John Carpenter's Toxic Commando

Toxic Commando delivers chaotic co-op fun and explosive action, but shallow progression and a repetitive structure hold it back. A solid shooter for short sessions with friends, though not one that will leave a lasting impression.

John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando feels like the ultimate fantasy for Black Ops fans who dream of Treyarch releasing the Zombies mode as a standalone game. However, Saber Interactive takes it a step further by offering vehicles with advanced physics.

John Carpenter's Toxic Commando reimagines a tried-and-true formula, transporting it to a new open-world setting where the Swarm Engine's capabilities once again demonstrate their effectiveness in managing hordes. The result is a riot of blood, bullets, gasoline, and ignorance that will delight anyone looking to spend an evening hunting zombies with friends. When everything runs smoothly, Saber Interactive's title effectively conveys the feeling of being in the middle of one of those apocalyptic films where the only priority is surviving yet another wave of the undead. However, the game's offerings, as they stand, are far too limited and quickly become repetitive. The project's underlying structure is solid and shows promise, but new content will be needed to transform Toxic Commando into something more than a fun cooperative shooter for a couple of evenings.

Best enjoyed with friends, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando has some solid, if not amazing or transformative gunplay, paired with some fun class abilities and a more open-world approach to the genre’s typical level design. The narrative can be gripping, making for an engaging first playthrough, but there isn’t too much to come back for after that.

Toxic Commando has immaculate vibes and incredible set pieces for fans of post-apocalypse mayhem, but it struggles with mission design and performance issues. For fans with friends, it might still prove indispensable.

Legendary director John Carpenter lent his name to this zombie-filled co-op action game, which is acceptable but doesn't quite measure up to the quality of the master's films.

Toxic Commando never really manages to be more than the sum of its parts. It's enjoyable, and the big horde set pieces remain a gaming highlight, especially at its peaks in the finale, but like a 90s family holiday, there's also just a lot of time spent looking at a map to plan your route, and then driving to the next sightseeing stop while the kids in the back pretend to shoot stuff out the window.

John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is a simple but effective cooperative experience, brilliantly combining action, tactics, progression, and fun. It’s a solid choice for groups of friends looking to refresh their catalog for a few explosive evenings.

John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando feels like the kind of game I would’ve rented on the Xbox 360, for better and worse. It’s a simple, no-nonsense shooter that offers some classic arcade-like fun. That comes at the cost of narrative and mechanical depth, but it’s still a good time if you’re looking to restore that old school feeling.

Toxic Commando is a fun game that offers some meaningful shifts on the four-player zombie-killing genre. While the story is goofy and fun, true to John Carpenter's legacy, the characters can be grating and the missions feel somewhat narratively disconnected. Gunplay and progression are well-honed, though, offering an engaging zombie-killing time any group will have a good time with.

What Toxic Commando does, it does very well – but most of it has already been seen elsewhere. Carving through zombies is fun, but by failing to leverage the idea of superpowered protagonists, the threat of fatigue after completing the story for the first time looms large, which isn't ideal for an online game like this.

A fast-paced, brutal, straightforward shooter spectacle – the kind horror film alumnus John Carpenter lends his name to. If you want to unleash Snake Plissken-style co-op mayhem, you'll love it. Solo players should look elsewhere.

Like the zombie shooters that came before it, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is all about shooting monsters and spilling guts with big guns, and fending off hordes with your best pals. Some aspects of the game are suspect but aren’t game-breaking. That said, the biggest issue with Toxic Commando is that it doesn’t strive to be anything more. As long as you’re not looking for a groundbreaking experience, Toxic Commando can be a great way to burn your weekends with.

There are some good laughs here, along with sporadic moments of showstopping spectacle. [Issue#422, p.102]

John Carpenter's Toxic Commando blends Left 4 Dead-style zombie blasting with systems borrowed from Saber's back catalogue. The results work well enough, but are undermined by flabby mission design and unnecessary meta-progression.

It's yet another shooter in an already overcrowded genre and despite Carpenter's name and the (at times) beautiful aesthetics, there's nothing here that stands out or makes you react. Fun in small doses? Absolutely. But something you'll be talking about in a year's time? Hardly.

Especially when playing with mouse and keyboard, Toxic Commando is a fine shooter for up to four players - even if lacking variety in the long run.

Toxic Commando is ultimately fine, but there are many better co-operative shooters you could spend your time with. Perfectly competent shooting is brought down by repetitive missions and an absolutely threadbare campaign. If you absolutely must play a new zombie shooter, you might find some fun here, but if you’re looking for something more fulfilling than video game junk food, look elsewhere.