Armada (video game)


Armada is a video game developed and published by Metro3D, Inc. It was released for the Sega Dreamcast in North America on October 31, 1999. Armada is a shooter role-playing game that allows up to four players to fly about the universe, fighting the enemy, performing missions and improving their ship.

Plot

Earth has been destroyed by the unfathomable Armada, giant space aliens of unknown origin with an unknown purpose. Fleeing in whatever was available, humanity took to the stars in a desperate attempt to survive. Eons later, humans have split into six distinct groups who maintain a shaky alliance against the Armada.

Development

Armada was developed by Metro3D, Inc., and was announced in mid-1998 as an online game. The company had previously developed a space-themed, real-time strategy game titled . In May 1999, the game was revealed to be a massively multiplayer online role-playing game in development for the Sega Dreamcast. The game was planned to be released as a launch title for the console on September 9, 1999, but was delayed until late September or early October of that year. The game was delayed again with a projected shipment the week of November19. Armada was finally made available at retail the day following Thanksgiving.

Reception

DC Swirl gave the game 3.5 out of 5 swirls. GameSpy gave the game 8.6 of 10 saying "A worthy addition to any Dreamcast library. And one of the few Dreamcast games that you can spend huge amounts of time trying to finish".
Greg Orlando reviewed the Dreamcast version of the game for Next Generation, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "As a solitary experience, Armada's RPG elements make the game worth a look - and maybe a second one, too. These unfriendly skies, however, are really meant to be traversed in the company of others."

Legacy

Armada FX Racers for the Game Boy Color, a racing game which takes place in the same universe as Armada, was developed by Metro3D and released in 2000. A direct sequel to Armada was under development, originally for the Dreamcast, then for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 under various titles including Armada II, Armada's Revenge, Armada 2: Exodus, and Armada 2: Star Command. However, due to repeated delays and redesigns along with limited resources, the game was canceled after spending over four years in varying degrees of development.
In early 2005, EvStream, an independent game development studio formed by former Metro3D members, purchased the rights for Armada. An online continuation titled Armada Online has been announced and is under development by Roger Fang and Mark Jordan. An alpha of the game was released.