Trackmania maker’s multiplayer online first person shooter

ShootMania Storm is an online multiplayer futuristic first person shooter. From the makers of the massive Trackmania, it shares the same obsession with speed and keeping you playing almost without pauses.

Most big online shooters today will slow you down with complex ‘weapons load-outs’ and customizable characters before letting you into the action. ShootMania Storm is an antidote to that. There are various game modes, but all of them are fast paced and fun.

ShootMania Storm’s interface design is shared with Trackmania, and really needs improvement. To newcomers it can be a bit confusing. A ‘quick start’ button is normal for gaming today, and would mean the game could pick your servers and so on. despite this, we found that the match-making was actually better than in some bigger titles like Battlefield 3.

Starting out is no easier than any first person shooter. You’ll get killed a lot, but you are then straight back into the action, so you soon pick it up without any frustrating waiting. The main weapon is a kind of laser-rocket launcher, making moving targets a challenge. In ShootMania Storm, the only difference between you and another player is your own skill, so it feels much fairer than some online shooters.

ShootMania Storm is an interesting online FPS. It’s closest in style to Quake, although in some ways it’s even simpler. The game modes and maps are really inventive, and the community can even create new ones meaning there’s almost endless scope for innovation.

ShootMania Storm’s focus on speed and its community of players will make it really attractive to some players, but it’s difficult to see this level of simplicity winning over the Call of Duty and Battlefield fans.