Star Command review: Our opinion about this mobile game

Star Command enters the world of "space opera". In other words, you'll be managing your ship and crew during your interstellar epic. You'll have several types of weapons and rooms at your disposal, which you can modify as you see fit. The game can be purchased from the Play store or the App store for €2.99. Despite its low price, there are a few flaws that spoil what could have been a promising recipe. Whether it's a pale copy of FTL: Faster Than LIght, or a game in its own right, that's what we're here to find out.

Star Command, discovering the universe

You'll start the game not as a simple soldier out of the cradle (or your mother's skirts, as the case may be) but as the captain of a spaceship, a real one, a tough one, one with some experience. So begins your adventure, as in any RPG, simulating a simple mission to start with, then as the game progresses the battles will become more complicated and management will have to be ingrained in your mind. During your journey, you'll change galaxies, meet some curious creatures and, above all, fight all sorts of belligerent enemies. It's best to go back and forth a bit to get the hang of the game, and don't forget to assign your crew to the combat or space engineering rooms. Star Command is simplistic in its 8-bit design, or pixelated if you prefer. So far so good, the music even makes the whole thing visually pleasing, but it's the gameplay and depth of the game that lose some of their charm.

Interesting gameplay, where are you?

As you'll have gathered from the title, I have several criticisms of this game. Firstly, the room and crew system is a good thing, really, it makes the game interesting to assign a crew and allow them to gain experience. What's missing for me is some depth to the gameplay, a little something extra. In fact, the game's pitch runs out of steam very quickly, in addition to the very predictable storyline.

Star Command will be played out in two phases, the first involving preparation, choosing equipment and crew. Then there's the combat phase, which involves defending your ship from bloodthirsty enemies. The entire crew will play a role, whether in terms of arming, repairing or even dodging damage. Rooms are recruited and upgraded via a token system, which you can collect from battles or dialogues. However, room and crew upgrades can be counted on the fingers of one hand, so there's not much to get excited about...

And the background?

I've already commented on the pixelated style, 8bits is nice (a bit nostalgic perhaps?). The soundscape is also nice. However, the space backgrounds are a little too similar. What's more, the story is too predictable, and the script fits on a piece of napkin. There's plenty of humour in the game, but far too much of it falls by the wayside (I should point out that the game is entirely in English, but nothing too complex). As with any RPG, you'd expect a wide choice of dialogue and, above all, a specific outcome. And that's where the problem lies. Most conflicts, no matter what choice you make, will end in a battle (battles that are ultimately very repetitive and don't lead to any sense of satisfaction). In short, the game's lack of depth is regrettable. In short, that's all we could say about the Star Command review.

In my opinion

Star Command could have been a really good game, and when it was kickstarted in 2012 it promised a lot. Star Command still offers a good lifespan, so you'll play it once, but regret the lack of depth. Note that the studio is developing "Star Command Galaxies", which seems to be taking up the concept with more funding. Maybe we'll get a decent game within the year, but let's not despair.

Positive points

• A few good lines of writing
• Meticulous design

Negative points

• Repeatability
• Lack of original storytelling
• Too many unmet objectives