ShootMania Storm is a multiplayer first-person shooter developed by the French studio Nadeo, known for its masterpiece game TrackMania. The game is published by Ubisoft, which has included Nadeo since the fall of 2009.
ShootMania Storm stands out from most multiplayer shooters that are released in droves every year, often numbering ten to twenty. What makes it different? It is that this game was created under the guidance of experienced esports players, which means it is primarily aimed at a "hardcore" audience. Gamers who have played ShootMania Storm note that the gameplay heavily resembles famous projects like Unreal Tournament and Quake III. Huge speeds, high jumps, insane dynamics—all of what fans of Quake III loved is present in ShootMania Storm. At the same time, Nadeo's creation looks unique and original. Most importantly, ShootMania Storm features a built-in map editor, based on which (as well as existing modes and maps) gamers themselves can create mods with unique sets of rules.
Despite the fact that ShootMania Storm is a true platform for training esports athletes, ordinary players can also get accustomed to it. The entry threshold for the game is minimal, as understanding what to do comes almost immediately after launching the game. The interface is minimalistic and not overloaded with unnecessary windows, scales, and parameters, which is very convenient and allows players to stay focused on the gameplay. The game features a lot of interesting game modes, each of which is carefully thought out in detail. Interestingly, but not always, in ShootMania Storm, the player who scores the most kills wins. This is yet another important distinction of ShootMania Storm from other multiplayer shooters—players must always follow the rules, or else the team as a whole and gamers in particular will face inevitable defeat. So, let's quickly list some of the game modes in ShootMania Storm.
In the Royal mode, players land on a map with a flag (or control point) in the center and a semi-transparent dome that activates after capturing the control point and starts to slowly collapse until it stops in the center of the map. As a result, gamers have to fight in a space of just a few square meters, as the dome walls kill in a split second. The Battle Waves mode resembles the capture and hold control points mode but with more complicated rules—strictly limited time is allocated for attack, for example. Elite is basically a struggle between one player (the attacker) armed with a powerful weapon (the "railgun") and armor against weaker but more numerous opponents. Melee is a standard Deathmatch with a somewhat unfamiliar approach to scoring—here, successful hits on the enemy are counted rather than "kills." Battle is a standard team mode where players must capture and hold control points for as long as possible. There are also Time Attack and Joust modes. In Time Attack, you must pass all control points on the map and be the first to cross the finish line, while in Joust, you must defeat a single opponent in a duel. These are far from all the modes—there are many of them, and new ones are constantly appearing.