Scudbuster PC Game Review | DragonSteelMods

Back in the prehistoric days of computing, there was a game, where you had to enter X and Y axis coordinates to fire a catapult at your enemys catapult over a mountain. Each player took turns until one of the catapults were destroyed. Well the good folks at HyperKat Games have updated this classic premise with their missile shooter game Scudbuster.

Scudbuster

Reviewed by: Tomas Ratas

Edited by: Kristofer Brozio

Sponsor: HyperKat Games

Unlike most PC games that involve military situations, Scudbuster can be played and enjoy almost immediately. With its quick installation and small profile, Scudbuster is a game that can be played on almost any PC system. Lets see what this independent gaming studio has wrought.

Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:

ScudBuster is a full 3D in your face missile shooter game. We took an old arcade missile game and mixed it with strategy elements and created a wild missile shooter that will keep you on the edge of your seat. You set up your battlefield with 6 units consisting of 3 Surface to Surface missile launchers, 1 Surface to Air missile launcher, a radar system and a command bunker. When both sides are ready you fire missiles at each other until all 3 SSM’s are dead or you lose the command bunker.

Product Link Here

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A Better Look at Things

Scudbuster is available from HyperKat (http://www.hyperkat.com/) as a download. Sorry kids, no pretty packaging to add to your collection. At least Al Gore will be happy, there is no more waste added to the environment.

Sometimes the only solution is..a well placed missile. That is the slogan for Scudbuster that greets you on the welcome screen. Who personally hasnt wanted to live by that motif especially during rush hour?

The first option screen offers the single and multi player choices, along with the option menu and a side menu with choices for a tutorial, stats and equipment explanations.

The tutorial teaches about the offensive and defensive units and missile types. The defensive units are composed of a CNC (Command and Control bunker), SAM (Surface to Air Missiles) and a Radar tower.

The offensive units are as follows:

SS-9 Launcher. Tractor crawler platform. Warheads are Standard Tip or SBX "Specials. The SBX is also known as "The Shotgun". Before impact this warhead releases a group of bomblets scatter around the target. Features fast reload times and presents a small target profile.

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SS-23 Launcher. Trailer based system. Warheads are Standard Tip or TBX "Specials". The TBX is also known as "The Trencher" since it lays a pattern of bomblets in a line up to the target. Features medium reload times and higher damage rating.

GV – 19 Launcher. HEMTT mounted system. Warheads are Standard Tip or MAB "Specials". The MAB is also known as "The Massive Air Burst" Tip. The MAB delivers a devastating area effect detonation that can take out multiple units. The launcher is heavily armored and has a large warhead delivery capability.

As seen above, there are three launch platforms and six missile types with varying ranges, damage types and radii for damage.

Installation, Testing and Comparison

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Installation is like any other Windows installation. There is no code key to enter.

Game play options are straight forward and you have the options for Easy, Hard and Extreme settings. There are five fields of battle to choose from and you can select to fight a single battle or a war.

The next screen allows you to pick your equipment and position it on the battlefield. You can also hit the random button if you are itching to go to battle right away. After selecting the weaponry deployment, hit done and you are now ready for battle.

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There are two Heads Up Displays (HUD) that offer information about your enemy and your own tactical information. On the top right, you will find the number of enemy units and their health status. Green colored units are active, red colored units are destroyed.

On the bottom of the screen you have a similar display for your units, plus a recon button which activates your squads recon unit, plus three launch buttons and the target select overlay.

Most of the game play is done with the mouse, but some keyboard input is required.

The first step in battle is to activate your recon unit, so you will have a target to shoot at. This usually takes a few seconds, so keep your eyes peeled for incoming missiles!! The space bar toggles your SAM defense, so if you see enemy missiles bearing down, get them in your reticules sights and fire away to destroy them. Keep your radar station protected or else your SAM will become useless!!!!

Once your recon reports, there will be a blue dot on your target select screen. Place your cursor over it and then fire your missiles! A red dot will appear on your target select screen and the destroyed enemy unit will turn red.

The battle will continue until you or your enemy has destroyed three SSMs or the command center. If playing with a time limit, then this will also factor into the end of the battle. The war mode will cycle you through each of the five battle fields.

Movies:

(Added by Editor)

We have seven in-game movies for you, but for some reason FRAPS would not capture the sound, but you get the idea..

The first two movies are the menus:

The next five movies are assorted battle movies to show gameplay:

Summary:

Scudbuster is a fun game that can be played quickly. Running under OpenGL and OpenAL for video and audio, Scudbuster will play on most any machine with any type of graphics card. The resolution size maxes out to 1600×1050, which is nice if you have a wide screen monitor. Appearance wise, the graphics are on par with Unreal 2004.

Multiplayer mode allows you to play others if you know their IP address or if you are on the same LAN. Unfortunately, there are no servers, so finding online opponents, may be limited.

If you are looking for a fun, quick easy to play game, then Scudbuster is for you.

DragonSteelMods gives Scudbuster a 4 out of 5 score.