Stormrise

Stormrise is a real-time tactics video game developed by Creative Assembly's Australian studio and published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world.

Stormrise
Developer(s)	Creative Assembly
Publisher(s)	Sega
Composer(s)	Jeff van Dyck
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows
Release	NA: 24 March 2009 AU: 26 March 2009[1] EU: 27 March 2009
Genre(s)	Real-time tactics
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

The game is a real-time tactics game, with the ability to control units in the air, on the surface, and underground.

Story

In the near future, a network of orbital weather control satellites was created to prevent an environmental disaster, but the satellites malfunctioned, triggering a catastrophic event known as simply "The Event", in which firestorms ravaged the surface of the Earth. A select few were chosen to go into cryogenic stasis and rebuild society, while the rest were left to die. After a few decades, two civilizations began to emerge. Those who went into stasis would reawaken and form the technologically advanced Echelon, while those who were left behind would adapt to the new environment and become the tribal Sai.

Factions

The Echelon: A technologically advanced race that endured the planet's fallout by way of cryogenic stasis.

The Sai: A tribal society that adapted to the new environment and evolved.

Development

Stormrise was in development at Creative Assembly's Australian studio and was released for the Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation 3 in March 2009.^[2] The Windows version requires Windows Vista as the engine has been built on and designed around DirectX 10.1.^[3]

Critical reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
	PC	PS3	Xbox 360
Metacritic	42/100[4]	51/100[5]	48/100[6]

Review scores

Publication	Score
	PC	PS3	Xbox 360
1Up.com	N/A	D[7]	D[7]
Edge	N/A	N/A	4/10[8]
Eurogamer	N/A	3/10[9]	N/A
Game Informer	N/A	4/10[10]	4/10[10]
GameSpot	2/10[11]	2.5/10[12]	2.5/10[12]
GameZone	N/A	N/A	7.9/10[13]
IGN	2.1/10[14]	(AU) 6.6/10[15] (US) 4.9/10[16]	(AU) 6.6/10[15] (US) 4.9/10[16]
Official Xbox Magazine (UK)	N/A	N/A	6/10[17]
PC Gamer (UK)	35%[18]	N/A	N/A
PlayStation: The Official Magazine	N/A	[19]	N/A
Teletext GameCentral	N/A	N/A	2/10[6]

The PlayStation 3 version received "mixed" reviews, while the PC and Xbox 360 versions received "generally unfavorable reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[4][5][6]

Patch cancellation and departure of staff

Development of the second patch was cancelled on 28 April 2009^[20] one month after release. Creative Assembly indicated that the cancellation was due to the financial costs associated with testing and certifying the new changes and features.

The critical response and low sales have been cited^[21] as being factors in the financial decision.

Following the cancellation of the patch, Ken Turner, the creative director behind Stormrise, was released from the studio.