Toy Commander: The most local multiplayer fun you’ll ever have (that isn’t an FPS) July 22, 2009
Posted by Sharny in : Entertainment,Essay,Fun,Gaming , 2 commentsThe Dreamcast is in many ways considered to be a failed console, and indeed, it did spell the end for Sega in one way or another. Many say it failed due to a huge amount of the market wanting to wait till the PS2 was released. Still, it was the first console to have online multiplayer features and it was the first new console I ever received and therefore will always hold a special place in my heart.
Toy Commander has a similar personal connection. I can’t remember where or when I got it, only that I had liked the idea behind it from when I first heard about it and was willing to pay the above average price for a Dreamcast game to get it. It certainly was worthwhile. As a single player game it held up very well, the missions were interesting and varied, even if a few could get a bit frustrating. For a game of it’s time though, it was very well done.
But the real strength came in the multiplayer, me and my best friend played that game to death in two player battles. How we managed to remain interested in it for as long as we did is a complete mystery to me but really says something about what a fantastic multiplayer game Toy Commander was and still is.
The reason I’m writing this post is because recently the topic of retro games and old games that had a strong personal connection to us came up in conversation, I remembered Toy Commander and how awesome a game for multiplayer it had been but more I remembered how I had longed for another two controllers as I thought the fun would be multiplied greatly with two more people. So I went on eBay and had a little look around for Dreamcast controllers, they seemed pretty inexpensive and I picked up two of them for just £8.50 with free P&P.
When they arrived we immediately cracked out the old games, Toy Commander at the forefront and experienced the fun it brings.
What is so fantastic about it is that it’s a completely different game to any other of the games we’ve played local multiplayer on in the past. For one, it’s not a first person shooter. Mostly though, it comes from the pretty simple system combined with wonderfully intricate and detailed levels. The thing about normal flight combat in games is it takes place in massive areas which are all pretty much the same, there are no obstacles as you’re out in the open. Toy Commander brings the dog fights inside, into your living room or bedroom. Fights take place dodging behind chairs and curtains, into cupboards and under tables, around ceiling fans and through fire places. It is this aspect that really gives Toy Commander it’s wonderful originality and fun.
As with every great game, it’s easy to pickup and start playing but difficult to master. There is no other game like it. Which is really why I’m now imploring the game industry – someone please pick up the rights for a remake/sequel. This game would work so well on modern consoles and PCs. If it were done well, the levels would be expanded and more fun details added and the missions would retain their fun whilst hopefully losing some of their unclear instructions and frustration. Moreover, the game would work fantastically well online, with either Xbox Live or regular PC online gaming being perfect. I can just imagine the possible fun having a toy commander battle with 8 or even 16 players. The dog fights would be so tense, the battles could be raised to an epic scale. The fun would be multiplied even more.
I know the chances of remake or sequel are minute but it would be truly such a great game. It was a fantastic concept and I have no idea how it possibly dyed with the absolutely awful Toy Racer, what seems to be one of the most rushed games I’ve ever played. Even to just see it appear on the Xbox Live Arcade would be awesome, even in it’s original form. I’d love to see how my skills match up to others around the world.
Really, if you have a Dreamcast and don’t own this game you need to try and get your hands on a copy, it is THE most fun multiplayer experience on that console, if not any console ever made and probably the most original and fun multiplayer game you’ve ever played.
