''Swarm'' is a 1998
shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...
developed and published for
Microsoft Windows by
Reflexive Entertainment
Reflexive Entertainment was a video game developer based in Lake Forest, California. The company was cofounded by Lars Brubaker, Ernie Ramirez, James C. Smith and Ion Hardie in 1997. They developed nineteen games independently (for Microsoft W ...
. The action is viewed from a
top-down perspective
A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...
in
outer space
Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
and uses
pre-rendered
Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputting or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of footage that was previously rendered on different equipment (typic ...
3D graphics
3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for th ...
. The player controls an assault craft that battles against alien creatures in order to obtain special minerals called EZT nodules. The player is able to upgrade their ship with power-ups.
In 2008, Reflexive released an updated version of the game as ''Swarm Gold''.
Plot
''Swarm'' is set in the Praulac
Nebula, which is inhabited by a strange
insectoid race called the Clagnor. Negotiations between humans and the Clagnor have failed, leading to an all-out war between the two races. The story follows Rawl Masteson, a prison
convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...
given the task of fighting the Clagnor for a year. After this, if by any chance he survives, his name will be cleared unless he takes an offer for another year on the job for twice the pay.
Gameplay
Each sector or level consists of a ''finite''
wrap-around space area, in which Clagnor enemies,
asteroids, weapon
power-ups, and EZT
nodules (a fictional substance
ndron Zymithium Trisistalinedescribed as a fuel source) are placed randomly. The player enters and exits each level via a jumpgate that disappears after the level is started and reappears once it is completed.
There are three types of levels in Swarm: "get all the EZT", "kill them all", and bonus levels. The majority of these are "get all the EZT" levels, in which the player's primary
mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
is to collect all the EZT found in the level while fighting against the Clagnor and avoiding obstacles (e.g. asteroids and space junk). In the "kill them all" levels, which are mostly every 10 levels or so, there are no EZT crystals and the player's goal is to destroy all the Clagnor ''drones'' in the level. In the bonus levels, which are usually every 5 or 10 levels, there are neither Clagnor nor EZT in the area, and so the player can freely travel around and collect weapons, ammunition, and shield bonuses for a limited time. Because the level's goal is chosen at random, it means the player can potentially get 3 bonus levels ''in a row''.
Reception
''
Next Generation'' reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "For gamers after some good old-fashioned, arcade-style action, ''Swarm'' delivers. Just don't go in expecting bleeding-edge graphics or an enthralling story because they're nowhere to be found here."
Reviews
*''Electric Games'' (1998)
*''Gaming Entertainment Monthly'' (1998)
See also
* ''
Escape Velocity
In celestial mechanics, escape velocity or escape speed is the minimum speed needed for a free, non- propelled object to escape from the gravitational influence of a primary body, thus reaching an infinite distance from it. It is typically ...
'', a role-playing game set in space from Ambrosia Software
* ''
Starscape'', a 2D space combat game from Moonpod
References
{{Reflexive Entertainment Games
1998 video games
Multidirectional shooters
Video games developed in the United States
Video games set in outer space
Windows games
Windows-only games
Reflexive Entertainment games