Toy commander

Review by : The Ragin Cajun

Format : Dreamcast

Type : Action

Players : 1 - 4

This little gem of a game is, perhaps, the most over-looked of all dreamcast titles. The plot is simple, having just discovered new space aged toys, your older toys have fallen by the wayside. Needless to say these toys are a bit pissed (I swear to god I’m not making this up) and thusly begin a revolution. In order to restore order to your house you have to take your few remaining toys and face down the rampaging hordes of older toys.

Ok as far as plots go its up there with the average episode of a cheap soap opera. But where this game really shines is in its gameplay. Taking its cues form older games like lemmings and 3 Vikings, the game gives you a task for each level and a number of vehicles (usually one or two) and using their skills you have to complete the mission. Off course its rarely that simple. The training mission see you landing a BI- plane on an airfield, then going into a helicopter to transport 3 lumps of sugar into some tea, then you must locate a bar of chocolate and the guide a toy truck to the chocolate. Weird, but definitely enjoyable.

The graphics, like most dreamcast title surpasses all other efforts on other consoles, but by dreamcast standards are somewhat lacking. They aren’t bad, just when put beside say sonic adventure or power stone, the look a little bland. That said though, the levels are packed with neat features, shoot the taps and water comes out from them, like wise shooting the light switch puts out the light and can help if you want to attack under the cover of darkness. Your vehicle and the enemies are also well rendered, but it’s just that the walls and floors look un-interesting.

The sound is sort of a hit and miss affair. While the FX of missiles and machine gun fire is fine, the background music that plays during missions quickly becomes infuriating and will have you reaching for the MUTE button faster than a very fast thing. Which is a shame because with a little bit of work on the part of the developers, No Cliché, the sound could have rivalled the gameplay as something truly special.

Speaking of Clichés, there are very few to be found in this game. Despite the fact the missions are of either a seek and destroy/ racing/ or recon type, the game keeps throwing new tricks at you. For example one levels sees you trying to squash bugs, the best way to do that is to kill the queen bug. But a big spider guards the chopper you need to get to the queen. You’ll have to kill the spider, then use the hot water nearby to dissolve the webbing on the copter, and then kill all the bugs. And as you progress, the missions become more and more varied.

The lifespan of the game, unlike most high profile dreamcast titles (soul calibur anyone) is extremely long. The game has loads of levels and a 4-player deathmatch mode that, if played with 4 people who know how to handle the aeroplanes well, is one of the best multiplayer games on dreamcast so far. This game however does have some flaws, like a difficulty setting that every now and again seems to delight in giving you particularly fiendish missions to try and complete. Couple this with the fact that you have to clear the missions in a certain time in order to face the boss, and you have a game that could be seen as “too hard” by some people. But those of us in need of a challenge and would do well to track this little gem down as fast as you can. Now if you’ll excuse me there are some rowdy toys that need to be put in their place...

Sound         : Ok sound fx but BAD BMG

  9/10

Gameplay    : Responsive controls and good gameplay

  9/10

Difficulty     : Very challengeing

9/10

Graphics      : Not the best by dreamcast standard

  8/10

8.5/10

Overall         : A good overlooked game

Review by : The Ragin Cajun