| Tornado Outbreak | |
| Developer: | Loose Cannon Studios |
| Director: | Dev Madan |
| Producer: | Darci Morales |
| Publisher: | Konami Digital Entertainment |
| Genre: | Action-adventure |
| Modes: | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Platforms: | PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 |
| Composer: | Peter McConnell |
Tornado Outbreak is an action-adventure video game developed by Loose Cannon Studios and published by Konami Digital Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. The game was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June 2009. The game was later re-released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on December 6, 2011.[1]
Tornado Outbreak follows a group of Wind Warriors, that is led by Captain Nimbus. The Wind Warriors are a noble group of Air Elementals given the task of providing an atmosphere on lifeless planets. Players take control of a blue spiraling Wind Warrior named Zephyr, who has been selected by Nimbus to take over the reins of the squad of Wind Warriors. The Wind Warriors along with Zephyr and Nimbus uncover the anti-matter being known as Omegaton, whose six orbs of power were taken away from him by his enemies; flaming little creatures known as the Fire Flyers. In return for helping him regain his orbs of power, Omegaton provides the Wind Warriors with a Light Weight Object Amalgam Device (shorten as L.O.A.D. STARR) to protect them from the sun's deadly radiation.
Near the end of the game, it's revealed that Omegaton was from a backwards dimension; a hero in space is a villain on Earth. The game ends with Zephyr, Nimbus, and the Wind Warriors defeating Omegaton, and returning to their homeworld, Harmonia.
Tornado Outbreak features a variety of characters represented by the different elements. [2]
The primary cast featured American voice actors, with Mike Vaughn providing the voice for Zephyr. Actor and musician Lev Liberman voiced Nimbus, the Wind Warriors, and the Stone Stompers. Although not typically active in voice acting, Darci Morales, the game's producer, voiced the Water Whirls.
Tornado Outbreak's gameplay is often compared to the Katamari series. Players assume the role of Zephyr, starting as a small tornado that gradually grows by collecting objects. Players are required to stay within a shaded area at all times generated by the L.O.A.D. STARR, as Wind Warriors will die in direct sunlight.Each level consists of sections known as zones. The initial three involve Zephyr wreaking havoc on the environment and capturing Fire Flyers hidden beneath objects, symbolized by an orange glow emanating from the object. After collecting 50 Fire Flyers, players can choose to either continue the search for the remaining Fire Flyers or proceed to the next zone. Each zone's completion is given a score, influenced by the number of Fire Flyers collected consecutively. In addition to a score, a single Totem ascends from the ground.
After completing all three zones, Zephyr must participate in a Vortex Race to create a powerful tornado capable of destroying the Totems. The race begins slowly but gains momentum over time. Completing a full circle around the map concludes one lap; after three laps, Zephyr engages in a Totem Battle.
During Totem Battles, players steer Zephyr's tornado through a moving maze of clouds while defending his Wind Warriors from any fireballs launched by the Totems. When Zephyr gets close enough to a Totem, a button-mashing mini-game is triggered, leading to the Totem's arm being destroyed. Upon the destruction of all Totems, Omegaton's orb is revealed, unlocking the next level.
Development of Tornado Outbreak started in July 2006.[3] A PlayStation Portable port of the game was in consideration but was scrapped in favor of the PlayStation 3. The game was originally named Tornado Alley and focused around the premise of causing as much destruction within a given time limit.
Following the completion of , Dev Madan and Matthew Scott left Sucker Punch Productions to form Loose Cannon Studios with Ricci Rukavina serving as co-founder.[4]
Loose Cannon would go defunct without producing another game by 2010, with Dev Madan[5] and Matthew Scott[6] moving on to PopCap Games and Ricci Rukavina to found Kung Fu Factory.[7]
The game's development was first publicly announced on June 3, 2009, under the title Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals.[8] On July 9, 2009, the game received a new title, Tornado Outbreak.[9]
As part of marketing material to promote the release of Tornado Outbreak, Loose Cannon Studios and Konami Digital Entertainment put together a ten page comic that serves as a prequel to the events of the game.[10] The comic covers the backstory and origin of Zephyr, Nimbus, and the Wind Warriors and explains how Zephyr became leader of the Wind Warriors.
The game got moderate to good reviews. GameSpot gave it 6.5 out of 10,[11] Game Informer game it 6.75 out of 10,[12] and IGN gave it 8.1 out of 10.[13]
In 2010, the website WatchMojo published an article about Tornado Outbreak. The article highlights how the game, despite being overlooked as a budget title gain recognition for its fun and addictive gameplay.[14]