Ever since I first played Age of Empires 2, I have appreciated the RTS genre of gaming. So when I heard there was a console
RTS game from some of the head creative people behind the Diablo series, I was intrigued. So when I rented the game and played
it, did I enjoy it?
Story
Once upon a time, a man created a bunch of goblins and lived happily ever after. However, as the Stonekrusher clan discovers,
their creator is dead and they are the suspects. The leader of the Stonekrusher clan, Grommel, goes with his clan to figure
out what is going on.
The story in this game is okay, but it really could have been better. The lines of dialogue feel uninspired and just
keep the story from reaching it's potential. On top of that, the plot does not have any of the suspense it wants you to have
when going through the story.
Presentation
There are two main modes of play in Goblin Commander: campain (Single Player) and skirmish (Multiplayer). These modes
are nice, but it would have been nice to have seen computer opponents that you can play in Skirmish mode.
All of the menus and fonts that are in game fit Goblin Commander very well. There are also some cutscenes in this game
that move the story foward. This sounds great, but the problem is that you cannot skip through the cutscenes, but just fast-foward
through them.
Sound
The sound effects and music in this game are not good, but not necessarily bad either. With that being said, one of the
worst parts of this game is the voice acting. In what appears to be a few grunts and moans, the goblins are apparently speaking
multiple sentences! Jaleco should have gone to great lengths to deliver some fantastic sound, but in the end, it falls
flat.
Graphics
In the graphics department, Goblin Commander does a mediocre job with it's graphics engine. There are invisible walls
and ugly character models in the game. On top of that, the load times can get unbearable in certain points
of the game. However, the destructable environments and a cartoon-esque look give the game a nice feel.
Gameplay
In Goblin Commander, there have one clan to choose from when you first play the game, but four more to unlock. Each
of these clans have different advantages and weaknesses. For each clan, ten units can be created and ten units alone.
To create units, a base, souls (which are earned by killing enemy units or finding soul fountains) and coins (which are
earned by destroying objects in your environment). Outside of units, you can create one titan (even if you have three different
clans) and three turrets. However, you cannot create buildings.
The fact that there is a limited amount of turrets and units that can be built is a serious flaw of the game and ruins
what would could have been a wonderful gameplay experience. To add to the list, the fact that buildings can not be built really
destroys the fun.
The previously mentioned campaign mode is based on completing missions in the game. Though these missions can be challenging,
they can also seem routine at times, but really makes them worse is the AI. On some missions, the AI will try to attack your
base, but at other times, they make no attempt to crush your buildings.
Yet, with all of those complaints, the best part of this game is the control. All of the tasks that are commonplace in
the RTS genre can be done and with a feeling of total control. There is a part of the game when units can be controlled and can
command other units to join it. The common RTS control scheme and the possesion control are do not stand out, but
the option to have two different control schemes is nice. To add to my list of praises, the camera in this game is superb
and gives a nice view of the game.
Closing
Goblin Commander, in a nut shell, is a mediocre game. It sets up a great building block for future RTS games to hit consoles,
but nothing else in the game makes it better. As a warning, this game is hard to find now if you have a big interest
in RTS games, but for everyone else, stay away. This game receives 3* out of 5*
