Game Reviews

Cmnd/ctrl review - A retro shooter that doesn't quite add up

Star onStar onStar halfStar offStar off
|
iOS
| Cmnd/ctrl
Get
Cmnd/ctrl review - A retro shooter that doesn't quite add up
|
iOS
| Cmnd/ctrl

You may think Luke Skywalker had a tough job of it embarking on his legendary Death Star trench run, but he didn't have to worry about counting while he was reaching out with his feelings.

Cmnd/ctrl asks you to fly a tiny space fighter through similarly narrow trenches, but the key obstacles here are a range of giant numbered blocks.

Counting shmup to six

The numbers on those blocks signify the number of shots it's going to take from your ship's auto-firing blaster in order to blow them up.

Faced with a '6' block and a '1' block, then, you're going to want to choose the '1'. Otherwise your fighter could very well slam into the '6' block before you've managed to reduce it to zero.

If you've ever played Voodoo's Snake VS Block (or something similar), you'll be familiar with the principle - though Cmnd/ctrl makes it feel more like a classic vertically scrolling shmup.

Shooting for the skies

Given the shmup vibe, it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that there are power-ups to collect that temporarily increase your firepower in a variety of way.

With an increased rate or spread of fire, you can really lay the smack down on those numbers. Screw you, maths!

There are also coins to collect, typically positioned off the natural path and so requiring a bit of risk taking. You might also grab a magnet, which pulls collectibles towards you.

Losing ctrl

You can definitely see the potential in a shoot-'em-up with a mathematical edge, but Cmnd/ctrl isn't the game to fully see it through.

It's simply too basic and too rough around the edges. The controls are functional rather than fluid, and I never quite felt in full control of my ship despite a simple 'drag left and right' setup.

Your ship is also extremely chunky, and with unforgiving hit detection it's way too easy to crash into the side of blocks as you're starting to position yourself for the next batch of blocks.

Coming up short

Perhaps least forgivable of all, I noticed a spot of slow-down at various points. For a visually sparse, brutally simple freemium shooter running on Apple's current flagship iPhone, that's pretty tough to swallow.

I also found that the ad-driven Extra Life function didn't always work, which is annoying - especially given that the game isn't shy about throwing ads your way as it is.

Cmnd/ctrl has a decent idea at its core, but it's simply not executed with enough fluidity or panache to see it through.

Cmnd/ctrl review - A retro shooter that doesn't quite add up

A smart idea for a number-based shooter that doesn't execute fluidly enough to see the concept through
Score
Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.