Starship Troopers is one of our favorite movies. And Starship Troopers: Terran Command is turning out to be one of our favorite games. However, we did mention the 1997 movie twice already. And in two separate articles. The first is in our article about Helldivers. Yeah, we explored military science fiction through a couple of movies, and Starship Troopers was one of them. You can check out that article here.
And the second article was about Tomorrow War. Another great game we might add. But in that particular article, we mentioned 4 very distinct intergalactic wars. And yes. The war between United Citizen Federation and the Arachnids. You can also check out that article here.
But before we get to the film and TV portion of the franchise, let’s take a closer look at the game that inspired this article.
What’s Starship Troopers: Terran Command All About?
Developed by The Artistocrats and published by Slitherine Ltd, Starship Troopers – Terran Command is a thrilling real-time strategy game. A game that’s set in the Starship Troopers movies universe. Take command of the Mobile Infantry and do your part in the war against the Arachnid threat. Build, develop and control your armies to strike an effective balance between tactical superiority and strength in numbers. Ensure that human civilization. Not insect, dominates the galaxy now and always!
Starship Troopers: Terran Command is available for purchase here at IndieGala. Get it now.
What Are Some Of The Steam User Comments Saying About It?
• An authentic starship troopers experience. The only good bug is a dead bug. Says Sapphykinz in his Steam review.
• While INTERWEBS!!! adds: Memes and references aside, this is a fun game.
And What’s In The Starship Troopers Franchise?
Well, the franchise got it’s start as many of the other franchises in Hollywood tend to start. With a book or a comic book. In this case, it’s the military science fiction novel (Starship Troopers) by the American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Published in 1959, the novel subsequently brought us several movies, an animated TV show, Japanese OVA, comic books based on Starship Troopers and plenty of games.
But even 25 years after the release of the original movie (by Paul Verhoeven), it seems that the movie is just as misunderstood now. As it was a quarter of a century ago. The movie barely got the money back at the box office. And it got pretty terrible reviews too.
What’s the OG movie all about? Well, set in the 23rd century, the film follows the exploits of a teenager, Johnny Rico, and his friends. While serving in the military under the Earth world government, the United Citizen Federation. Furthermore, humanity’s exploration and colonization of outer space brings them into conflict with an alien species (the Arachnids). Which leads to an interstellar war.
A Misunderstood Masterpiece?
Yes. And the reason for that is because Starship Troopers is satire. A ruthlessly funny and keenly self-aware sendup of right-wing militarism. It’s a crying shame that not that many critics understood (or rather still don’t understand) that. Furthermore, the film critiques the military-industrial complex and the jingoism of American foreign policy. And yes. The culture that privileges reactionary violence over sensitivity and reason. And you’re probably thinking. This is a movie where Earth sends a space military to kill a bunch of giant bugs. Yes. But those who failed to appreciate the movie’s message will most likely see it as a bug-killing flop. Hey, even Roger Ebert hated it.
“one-dimensional,” a trivial nothing “pitched at 11-year-old science-fiction fans.” He said in his review.
And yes. I’ll be first to admit that although secretly genius and very misunderstood, Starship Troopers is a very strange movie. Even for the low 90’s standards. And yes. Satirizing war—condemning war—is easy. Even today. But when it comes to the impact that the movie has had since 1997, is that the Troopers’ only sin is taking itself lightly when it was expected, apparently, to be more serious.
Did The Sequels Do A Better Job?
No, not really. Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation was a 2004 TV movie that was made with about 5% of the cost of the original movie. While 2008’s Starship Troopers 3: Marauder saw the return of Casper Van Dien (in the role of Colonel Johnny Rico). Both of the sequels got mediocre/mixed reviews, and they’re now completely whipped out of our memories.
Now we can’t forget about the two Japanese sequels as well. Starship Troopers: Invasion from 2012, and the 2017’s Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars. They’re adult computer-animated military science-fiction horror films of course, and they’re not that better. Despite the fact that Casper Van Dien reprised the as Rico in a voice role. Following Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles (1999) and Invasion (2012), Traitor of Mars is the third CG animated project in the film series’ universe.
A Look At The Future!
And what about the future? Well, back in 2011, reports suggested that producer Neal Moritz and Columbia Pictures were interested in rebooting the Starship Troopers film series by more closely following Heinlein’s novel. Verhoeven was unhappy with the idea of the reboot being more faithful to the book, however. But In 2021, Van Dien said a potential television series was being discussed at Sony Pictures Television. Although talks had been stalled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and nothing has been confirmed since.
Are You A Fan Of Starship Troopers: Terran Command?
And the rest of the franchise? Let us know which movie is your favorite as well. We’d love to know all about it.
