Developer: Serious Brew
Category: Miscellaneous
Released: Nov 2012
Usual Price: £6.99
Hours Played: 3
Controller Compatible: No
Rating: 0 Stars
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Cargo Commander is a big curate's egg of a game. The niggling little drawbacks and annoyances, for me, make it ultimately a disappointment; yet it still has plenty of interesting ideas with regards to both gameplay and progression that means it could have been a contender.
Personally, I'm not keen on the retro look and those blocky, pixelated fonts but that's it and there it is. Another computer activates the magnet and this essentially starts the game or brings on the next wave of containers (more on that later). When starting the game, it feels a little odd and unusual but it all starts to makes sense after a while. Initially, when you begin, you are shown your objectives next to little tick-boxes and after you've done this, you realise that it's all part of the tutorial. You're then left to play the game proper. The game is about best scores and these are shown at the navigator computer at your space station. You also pick up 88 possible collectables as you play and these can be viewed by hitting "Status" at the title-page.
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Menus, Progress & Stats
Your title-page has your space-station floating in outer-space with the choice to either "Continue" the game, look at your "Status" (see below) or to change some "Options." On hitting "Continue" you're taken to your home-base or space-station where you control your commander. Here, you move your commander around and access computer terminals which serve as menus. When you click on one, the camera zooms in on the big green screen and shows you information. One shows you the different sectors available and a leaderboard for that sector, another shows the collectables you've picked up while another shows upgrades you can buy with the caps you pick up along the way.
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To play, you need to first choose a sector to play in which you do via the navigator terminal at your home base. Once done, you hit the Activate Magnet terminal. This causes huge containers to come crashing towards your base. Once they hit, you set to work by setting forth and collecting crates. You have to beware though because not only does each container have its own maze of platforms and its own gravitational force but each contain robots of varying kinds that are out to kill you. Furthermore, you'll need to make sure you get back to base when the alarm sounds that signals a wormhole is about to come along and suck everything into a big black hole and into the depths of space.
Fail to get back in time and you're toast. First I'll mention the good and then deal with the bad in the conclusion: CG manages to create an intensity that generates the right type of nervous energy and panic. It is certainly exciting to play and you really do feel that tension when the alarm rings out and you need to get back home. Also, once you get the hang of the movement, controls, the gravity pull and the layout of the containers you feel yourself becoming more proficient and it feels good to play. Finally, the game really conveys the one-man-alone-in-outer-space atmosphere very well recalling, as it does, films such as Silent Running and Moon. The great sound, especially that honky-tonk tune issuing forth helps with this as well.
1. Many areas are too dark.
2. You never know when the alarm will actually go off making this luck-based mechanic a tad unfair.
3. When the pull of gravity ends up getting too tricky, you end up using the get-out-of-jail free manouevre; i.e. just drill a hole in the side and dive into outer-space!
4. Zooming out is sometimes necessary to get the full picture of where your home is. However, while doing this, your character becomes a speck and you can't tell what you're doing.
5. The inclusion of retro graphics is off-putting. The green menu-screens are shabby and the icons of the 88 collectables - as well as the whole progress screen - is plain horrible.
6. The game doesn't save your game and high-score as it says it does when you end a day. You're actually left back at zero points and all progress is lost when you fire up the game next time.
7. The upgrading screen froze and crashed my computer when I was quite deep into the tutorial and I had to start it again quite a few times. Yes, resentment and annoyance ensued.
8. After the novelty has worn off, the game can seem repetitive and a bit like an endless grind.
9. There is no controller support for a game that cries out to have controller support!
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Conclusion
With all these positive points, it's a shame that Cargo Commander has a longer and more compelling list of bad points that end up undermining and overshadowing all the good.
1. Many areas are too dark.
2. You never know when the alarm will actually go off making this luck-based mechanic a tad unfair.
3. When the pull of gravity ends up getting too tricky, you end up using the get-out-of-jail free manouevre; i.e. just drill a hole in the side and dive into outer-space!
4. Zooming out is sometimes necessary to get the full picture of where your home is. However, while doing this, your character becomes a speck and you can't tell what you're doing.
5. The inclusion of retro graphics is off-putting. The green menu-screens are shabby and the icons of the 88 collectables - as well as the whole progress screen - is plain horrible.
6. The game doesn't save your game and high-score as it says it does when you end a day. You're actually left back at zero points and all progress is lost when you fire up the game next time.
7. The upgrading screen froze and crashed my computer when I was quite deep into the tutorial and I had to start it again quite a few times. Yes, resentment and annoyance ensued.
8. After the novelty has worn off, the game can seem repetitive and a bit like an endless grind.
9. There is no controller support for a game that cries out to have controller support!
- And there it is. Perhaps the inclusion of a time-attack option or the inclusion of other types of mode would have given the game another fresh angle for players to try. As mentioned, it's a shame because a lot of the gameplay is actually quite enjoyable and exciting - and that lazy honky-tonk tune is a definite plus! Unfortunately all those negatives together mean I will not be making Cargo commander a regular feature on my hard-disc.
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