Xbox live arcade should be a place of sharing arcade classics, which are free, and showing off creative miniature games which are imaginative, easy but enjoyable, unfortunately Xbox live arcade is nothing like that. There are though the odd creative & original games which are worth the price tags; this game is certainly one of them. Commanders Attack of the Genos is an original turn based strategy title developed by SouthEnd Interactive, makers of XIII. This game is basically a multi-player motivated strategy, but it bases itself around the 1920’s theme and their old view of how UFO’s and Aliens would have looked like, quite a few games have taken this theme idea, but not many in the form of an arcade game. Commanders Attack of the Genos has a story, peculiar, but a story nonetheless. The story has a ‘what if’ twist like situation, what if humans created a superior race which grew ever so powerful to even threaten their own creators? An interesting & outrageous concept, but it suits the original and outrageous game.

Gameplay:

Firstly, Commanders attempts to cover all game types. There’s a campaign, versus, team play, & player vs. CPU mode. You can even play offline with up to four people on the same system; this is all in one Xbox live arcade game, this game should be commended for that alone. The gameplay, like I mentioned before, is a turn-based strategy. It’s a 3D map which is cut off into squares which you move across, like a chess board. Each turn, a single unit moves across a certain amount of spaces, when a unit is in range it can fire. There are two factions (Humans & Genos) and there are several units in play at the same time. The units vary from tanks, infantry, artillery and gunships. Within each class there are different types. There is also the commander of your side, who has a few special attacks & is the ‘Queen’ of your battlefield, if you lose this unit you may as well give up, it’s that useful, and it’s that important. The game does however follow a very simple, but effective, gameplay mechanic for balance; it relies almost completely on rock, paper scissors. This means that a light tank is especially good against infantry & a heavy tank is especially good against a light tank, not a sophisticated type of strategy mechanic, but necessary for a turn-based game. What’s really amazing about this though is that it’s fairly easy to pick up, the short tutorial mission teaches you everything you need to know, and then you’re away; this is how arcade games should be. The campaign is relatively easy and not too long, but this is sufficient for an Xbox live arcade game. But where most of the fun lies is within the multiplayer modes, it’s strange how the strategy increases tremendously with an extra couple of players, and of course, it adds an extra challenge. The multiplayer maps are very similar to the campaign ones, but this isn’t a point of concentration when you’re trying to face off against another human player, this can be very satisfying to play, and at times, you’ll completely forget you’re just playing an Xbox live arcade game. One little problem is that the maps are fairly bland and could have done with a little spicing up, there's a lack of objects and just plain boring scenery in some areas, I guess it was probably not the main priority for the developers.

Graphics:

Graphically the game suits the setting and story very well, it also suits the playful theme of the game. The characters which pop up on screen are as garish and cheesy as the game itself, it’s great. The graphics, if compared to anything, look like Team Fortress 2 in strategy form, just nowhere near as detailed. But the plain simplicity of the cel-shaded graphics just seem to fit. The explosions and effects the units cause are impressive and satisfying to watch. It is a shame though that the game’s settings are so bland, there are different terrain areas, but they all look quite boring.

Sound:

A lot of effort has been put into this game in every aspect, and this is including audio which is taken for granted a lot in today’s games. Not only do the explosions and gunfire look impressive, but they sound impressive. When you destroy a vehicle it explodes in an over exaggerative way, but it’s also pleasing to witness at the same time. All buildings and units have sound effects so nothing feels missing ambiance wise in game, except for the 2D characters that talk every now and again, but that isn’t really required for a game of this nature. I know that the developers had tried to go all out for a 1930’s retro feel, but the music is just a little too goofy and over the top sometimes, I’m aware that this isn’t a serious game, but if you imagine you’re trying to think in an online game it can get a little irritating.

Longevity:

This is probably the game's main highlight; its longevity is quite extensive. The campaign is relatively short, but it’s well fleshed out and provides a good start for some decent online play. The multiplayer maps are re-used from the campaign and there aren’t too many of them, but it’s easy to forget that this is an Xbox live arcade game, and if it takes you that far then you know the designers have done well. The sheer variety of modes is more of a stand out than the actual content here; the replay-ability is huge as no two multiplayer games will be the same, whether that will be online or against a friend on the same machine.

Overall:

Commanders: Attack of the Genos is no comparison to any modern strategy, it isn’t a comparison to many strategies within the last ten years even, but this game does surpass what 80% of Xbox live arcade currently holds by a long run, as it introduces originality, character & value, this is a rarity that needs to be looked up to. If you have 800 points to spare and you’re looking into Xbox live arcade, then this is a good place to start.