If the name Carrier Command sounds familiar then you’re probably an old-time RTS fan or retro fanatic. The original Carrier Command, developed by Realtime Games, is a landmark ‘80s computer game. Available for the Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Commodore 64 and more, Carrier Command landed somewhere between the vehicle simulation and real-time strategy genres.
Set in the ‘near future’, scientists develop two robotic aircraft carriers to colonise an archipelago of 64 islands. Naturally terrorists get their hands on the more advanced of the two and so begin the players’ story and battle to not only defeat the enemy carrier but colonise the islands. This was accomplished by gathering resources and building vehicle units; the Manta – an aircraft and the Walrus – an amphibious tank.
Carrier Command was a hugely ambitious endeavor in its time that quickly became hailed as revolutionary and even the best of its era, collecting industry awards across several platforms and earning countless near perfect reviews. To say I was intrigued by what a modern big-name developer could do with such an era-defining retro title is an understatement.
In Bohemia’s iteration Earth has been taken over by the Asian Pacific Alliance and the United Earth Coalition are attempting to take control of an archipelago of islands on the water rich moon, Taurus. Players strategically position their carrier and units in an attempt to infiltrate islands of the archipelago and seize control of command centres therein. To accomplish this, players must, among other things, successfully detonate shield generators, hack security devices and destroy tracking stations before being able to take control of an island and collect its resources.
Immediately upon booting up players of the original are in unfamiliar territory by taking control of Lt. Myrik in an FPS mission which eventually results in control of your carrier. At first glance this addition would be welcome from a developer of such FPS series’ as ArmA (Armed Assault). Unfortunately this and the few other FPS elements of the game are incredibly simplistic and basic, creating a very unsatisfying experience.
After a half hour or so the real gameplay begins. Your carrier starts out damaged and low on resources with one Walrus for defense. With said Walrus, your challenge is to seize control of the command centre of the first island. Therein lies the goal of the entire game, albeit more complex and complicated as time goes on and unit numbers increase, as well as upgrades to both your carrier and units are implemented. Your carrier is able to hold a maximum of 4 of each vehicle type which can be resupplied from your ‘stockpile island’. Although your goal is to ultimately reach and seize control of an islands command centre, missions may require sub-objectives to be completed before you’re able to do so.
As you capture islands their resources become available for collection in order to repair your carrier and units as well as produce new Manta, Walrus or Drone units and discover new upgrades. You’re able to equip your Manta and Walrus vehicles with different weapon and armor types to create a well-balanced squad for varied assault types. There are also two types of Drones available; defense drones are equipped with explosives and serve kamikaze-like protection for the carrier. When an enemy Walrus approaches defense drones automatically navigate, dive and detonate upon impact with enemy vessels. Scout drones are small, unarmed aircraft whose purpose is that of exploration and spying on enemy territory and defenses. Powerful radar allows scouts to scan positions while maintaining high altitude.
The bad news with Carrier Command is the AI is, well, not intelligent. When ordering units to assault a position you will most definitely find one of your Walrus’ stuck on a tree, rock and sometimes nothing at all. Another annoyance is for some reason your vehicles appear to forget that they are amphibious and will take the longest possible route to their destination frequenting a preference for roadways in light of the more direct route across multiple terrain types. Generally this would be a non-issue if it wasn’t for your units inadvertently waltzing through enemy territory on what is seemingly a Sunday drive, until they’re destroyed. These issues become even more aggravating when you realize that most of your time spent in vehicles is in an effort to remove them from a rut or being stuck on some other piece of scenery.
Controls of the Walrus also feel clumsy, steering and accelerating with the left stick and aiming your turret with the right. This control scheme reminds of that in the vehicles of Borderlands 2, where you’re constantly repositioning yourself in order to get an angle with your turret that doesn’t rotate a full 360 degrees. Not to mention is far slower and less nimble than the Outrunner of Borderlands 2. On the flip side, the Manta glides through the air gracefully and with ease.
These shortcomings are a real shame however, because Gaea does a lot of things right. Customizing vehicles loadouts, piloting and firing with the carrier is satisfying and enjoyable, controlling supply lines and deploying units are all a great deal of fun. The graphics are also noteworthy with aesthetically pleasing environments that consist of different climates and weather effects while cycling through day and night. Although voice acting is shoddy at best and equal to the lip syncing, all other sound elements are presented beautifully from the firing of turrets to the soothing sound of the sea and birds chirping in the skies.
Poor voice acting, script and plot, as well as unnecessary FPS elements can all be forgiven. However the problems with AI are the root of Gaea’s issues. Being the fundamental element of playability, it’s difficult to ignore. In other game types, this would be a non-issue but in something that relies on the intelligence of not only your units but the enemy’s as well, it ends up resulting in a sizable hurdle for players to overcome. That said, the game is difficult in its own right regardless of the aforementioned AI issues. It takes time and dedication to upgrade weapons and armor as well as strategic planning to transform defense hubs into resource mines. In a sense, the difficulty level pays homage to Carrier Commander’s predecessors. For Bohemia CC:GM was clearly a labour of love for a retro classic and that love shines through, and there is much to love about the game. AI issues aside, Bohemia has stayed true to the original style while adding important modern elements and creating something fans can be proud to play.
If you’re a fan of the genre, a fan of the series or just wanting to try something different, CC is a decent time sink, you’ll spend hours upon hours strategizing and tweaking loadouts to your preference. Hopefully future updates will include work to the AI to improve an otherwise pleasantly frustrating experience.
