Windows 11
Processor: Intel Core i7 or equivalent
Memory: 16GB RAM
Graphics: Geforce GTX 1070 or equivalent
DirectX: Version 9.0
Storage: 10 GB available Space
The sound effects in Starship Troopers: Terran Command are top quality. It really hits the spot and reminds me so much of the movies, especially when being briefed about your missions. The music in the game really suits the style of gameplay as you’re battling your way through the bugs.
Length & Replayability
The story campaign will take you up to 20 hours to complete depending on how well you progress.
The game currently has no achievements, which in a way is quite refreshing as you can just focus on the game itself.
Conclusions
This game is fantastic. The graphics are great, the audio is spot on, and the gameplay is really fun. It brings that satirical element from the movies across to the game and hits the spot just right. The Aristocrats have done an astounding job with Starship Troopers: Terran Command so kudos to them!
I score Starship Troopers: Terran Command a 9/10.
A code was kindly provided for us to review this.
