Star Command

 iOS
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
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  1. games(TM)
    May 10, 2013
    70
    Persevere beyond the obfuscation and awkwardness of the opening act and everything begins to click into place: your finely-tuned vessel becomes a labour of pride, and deliberating how best to distribute tokens rewarded post-conflicts – the in-game currency used to build, staff and upgrade facilities – becomes genuinely involving.
  2. Destructoid
    May 6, 2013
    70
    Star Command is an addictive sci-fi simulation experience, provided you're willing to stick it out until the second playthrough to get to the real meat of the game.
  3. Pocket Gamer UK
    May 2, 2013
    70
    While blasting aliens out of the sky can be fun, Star Command lacks the depth of true space sim.
  5. IGN
    May 9, 2013
    67
    Star Command’s intense, frenetic battles are a lot of fun… at first. But sheer repetition and a lack of any real depth drag down the experience. It looks great, sounds great, and for a brief time even plays great, but it runs out of fuel quickly.
  6. Multiplayer.it
    May 10, 2013
    65
    A repetitive sequence of identical star battles, usually frustrating and without a strategic method. A fanciful diversion for the Star Trek fan but not the simulation you are looking for.
  7. Pelit (Finland)
    Jun 13, 2013
    63
    Star Command could've been the most epic iSpace adventure, but unfortunately the game falls short. Real-time is the biggest downer, after an über-boring start, the game generates itself in to an super fast-paced. Style and ambition exceed the use of logic. [June 2013]
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  8. Edge Magazine
    May 7, 2013
    60
    It’s rarely elegant – a horde of zombie cosmonauts exited our ship as quickly as they entered after arriving next to a hull breach – but in battling back from the brink of obliteration there are moments you’ll feel like a surrogate Kirk. Crashes, glitches and repetition break the spell, but when it’s time for some thrilling heroics Star Command proves itself a worthwhile enterprise.
  9. InsideGamer.nl
    May 16, 2013
    53
    Star Command couldn't live up to the expectations it set for itself. The great visual style and sharply written dialogue form the shell of a failed Kickstarter-project. Star Command lacks diversity, the entertaining space battles quickly become repetitive, the artificial intelligence is bad, it isn't well balanced and succumbs to a wealth of bugs.

Awards & Rankings

22
#22 Most Discussed iOS Game of 2013

User Reviews

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User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 28
  3. Negative: 12 out of 28
  1. myglasseye
    May 4, 2013
    4
    A triumph of style and ambition over sense, logic and good design. In other words: it’s pretty but I found it painful to play. My quickA triumph of style and ambition over sense, logic and good design. In other words: it’s pretty but I found it painful to play. My quick verdict: don’t bother, and get FTL instead.

    This is what would happen if you took the aims of FTL (command a starship) and rejected all the great design decisions FTL made, and crammed the result into a very pretty façade that features some of the most tedious micro-management of fiddly-to-control characters I’ve played in a while.

    So many poor design decisions:

    - there’s no tutorial that explains how ship weapons are fired, so look forward to spending at least the first couple of battles struggling to get what you’re supposed to do. Clever stuff.

    - crew can only do one job at a time, and in order to switch their skill you have to slooooooowly march them over to the room that matches the skill you want them to have, then sloooooowly march them back to the area that requires attention. When you’re flooded with invaders and need to fight back, enjoy marching your team through the ship just for a change of wardrobe, then back to the invaders. God it’s tedious.

    - rooms that require the production of specific ammo will not just keep making that ammo for you. You have to re-initiate production after each and every unit they produce. If you forget, which it’s incredibly easy to do, you’re stuffed. Why do this?

    - the text style they chose is hideous and really hard to read. Fits the retro-look, but there’s a reason we don’t present screens of text like that any more: it’s horrible on the eyes.

    - and God help anyone attempting to play this on an iPhone. I know plenty of people are doing, but they must have the patience of a saint, or incredibly high tolerance for frustration.

    And that’s before we get onto the endlessly repetitive missions (go to a planet, sit through the screens of text, enter battle. Every time. No variation), and the fact that it’s perfectly possible to just send all your crew into one room, ignore ALL the damage your ship is taking, even the hull breaches, and wait it out until you grind the enemy shields down eventually.

    But hey, it LOOKS nice…

    In my personal opinion, despite lovely(ish) presentation and a whole heap of atmosphere, it eschews sense and logic to produce a game that just throws one frustration after another at you to draw out the play-time. I’ve no issue with hard games in which dying and starting again is all part of the appeal. That’s why I love FTL.

    But this is just a mess of frustrations and after a couple of games, neither of which were ever much fun, I have no desire to play any more and an overwhelming urge to fire up FTL and run a starship with proper crew who don’t have to change their jersey just to fire a phaser.

    Go get FTL for your PC or Mac, and don’t waste £2 on Star Command.    … Full Review »
  2. doktorwer
    May 9, 2013
    0
    I don't know how they've cowed all the developers in to giving them favorable reviews. I just bought the game and have been playing it and canI don't know how they've cowed all the developers in to giving them favorable reviews. I just bought the game and have been playing it and can tell you that they are all bogus. Star Command is incomplete, has shoddy controls and I wish there was a return policy for software. A game is not the sum of its screen shots or media outlet reviews, buyer beware.

    I would wait to purchase this game.    … Full Review »
  3. Fimio
    May 6, 2013
    4
    Calling this a "good" game is not doing the game industry any favours.

    I wanted Star Command to a "good" game, it had potential to be a    Calling this a "good" game is not doing the game industry any favours.

    I wanted Star Command to a "good" game, it had potential to be a GREAT game, but unfortunately missed the mark on almost all aspects. I spent most of my 3 hours playing this game wondering how they left out so many obvious features. So much so that it ultimately feels like 70% of a game. Poor controls make this more of a frustration than anything else. The story attempts to be funny but is mostly cringe worthy and completely uninspired. Your crew is borderline brain dead, standing in fire until death or walking their dumb asses right out of the gaping hole in the side of your ship etc.

    I dont often write bad reviews, but I make this exception because I truly did want Star Command to be great, yet it feels more like a rushed cash grab which only becomes more frustrating given its huge dev cycle.

    giving this game a good score only enables dev teams to pump more mediocre games into the market.

    What a let down.    … Full Review »
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