I misunderstood Super Stardust HD when I first played it. On the basis of being a downloadable twin stick shooter, the game was often referred to as “PlayStation’s Geometry Wars.” I was obsessed with Geometry Wars and when I played Super Stardust, it didn’t scratch the same itch. I dropped the game almost immediately. I probably never would have gone back to it, but Sony and Housemarque got me to give the game another chance with a new PS3 feature…
Super Stardust HD was the first game to have trophies on PlayStation. As a fan of achievements on Xbox 360, I wanted to see how PlayStation’s take on metagame accomplishments compared, so I updated my PS3 and the game and dove back in.
This time, I gave the game more of a chance, and as a result started to better understand what it was going for. Less Robotron and more Astroids, it became apparent that SSHD had a different inspiration than Geometry Wars (and this was before I learned the actual history behind the game).
When I went back to the game the other day, I realized 1) I didn’t actually get very many trophies in 2008 and 2) there is even more going on with this game than I remembered. From your position on the spherical playfield to swapping weapons on the fly for optimal offense, there is a lot to keep track of. It’s a demanding game, from the moment you’re dropped in to the boss fight at the end of each planet.
I’m glad I revisited Super Stardust HD, both times. While it’s not my favorite Housemarque game, I do like it a lot for what it is, not what I originally expected it to be.
Screenshots and video captured by me from original hardware (PS3) via an HDMI splitter connected to an Elgato Game Capture HD60 S+.
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