Cargo Commander

 PC
User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 26 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 26
  3. Negative: 5 out of 26

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  1. inquiesco
    Nov 2, 2012
    9
    Give Commander Keen a wider frame, beard, coffee overload, a lonely station in the middle of nowhere, randomly generated levels spawning seemingly endless arrays of containers, cargo and alien hitchhikers and you have Cargo Commander in a nutshell. Trying to scrape out a meager existence to return home to Earth to see your child, Love (capitalised; she's only referred to as such) and yourGive Commander Keen a wider frame, beard, coffee overload, a lonely station in the middle of nowhere, randomly generated levels spawning seemingly endless arrays of containers, cargo and alien hitchhikers and you have Cargo Commander in a nutshell. Trying to scrape out a meager existence to return home to Earth to see your child, Love (capitalised; she's only referred to as such) and your dog, you're tasked with using your home - well, more of a large container with an air conditioning unit, potted plants and repetitive music - as a magnet to attract large containers laden with cargo and other goodies. After they've crashed into your home at speeds enough to send shivers down any crash dummy's spine, you can either enter them by drilling through un-striped wall panels of the container, or float through the convenient gap in your hull straight into it. Watch how much time you float around in space; not only do you have a limited oxygen supply (which can be upgraded somewhat) but there are small, arrowhead-shaped enemies that fly through space and can do quite a bit of damage to you.

    Other varieties of alien can be found within containers and are all trying to ruin your already miserable existence in numerous forms and explode into the game's currency - caps, which are used to upgrade your suit, health and armor, tools, weapons and to purchase ammunition. You'll find it of great benefit to upgrade your drill early on as it is crucial to drill faster when escaping hordes of spawning aliens. The drill, being a arm-mounted tool, doubles as a robotic fist you can upgrade to cause increasingly painful melee blows to ward enemies away. Initially armed with the aforementioned tool and a nailgun, you can find weapon terminals within some containers to acquire and swap-out secondary weapons, of which I've used a six-shooter and shotgun (I've been unlucky). Caps can also be used at certain intervals to purchase a car package your family has sent. I got sent a drawing from my child, which went right up on the wall in the section of the ship which seems to be assaulted the most. Sorry kid.

    There are a great variety of randomly-generated containers to breach, explore and loot from. I've encountered containers shrouded in almost pitch-black lighting only to spawn four simultaneous waves of enemies, 'slave ship' containers with laser-protected cells, containers filled with bombs and containers laden with flame-spewing turrets to name a few. There are also special containers that contain a large cargo box within, which can either be destroyed to yield smaller cargo boxes with wonderful, wonderful loot, or a large alien bent on tearing off the delicate cargo boxes from between your legs. That isn't so wonderful. There are over 80 types of loot which will randomly generate within cargo boxes each level, so the key to finding them all is purely down to experimentation. As you enter containers, their layout is generated and depending on how they've impacted your home, their orientation may rotate, giving players a potentially nauseating challenge as the camera angle changes. With all this variety you also have to manage time, as every so often a wormhole forms, sucking containers into it's depths in order of the farthest container to the closest.

    Levels themselves have content that is as randomised as the level name. Each level name dictates what it contains, which is a cool element to have because you can create levels using any word you want, or perhaps a friend's name, and share the level around. It's also available for other players to play through the random game function. The random game function is self-explanatory, but also contains a scoreboard for each level, bringing some competitiveness into what is otherwise a single-player affair.

    All in all, Cargo Commander is a great platformer with interesting elements that keep things fresh for many hours. Retailing at $9.99 on Steam it's highly-affordable and I recommend it to anyone wanting fast-paced, alien-busting, loot-collecting, platforming goodness.    … Expand
  2. c0d3monk33
    Nov 2, 2012
    9
    A little rough around the edges with some graphical issues that will hopefully be patched, but otherwise a great indie game that's full of quirky flavour. The easiest way to describe Cargo Commander is probably 'challenging platformer + graphical nethack in space'. You're looting abandoned cargo containers in randomly generated sectors. Each container is essentially a platforming level inA little rough around the edges with some graphical issues that will hopefully be patched, but otherwise a great indie game that's full of quirky flavour. The easiest way to describe Cargo Commander is probably 'challenging platformer + graphical nethack in space'. You're looting abandoned cargo containers in randomly generated sectors. Each container is essentially a platforming level in itself, with the added challenge of shifting gravity and the cold hard vacuum of space outside the flimsy container walls. Watch out for the former, mutated Cargo Commanders that also frequently occupy the containers. Definitely a good buy from Steam.… Expand
  3. anonygoose
    Nov 14, 2012
    8
    Pretty entertaining little game. It's not hugely deep, but what it does it does to a good standard. The game in a nutshell is based around collecting cargo by attracting cargo containers to your cargo ship in deep space. Each set of containers that you attach to gives you a certain amount of time to get the cargo from them before a wormhole forms and forces you to rush back to yourPretty entertaining little game. It's not hugely deep, but what it does it does to a good standard. The game in a nutshell is based around collecting cargo by attracting cargo containers to your cargo ship in deep space. Each set of containers that you attach to gives you a certain amount of time to get the cargo from them before a wormhole forms and forces you to rush back to your ship. You use a drill to gain access through the hull, or even through the floors and walls inside the container itself, if you don't wish to go outside. If you do go outside there's a limited air supply (referred to as holding your breath in the game!) which forces you to drill through fairly quickly into the container if you do decide to go outside.

    Each container may or may not have: cargo, monsters, weapons, money.

    Each map (generated by the word you use to get there) has a leaderboard to compete against other users who used the same word to get there. You'll all play an identical set of stages/containers and even come across the bodies of other cargo commanders. There's no multiplayer interaction beyond this small 'social' aspect, which in my opinion does not detract from the experience.

    It's a fun title to play when you're sick of something deeper. The only issues I have with the gameplay itself are: it's often hard to tell quite where an entrance to a container is when you're in space, which leads to a few cheap deaths from suffocation. There are also flying space monsters that seem to spawn indefinitely every few seconds on the later stages of a map. The majority of my deaths are from these, which takes away from the fun of drilling tactically into
    a container to avoid the monsters inside, only to have never ending waves of flying space monsters nibble you to death. If they didn't spawn wave after wave of them in the exact same place I would be able to see how they're adding to the difficulty in later stages, but with them working in that way it just feels like a really irritating way of trying to keep your inside the containers and funnelled down the entrances created when they collide into each other.

    There's also a few crashes here and there, a graphical glitch or two as well, but they're few and far between.

    Overall it's a great little title if you're looking for some quick fun. I'm not sure why it's got some fairly "meh" critic reviews so far, but I suppose it's one of those games that will either 'click' with you or won't.    … Expand
  4. lanm
    Nov 26, 2012
    2
    I'm very disappointed by the use of a strange type of Alway On DRM in this game. When not connected to the internet you can play the game, but you can't make any progress. You can't ever get to the next level. To unlock new levels you have to play in "Normal Mode" (online) as opposed to "Local Mode", as the makers call it. There are also severe bugs that mean you can't play the gameI'm very disappointed by the use of a strange type of Alway On DRM in this game. When not connected to the internet you can play the game, but you can't make any progress. You can't ever get to the next level. To unlock new levels you have to play in "Normal Mode" (online) as opposed to "Local Mode", as the makers call it. There are also severe bugs that mean you can't play the game directly from Steam on Mac, but have to locate the application folder and run it directly. Apart from that, the game is OK. The game is novel with the way the level gets built around you as containers crash into your ship, every container having it's own gravity, and being able to make short leaps through open space. But after you've seen all that in the first five minutes, the game becomes very, very repetitive.… Expand
  5. pypes
    Feb 11, 2015
    3
    I'll cross post from steam as that doesn't seem to be working right now.

    This fails the important "Would I have paid for it if I'd payed a demo" test, which is a shame considering I forked out the thick end of £7 on what looked like a great (and more importantly deep) game. It's fun for 10 minutes at a time, and you can get used to the fast pace dictated by the wormhole mechanic,    I'll cross post from steam as that doesn't seem to be working right now.

    This fails the important "Would I have paid for it if I'd payed a demo" test, which is a shame considering I forked out the thick end of £7 on what looked like a great (and more importantly deep) game.

    It's fun for 10 minutes at a time, and you can get used to the fast pace dictated by the wormhole mechanic, even if it isn't my first choice of play style. However the game mechanics are an inch deep, there is very little variety in the content and it soon gets boring. The saddest thing about it is that it's another "indie" game built on a solid idea, with great potential, that gets pushed out the door half baked as soon as it reaches the point that people would pay money for it (the grand total of 2 music tracks is very telling in that regard)

    2 years post launch it's also not entirely bug free, containers are generated with inaccessible sections, something has eaten one of my sector passes (which are a stupid idea anyway, why limit players to 2 new areas at a time?) my score is no longer displayed and the game occasionally freezes. Pushed out unfinished, and left to rot on steam, can I have my money back?    … Expand
  6. Awesumo
    Sep 4, 2013
    10
    excellent immersive entertainment.
    Don't listen to the detractors. Sure this game gets repetitive after the first 5 hours but for its budget price that's plenty of gameplay.
    The atmosphere, the longing for home, and the desperately trying not to suffocate while avoiding space thingys that are trying to kill you is excellent immersive entertainment.
  7. TeddyMcBovril
    Apr 27, 2015
    10
    A really fun and charming game. Solid platforming with a good upgrade system.

    The idea is that the level is generated by attracting cargo containers to your ship which form the next little bit of the level. You continually attract more cargo containers to explore making the level longer, pushing you further from home. Wormholes tear apart the magnetic bonds between the cargo thus    A really fun and charming game. Solid platforming with a good upgrade system.

    The idea is that the level is generated by attracting cargo containers to your ship which form the next little bit of the level. You continually attract more cargo containers to explore making the level longer, pushing you further from home. Wormholes tear apart the magnetic bonds between the cargo thus creating a sense of danger when you venture out. This makes for a constant pressure when venturing further out, adding risk to stretching out your exploration.

    The charm with its great soundtrack and story really complete this wonderful new idea and keep it all together.

    Really great game. Defiantly worth the price.    … Expand
  8. Sakarias
    Jun 24, 2015
    8
    Pandarve is technically 95% correct in his evaluation - from this particular point of view at least, a very exact description. What he fails to mention, is the charm of the game: the lone bearded working man living in a cube, in the middle of cold, unforgiving space, his washing hanging on a line from the walls, with The Company charging money for each refreshing cup of coffee, withPandarve is technically 95% correct in his evaluation - from this particular point of view at least, a very exact description. What he fails to mention, is the charm of the game: the lone bearded working man living in a cube, in the middle of cold, unforgiving space, his washing hanging on a line from the walls, with The Company charging money for each refreshing cup of coffee, with homesick country/bluegrass playing in the background (and yes, you can turn it off also should you so desire). It is true, this is not the greatest platformer ever made, perhaps depending on the definition, but I find myself coming back from time to time, just for the whole feel/vibe of it.

    PS: I'd say only 95% correct, since I didn't find the gfx sub-par, if certainly not even remote flashy either. "Flashy" isn't what this geme is about, either.    … Expand
  9. indeo
    Mar 3, 2016
    0
    Poor stuff, poor game design, do not buy this game, go spend your money whit other thinks... I played this game for only 30 minutes, that`s all, you can`t play more this.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. DarkStation
    Feb 14, 2013
    70
    Cargo Commander does a lot of things right. When the risk of getting cargo mixes with the need to return to your home cube it’s an exciting feeling. It requires you to think of how you’re going to get through the more difficult cubes in order to get the big cargo reward. Unfortunately, the game’s repetition and unchanging structure keep it from capitalizing on its strong foundation.
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  2. CD-Action
    Jan 6, 2013
    60
    An interesting offer if you're looking for a game suitable for short sessions – longer ones will get boring. [1/2013, p.69]
  3. GameCritics
    Jan 6, 2013
    55
    With its limited customization, uniform enemy AI, and ineffectual weapons, Cargo Commander tightly constrains the player's tactical and strategic options, no matter the mode. The game may be set in deep space, but Cargo Commander's gameplay feels like it's trapped in a box.
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