Yes, I'd have to agree with your opinion. Gameplay-wise, I'd say it's pretty much complete (aside from the hilariously incompetent AI, .) The big problem is that the purchasing system is broken to the point where I wonder if they've even been tinkering with balance at all. Everything is way too cheap, especially delivery vehicles and bunker parts, meaning that effective multiplayer tactics basically boil down to spamming heavily bomb-laden rockets until one's opponents have been utterly obliterated.
Making mining crucial to the game (with some AI dedicated specifically to mining) seems like probably the best way, having timed “drops” of additional funds would probably help too. Bunker construction is also an intriguing concept, but since you're able to make such huge and impenetrable bunkers it's very open to abuse, so perhaps limiting the radius around your brain in which bunker parts are place-able and requiring a direct path to the surface from all rooms would fix that. Finally, of course, the monetary penalty for destroying delivery systems should be far higher to prevent spamming.
I find it rather discouraging that in spite of having such an otherwise complete program to test with for years now, they've made no attempt at all in trying to create some kind of compelling and balanced game. A game without balance is just a simple toy, albeit a really fun toy full of explosions, in this case.
The developer doesn't care, really. He's in it to make a quick buck.
It was included in the Humble Indie Bundle and ended up being an incomplete, buggy mess amongst other complete, bug-free games like Braid. Made the entire bundle seem a bit less-than-it-could-be.
And when confronted about it (And about the fact that he hadn't updated the game in nearly 2 years!), the Developer, Data, resorted to childish namecalling and threatening to "Develop Slower" if people kept confronting him about it. Frankly, it made me queasy to think that he was getting a large cut of the Indie Bundle profits when his game was BY FAR the worst, with little signs of future development progress, and him taking that attitude. There were far better COMPLETE games that could've been included, and Data getting the Indie Bundle money will just encourage him to keep milking his incomplete game while not actually working on it.
IMO, it's a real shame that a game with such potential is held by such a greedy, incompetent, and lazy developer.
We can all learn something from the Legend of Zelda and it's triforce, Power is nothing without the courage and wisdom to make use of it...
Eriksson's review is spot on, in my opinion.
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Buggy and bare-bones, but fun. Also, cool mods.
The question about Cortex Command, considering that it is an incomplete Allegedly Free Game, is whether the promise of a full game and a handful of mods is worth 18 USD. After paying 18 bucks and going on a download binge, I'd have to say it (barely) is. Considering the unusual addictiveness of the game, access to the Game Mod selection is worth the current price, as the mod community offers a variety of ways to spice up the game. Everything from cameo factions to fully-automatic plasma grenade launchers and a variety of Game Breakers are there for the downloading, ensuring that the game will remain fresh until the developers finally get around to adding more content. (A personal favorite mod of mine is the UniTec
mod, which adds a metric ton of content to the game.)
However, you may have trouble playing with the fan-made toys, as reliability leaves something to be desired. Slowdown and frequent crashes tend to get in the way of combat, and loading (especially after adding on mods) takes forever. Custom missions are practically a no-show, and the game only offers 3 developer-made missions, all of them on fairly generic maps (as well as Skirmish mode, which has you defending a custom-built bunker until you begin to feel sorry for the enemy Mooks), which means the game's fun is hampered a little by the lack of truly original stages.
One final issue: Lethal Dronejam. Soldiers winding up dead on delivery can be just a little aggravating. Thankfully, tactics like avoiding rocket delivery and restricting yourself to one Red Shirt per dropship/dropcrate can help keep your troops from dying before the fight, so this frustrating little feature isn't as big of an issue as it would be if it happened at random.
My recommendation? If you're looking for a new spin on traditional videogame violence (or you love the idea of a Darker And Edgier version of Worms), download the demo. If you like it, buy the game and take a look at the mod selection
.