It’s wild to think that Starship Troopers has had this length of a lifespan. The first 1997 film did okay at the box office, but word of mouth helped make it the cult hit it has now become. Soon, it had an animated series, comics, and plenty of direct-to-video sequels. But when it came to video games, those who wanted to experience something close to Starship Troopers had to settle with the Earth Defense Force series. Thankfully, fans can now do their part in the bug-killing with Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!

The game is set up as if it were straight from the Starship Troopers universe. With the aid of the United Citizen Federation, players will take on missions that “faithfully” recreate the battles faced by the brave Major Samantha “Sammy” Dietz. Alongside General Johnny Rico, we see the kinds of rough fights Major Dietz had to go through in order to achieve peace throughout the lands. Invading alien planets, protecting popular vacation spots, and even dealing with bug attacks on their own bases, players get dropped into the chaos with guns blazing and knives stabbing!

Immediately, players will see just how tongue-in-cheek Ultimate Bug War! can be. You are promised the most realistic portrayal of Major Dietz’s battles, only to be greeted with visuals that blend 16-bit and 32-bit styles together. The bugs are all three-dimensional, but your soldiers-in-arms look like they’re straight out of Wolfenstein 3D. And yet, even with these two styles, they surprisingly mesh together perfectly.

Then, there are the cutscenes. Casper Van Dien reprises his role of General Rico, while Charlotta Mohlin plays Major Dietz. Watching the two of them act off each other is a great example of doing comedy with a serious face, akin to the late great Leslie Nielsen. But there’s no hamming it up from these two; only true beefcake soldier energy that would get any Starship Troopers fan pumped up. The commercials and propaganda videos only add to the satirical hilarity of this universe, with ads involving life insurance, vacationing, and signing up to be a member of the UCF bringing many giggle-inducing moments.

But how about the gameplay itself? That’s where Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! shines brightest! Even on the low Recruit setting, players can expect plenty of chaos in the worlds you will do battle in. Gunning down bugs, planting bombs on the big guys, and helping to defend areas from swarms all occur with both urgency and delightful mayhem. You can even do a little friendly fire without too much setback, but you might not want to gun down your pals too much. (The allied NPCs are actually pretty smart for once!)

When you deal with the waves of bug attacks, that’s when the game can get truly maddening. Bugs of all different shapes and sizes will come at you in all directions. When that happens, it’s best to make sure you have plenty of ammo at your disposal, a challenge seeing as there are not many places to retrieve bullets. In fact, during one wave, I found myself with nothing but my stabbing knife, of which I used to slowly take down a couple of tanker-sized bugs. (General Rico would’ve been proud of me!)

You also have the option to experience what it’s like to fight from the bug’s perspective. Although there are only a few levels to experience this, it’s very fun to take down the UCF soldiers with your insect body, be it with your arms or via kamikaze-styled attacks. However, it takes a bit to figure out the controls, especially when you need to transform to take on the next objective. Nevertheless, it’s super fun!

There are a couple of issues that keep Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! from reaching true perfection. For starters, I could never properly figure out how to switch out weapons. So most of the time, I found myself sticking to what was armed until I ran out, causing the game to switch to the next weapon on its own. With that being said, it did teach me how to strategize when it came to gunning down bugs.

The other issue with the game is its length. Currently, it has ten main missions and five bug missions. If you find yourself spending about 20-30 minutes in each level, then you’ll find yourself completing the game in under six hours. With that being said, that’s still a decent amount of time for a $25 game, and there’s always hope for DLC down the line.

PROS:

• Faithful to the Starship Troopers world
• Challenging missions, smart allies
• Unique weapons

CONS:

• Weapon selection controls can be tricky
• Not enough ammo spots
• Short runtime

FINAL THOUGHTS:

It may run a bit short, but Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! is truly memorable. It does just about everything right that most movie-based games get wrong. With its wild gameplay, twisted sense of humor, and classic look, Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! is one military game worthy of a 21-gun salute. I just have one question for you: Do you want to live forever?

Promotional consideration provided by Thomas Schulenberg of Tinsley PR. Reviewed on the PS5.