Carrier Command (ported to the 21st century by Bohemia IA)

Toonces · September 28, 2012, 09:17:56 PM

Thanks for the reply. I didn't realize it was 50 clams...gonna have to wait on a sale for it.

mikeck · September 28, 2012, 09:25:47 PM

I played the beta months ago. Got about 30 minutes out of it before I concluded that it sucked. Can't say why.....it was just sucky. Repetitive I guess. Didn't like the first person view firing from ships a la "beachead" on my c64. I dunno,.bleh.

Jarhead0331 · September 29, 2012, 05:07:39 AM

^thats a bit of an unfair simplification. It sounds like you really didn't give it enough of a chance. The strategic gameplay is a lot of fun, and it certainly imvolves more than the above description.

mikeck · September 29, 2012, 08:57:10 AM

Perhaps....but have you ever played a game where after a few minutes, you didn't want to play anymore to fully evaluate? Couldn't put my finger on it.

LongBlade · September 29, 2012, 09:04:28 AM

Quote from: mikeck on September 29, 2012, 08:57:10 AM
Perhaps....but have you ever played a game where after a few minutes, you didn't want to play anymore to fully evaluate? Couldn't put my finger on it.

I've been there. It is the most difficult thing I have to do as a reviewer - figure out why something isn't doing it for me and writing in a way that helps readers understand it.

The only thing I can say is that you played a beta - betas are, by definition, incomplete. As a general rule, drawing a conclusion based on a beta is typically not a good thing.

That said, the inability to articulate why you didn't like a game is a real reaction. I hate having that feeling.

Jarhead0331 · September 29, 2012, 09:25:24 AM

Quote from: mikeck on September 29, 2012, 08:57:10 AM
Perhaps....but have you ever played a game where after a few minutes, you didn't want to play anymore to fully evaluate? Couldn't put my finger on it.

Definitely...more times than I'd like to admit!

mikeck · September 29, 2012, 04:30:24 PM

Ok...fair is fair. I looked at some YouTube clips of this and there seems to be more going on than I remembered. Didn't know you could attack with AI controlled Mantas flying along side. Definitely more immersive than when I played the beta and just flew around shooting crap. Also, weapon effects are improved....beta effects were very dated. I will wait for some reviews.

spelk · October 02, 2012, 04:17:18 PM

From my time with it this evening, my initial impressions are not good. (Xbox 360 version)

Starts you off Campaign mode with a god-awful cheap and nasty FPS, tacky presentation, generic bland enemies, soldiers and maps, no jump! Later on lets you fiddle in a vehicle. Clunky. Like the Mako or the Warthog haven't happened yet. Typical Bohemia Interactive vehicles though, I suppose. Lets you inside the Carrier, dark tedious corridors, flashlight, shiny textures, *shudder*.

Once you get out into the sea, and onto the first island it starts and gets a little interesting, but only because you get to glimpse the strategic interface. Suddenly you control a vehicle but from a top down map. You can shift in and out of it. Then you get another vehicle in support. Then you spend a lot of time trying to get the two to co-ordinate together using commands on a thumb wheel, to press two buttons at the same time.

It's interesting in as much as you're always waiting to see what else they open up for you. But, as far as compelling game goes, I haven't hit any sweet spot, and more often than not I've been cheesed by the awkwardness of the handling, the sheer frustration of the unit commands (especially trying to get one vehicle to stay put, when swapping to another vehicle), and the pathing can be a bit iffy at times - when the AI is calculating routes from A to B.

I think if it gets more open world, and gives you more toys, and pits you in battles where you can make a difference by co-ordinating the combined arms, it might be worth a look, in a month or two time when it's half or quarter price.

As it stands I'd say avoid, unless you have a deep admiration for Bohemia and the original.

Coming out of Borderlands 2 and it's vehicular control and gunnery, into this, is such a stark contrast I may as well have stepped back in time 10 years!

Bit sad, because I had high hopes for it as a strategy game, with jump in ability, like Battlezone II. In fact I was hoping it was the next Endwar. But it's not. It just isn't.

mikeck · October 02, 2012, 06:08:31 PM

Did u try the open strategic game? Skip the campaign.

Jarhead0331 · October 02, 2012, 06:29:33 PM

Quote from: mikeck on October 02, 2012, 06:08:31 PM
Did u try the open strategic game? Skip the campaign.

Ditto...although it starts to open up, the campaign is garbage. Stick to the strategic mode and you should find enjoyment.

As an aside, the FPS portions in the campaign were a real disappointment and I'm not surprised they kept it hidden from the beta testers.

spelk · October 03, 2012, 02:21:04 AM

Quote from: mikeck on October 02, 2012, 06:08:31 PM
Did u try the open strategic game? Skip the campaign.

I tried that first, but it said I should play the Campaign - at least until I'd finished the Tutorial (I'm paraphrasing here). So I took the games advice, and started the Campaign, sadly.

Huw the Poo · October 03, 2012, 07:58:45 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 28, 2012, 08:01:57 PM
AI pathing blows. That it was my main complaint so far.

As a huge fan of the original game, I was really looking forward to this remake but I've heard nothing but complaints about the pathfinding. Apparently it's so poor that you really have to babysit your units, which is a deal-breaker for me.

Let me know when it's patched up and I'll be in!

LongBlade · October 04, 2012, 09:12:01 AM

I got a press release this morning announcing a demo has been released, but I can't find it on the Carrier Command website.

steve58 · October 04, 2012, 09:56:23 AM

^Its up now...1.5GB! Only 2 sites available. I tried the Bistudio one and it was pretty slow. I'll give it a shot again this weekend...maybe.

http://www.carriercommand.com/demo/#dnl

Jarhead0331 · October 04, 2012, 10:13:00 AM

Pathfinding aside, I am having fun with this game. I just wish there was a more solid infantry component, even if they were just droids. It would be fun to load them up into walruses and mantis's and land them around islands. You could come up with some pretty exciting amphibious invasions with vertical envelopment if you could do this.