Control Craft 2

Developer:  Elite Games Ltd
Steam Release:  Feb 2016
Hours Played: 5.7
Similar To:  Crush Your Enemies / Galcon Fusion / Infested Planet / Mushroom Wars
Rating: 5/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY
Control Craft 2 is a little known strategy game that takes its main idea from Galcon Fusion but is perhaps better known for its implementation in Eufloria HD. Some may also know of its use in Mushroom Wars. You take control of the blue team's stations or towers. Displayed on the tower is a number that represents the number of units it holds and this number forever rises until it reaches the tower's limit. You drag a line from one tower to where you want your units to go and then drop them on the desired destination. The units (or soldiers) then leave their starting tower and proceed to march there. If their number exceeds that which is displayed they take it over proudly displaying the blue colour. If not they deplete the number but fail to recapture it. To beat a level you must take over all towers.

BALANCE & PACE
Of course all the while your enemy is doing exactly the same; increasing their number by spreading and taking over towers. There are other little mechanics included along the way like upgrades to various units and use of special abilities but that's the gist of it. Out and out aggression, especially capturing towers and spreading your army early, seems to be a tactic that works well. This, and immediate use of special abilities to reduce and squash the enemies' number will also tend to tip the scales in your favour. Control Craft 2 appears here instead of Galcon Fusion because the artificial intelligence is finely balanced creating a feeling of gradual progression. Unlike that game, you'll not feel like the fun is being sucked out of it because you feel like you're playing a chess program set on the Grandmaster setting.  

PRESENTATION & DESIGN
The art-style and design screams mobile gaming which may be an issue for some but which doesn't hamper enjoyment at all from the game. In return you'll get a solid, albeit fairly short campaign, with the stability behind it. In zoom-out mode (which you'll need to see the whole battle) all the action covers one screen and while the game calls for rapid selecting and frantic dragging it makes access to units an accessible, fret-free process. The atmospheric soundtrack hints at a spy-theme vibe which suits the sneaky manoeuvres you'll need to adopt. Finally, you'll have the pseudo Schwarzenegger voice to look forward to as comments issue forth from the obedient units on the walkie-talkie after receiving commands. 

PROGRESS SYSTEM
There is a very steady and straightforward progress system used by Control Craft 2. You follow a path of 27 squares representing each level and these get filled in as you complete them. New squares unlock and are made available as you go. Each square brings up a screenshot of the area, it's name, best score and the kill ratio - not that I feel there is a great deal of replayibility here. There is a Skills screen which upgrades various units and special abilities as you go but I found this to be quite linear with many being locked and with no explanation as to why. Some special abilities also remained greyed out and inexplicably inaccessible.   

CONCLUSION

Control Craft 2 will no doubt be passed over by the masses but it does a first-class job in improving the Galcon Fusion formula and turning it into a concoction where effort and different strategies can yield worthwhile results. Unlike some strategy games, getting defeated early in the campaign does not mean a soul-destroying failure here. It actually gives you enough insight, information and indeed motivation to be able to rethink the tactics, prioritise certain attacks next time - and to reap the satisfying victory. Consequently, steady progress and thoughts of being able to complete the game becomes a tantalising reality that you'll work on to achieve.