Customer Reviews

MoonBase Commander

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When games are reaching a level of banal uninspired sameness, it's refreshing to see such a unique concept put into a game. What's surprising about this game though, is that the concept actually works.

For everyone who finds strategy games appealing, yet cannot get over the problems of resource management and unit creation, for one, this game is for you. True, elements of resource management and proper unit construction are present, yet they are improved upon in multiple ways. Firstly, the concept of a tech tree is eliminated, allowing for more flexible strategies in a combat situation. Secondly, Energy management is not usually a problem. All you have to do is place one or two energy units on an energy pool and you're set for the game.

The real treat, however, is how much this game focuses on tactical combat. Instead of throwing hundreds of basic, AI controlled units at each other, resulting in little more than blood and pain, Moonbase Commander relies on strategic combat and well managed unit placement to obtain victory. The many new features, including the elimination of free-moving attack units and the ability to spawn multiple bases, make you rely on your ingenuity to survive. It is especially satisfying when you are being pummeled by two combat centers near your central hub, but due to a well placed ancillary hub in the beginning of the game, are successfully able to slip a missile in from behind their base destroying their central hub. The explosions across the map are just rewards for superior strategic effort.

On the whole, Moonbase Commander is the quintissential strategy game for all ages. Great for a child with his first computer, or for dominating all your friends at LAN parties. Basically, what I believe I am trying to say is: buy this game or your life is forfeit.

The game starts out and you have control of a hub that is placed on the surface of a moon. This hub has the ability to make clones of itself. As well as produce many offensive and defensive units. Ok not sounding too revolutionary is it? The cool thing about moonbase is the way you create and distribute these other units. Each unit you create will have a cord attached to it. These cords will attach themselves to almost everything you create. So from one "home" central hub you will be able to clone many more hubs. That is, as long as you have the energy to do so. When you make a clone or another unit, you select a direction you want to go; charge up a bar by holding down the mouse button. Releasing it will launch it at the rate indicated on the power bar. It's simple in concept but it takes a while to master it. You see you can only land hubs or units on flat surfaces. If you hit the side of a cliff it blows up, and the cord attached to that unit blows up too. And you can never cross any cords. So space management becomes a serious gameplay factor when you have a limited amount of space to move around in. So once the game gets going you have a network of units and cords scattered across the landscape. So what's the point then? Well your out to claim this planet for you faction. In all their are 4 factions wanting to claim the planet.
From a hub you may build single shell bombs, cluster bombs, anti-air units, bridges, towers, attack units, observation balloons, shields, guided missiles, and so on. So you can launch bombs for attack and for instance, if you wish to build an anti-air unit to help defend your hub, you first select the unit from the hub menu, choose a direction in which to launch, and finally press the launch button. The newly placed anti-air unit will protect anything that comes within it's launching radius. It is key to figure out what that radius is, and to exploit it.
Weapons such as bombs and missiles are not connected to a hub via a cord, but are still launched just like any other unit. Friendly fire is a major concern as some weapons carry an area of effect with them, and a careless commander can easily blast his or her own units to bits.
Another major consideration to the game-play is the attention of the cords between units when attacking. When you face off against another faction you can take them out by hiting a hub or cord. There is a great strategy in deciding what unit to attack. You see attacking a unit that has many cords coming off of it will have a major effect. If you destroy a hub that is the source for a network of other units, everything built off of that home hub will be distroyed. Chain reactions can have a serious effect on the outcome of the game. This game is just plain FUN! Buy now!

I won't go into detail about gameplay. Others have done a fine job already. I would just like to say this is [great] for the money. The strategy, the graphics, the replay factor. This is an awesome game and a very well kept secret!

For twenty bucks it's hard to find a game with any real depth or replayability. Yet this game has both and more. The basic idea is simple: expand your base, and blow up the other guys. The genius of this game is how a simple set of weapons and buildings (18 in total) allows an incredible range of strategies and counter-strategies.

For parents concerned about violence, there's nothing to worry about here. The "buildings" are colorful and anonymous -- there's no indication of any harm being done to people. While there are weapons, e.g. missiles and bombs, these appear more cartoon-like than realistic (yet the graphics are great just the same).

Gameplay hearkens back to classic games like Scorched Earth and Worms -- you simply point your launcher in the direction you want to fire and hold down "Launch" to determine how far to shoot. Besides selecting power and direction correctly, no speedy reactions are required for this game (although quick thinking is).

At a time when most games cost alot or more, this game is a great value with broad appeal.

I agree with what the other reviewers have said. The graphics are great. The simplicity of the game does not interfere with the strategic element of the game. For me, I like the turn-based aspect of the game. There are usually too many distractions when I game that hurt me in real-time games. I also love the replay theatre. It can be very satisfying to relive the final defeat of your enemies.

The only thing that kept me from giving it a 5 star rating was that lack of any save game function. Once you start a scenario, you have to play it through.

If you can deal with that, you won't regret the purchase.

This is gaming perfection. This game is solid, it plays perfectly over a LAN, over the Net, and if you have 56K it plays GREAT! So if you're unsure of getting it because you feel you need a high speed connection to get good gameplay, that's not the case with this game.

The AI in the game is great. When you play against the computer you can pick what level of difficulty you want based on the AI player. Some are relatively easy and help you to get your feet wet, where as other AI is just down right ruthless.

This game is all about strategy, it is simple in its design, but it's complex in its application of said strategy. You would be surprised how indepth a game like this gets with only 18 units. I've played games that have lasted up to 2 hours, where as others have lasted 15 to 20 minutes.

The Game comes with a Level editor so you can make your own levels and have people play them with you. And Visa Versa you can play maps other people have created.

I don't care how old you are moonbase Commander is a game for you. Buy Moonbase Commander. And then have your friends buy Moonbase Commmander.

This game has a certain brilliance in it's simplicity that makes it stand out among all the RTS games I've played. It's kind of like the board game "Checkers". The rules are easy to learn, but you can really stretch your mind coming up with various strategies to defeat your opponent. I think of Moonbase Commander as a glorified electronic board game. It can be addictive, and it doesn't set you back a lot of money.

I would have given this game a higher rating if I was able to save a game in progress. It baffles me why this functionality was left out. That's an unforgivable oversight in my book.

However, if you're tired of all the expensive, realistic, intense, and resource-hungry games out there, and you want to try a game that's inexpensive, abstract, and relaxing, this might just be your ticket to gaming fun. Don't be surprised if you sit down for "just one game" some evening and look at the clock only to find that it's 2:00am and several hours have gone by.

This game is brilliant. A finely balanced set of units/weapons, terrain editor, team or free-for-all multiplayer games, clean (though simple) graphics, good sound, and IMMENSE depth of gameplay. We've been playing this multiplayer for almost a year now, and we're still not bored. Most games last around 30 minutes, with occasional hour-and-a-half games and the very sporadic 2-hour-or-more game. As a hardcore Starcraft, Warcraft 3, and Master of Orion 2 player, I'm not raving about this out of lack of experience with this type of game. It's just a solid game design. My gripe is that you can't save games and restart later. After a marathon 2 1/2 hour game on a huge map, we had to call it quits because it was 3 in the morning!

Everytime I think I'm starting to understand the subtle strategies of this stinkin' game, along comes someone to put me back in my place!
God I love this game...!

This is one of the very few games I've seen ( and I've been wargaming on cpus since I bought a TRS-80 many moons back ) that combines such cunning maneuvers and subtle nuances of play with well-timed ( don't shoot too far or too close! ) accuracy. And then there's the fog of war, and the wind...!
So you take a shot at the enemy. He puts up anti-air. You fire a cheap dumb bomb to keep his a.a. busy. So he makes a second a.a. unit. So you fire another dumb bomb to keep the 2nd a.a. busy...only to find his first a.a. is back online!
So you send a crawler his way, shooting it into place just short of his a.a.
So he hits your crawler with a reclaimer unit and gets energy indirectly from you!
Suddenly you realize you're outta reserve energy for the round...but he has lots of reserve energy still left...
So he hits you with a virus-bomb, then a spike bomb, and then...and then...all goes black...YOU LOSE!!!
Talk about a love-hate relationship!! Man, the guy who
invented this demonic sado-mashictic work of art must be one
piece of work: probably some kind of Doctor Strangelove fan lol...
So please, BUY THIS GAME! GO TO GAMESPY AND DOWNLOAD the 1.1 PATCH and JOIN US...we need more fresh blood to take out our frustrations on...okay? Please? I can't beat anyone WAUUUGHHH!!!

Being the lucky gamer that I am. I was able to play Moonbase Commander at Humongous Entertainment in Bothell Wa. where Moonbase Commander was created. I also had the great pleasure of watching Moonbase develop over the last year. It is one of my favorite games. Moonbase will have you hooked after 3 minutes of play-time guaranteed. Launching hubs and setting up your defense is so fun! It is so gratifying to blow stuff up and to see all the chain reactions you can set off by playing smart. I love the Crawler! It's this little bomb you can launch out and it crawls over the surface of the planet. Then as soon as it runs into something; LOOK OUT because the explosion radius on the thing is HUGE! It's a great feeling using all the weapons and defensive structures included in this game. It fits any manner of strategy you want to use. The concept of the game is revolutionary and one that will be copied because of it's simple genuis. Before I tried moonbase, I kinda wrote it off because of my dislike for RTS games. But that is not what Moonbase is all about at all. After I got a handle on the concept, and the gameplay of Moonbase, I was immediately hooked. It's the type of game you can't really describe to someone and do it a lot of justice. It is something that must be played to be appreciated. I'm addicted to this game. I showed it to my father-in law, now he's been bugging me for weeks to get him a copy. Moonbase's gameplay is such a cool concept, and it has been executed flawlessly. The graphics are very good and fit the game well. All the menu's are easy to navigate and you won't be confused with a lot of options. Moonbase is very simple in it's presentation and concept; yet once you look into it, it is a very deep and satisfying gaming experience. AND THIS IS NOT A GAME JUST FOR KIDS! Sure kids can play it, and it is even marketed with 9 and up on the box, but I'd say it is more for anyone who enjoys playing games. I don't mean just video games either, moonbase is really a game for anybody. Moonbase should be in everyone's game collection. If you love games you must own this game. Can't wait to see you on Gamespy. Thanks to all the hard working people who made this game possible because it is truly sweet gaming candy.

Killer
Bothell WA.