Carrier Command: Gaea Mission

42%
Game Brain Score Based on 975 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Carrier Command: Gaea Mission Game Cover
This much belated franchise-resurrection trips in execution due to unit pathfinding issues and the lack of multiplayer.
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"Carrier Command: Gaea Mission" is a tactical combat game where players control a massive aircraft carrier. The objective is to explore, dominate and defend islands in a vast archipelago, using land, sea, and air units. Players can customize their carrier and units, and engage in real-time battles against AI or human-controlled opponents. The game offers a mix of strategy, action, and exploration in a detailed and dynamic open world.

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

42%
Audience ScoreBased on 975 reviews
story54 positive mentions
stability50 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique blend of RTS and FPS gameplay, allowing players to control units directly while also managing a carrier.
  • The graphics are visually appealing, with nice atmospheric effects and detailed environments.
  • The concept of capturing islands and customizing units adds depth and strategic elements to the gameplay.
  • The AI pathfinding is severely flawed, often causing units to get stuck or behave erratically, leading to frustrating gameplay.
  • The campaign mode includes poorly executed FPS segments that detract from the overall experience and feel tacked on.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and crashes, making it difficult to enjoy without frequent interruptions.
  • story312 mentions

    The story of "Carrier Command: Gaea Mission" is widely criticized for being lackluster and poorly executed, often described as a mere backdrop for gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. Many players find the campaign to be filled with confusing objectives, clunky controls, and uninspired voice acting, leading to a frustrating experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game. While some appreciate the nostalgic elements and the strategic gameplay, the consensus is that the story mode feels tacked on and fails to engage players effectively.

    • “Carrier Command: Gaea Mission is an intricate and captivating game that managed to keep me engrossed for a solid 40 hours.”
    • “Remake of a classic with a great story to go with it!”
    • “This new version retains the original concept, but adds a good storyline to the gameplay.”
    • “The story is mediocre and the voice acting is passable at best.”
    • “The story mode is just a glorified tutorial with bad voice acting.”
    • “The storyline is hollow as it acts more as a 'reason to be' since it just says 'you need to get the carrier because this' 'you have to conquer islands because of that' and etc, it really isn't engaging.”
  • gameplay218 mentions

    The gameplay of "Carrier Command: Gaea Mission" is characterized by a mix of engaging mechanics that allow players to manage their carrier and its resources, providing hours of entertainment. However, it suffers from issues such as frustrating AI, repetitive elements, and poorly executed first-person segments, which detract from the overall experience. While the core gameplay is solid and offers strategic depth, many players feel it could benefit from further refinement and a stronger focus on key mechanics.

    • “The gameplay itself is very deep and rewarding; the 3D model of the carrier and its subsystems make sense - it is also not a micromanagement nightmare.”
    • “I really like the gameplay; it makes you feel like a general and requires a well thought out plan to win a battle or an island with minimum losses.”
    • “The graphics are great, the concept is fantastic, and the gameplay is very good.”
    • “The RTS gameplay, which is the bulk of the game, has a lot of promise, and being able to take control of units manually is very nice, but the AI piloting is lacking and regularly causes frustration to the point where manual control becomes a necessity instead of a 'nice to have' feature.”
    • “Beyond that, it has too many cutscenes with terrible writing and animation, and the basic gameplay loop in the six or so hours I played was very, very dull.”
    • “The gameplay is solid and the concepts are promising, but the game becomes repetitive after the first hour.”
  • graphics164 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising their beauty and atmospheric quality, especially for a title released in 2012. However, some players criticize the outdated character models and technical issues, such as crashes and performance problems when adjusting settings. Overall, while the visuals are generally considered impressive for their time, they are not without flaws, leading to a varied reception among players.

    • “For a game made back in 2012, Carrier Command: Gaea Mission still holds its own in both graphics and gameplay.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful, certainly, but I felt a little betrayed by the trailers which appeared to promise a trifecta of gameplay, as if it was Battlefront meets the RTS/resource management of games like Savage!”
    • “The graphics are impressive as are the weather effects, but the game was spoilt for me by the regular crashes.”
    • “The orange tinge on everything is horrible; I can handle the 2005 graphics, but I swear they had colors back then.”
    • “Good game to play... only problem is I tried changing the graphics settings higher and it has made the game black screen with the game running in the background.”
    • “The graphics of the game are, in a word, mixed. The carrier, the vehicles, the buildings, even the landscape for 2012 standards are at least passable and easily good, but the people, faces mostly, are so bad. It's like they were having fun designing everything, then they ran out of time and the people had to be done in a rush.”
  • stability52 mentions

    The game is widely criticized for its numerous bugs and stability issues, including frequent crashes and problematic AI pathfinding that many players find unplayable. While some users acknowledge improvements in stability after updates, the overall consensus remains that the game is still "buggy as hell," detracting significantly from the experience. Despite these issues, a few players still find enjoyment in the game, accepting its flaws as part of the experience.

    • “Runs great on my old rig.”
    • “Horrifically buggy AI pathfinding that was never fixed.”
    • “What I can't stand in a game is the buggy crashes every 5-10 minutes.”
    • “Pathfinding glitches and issues render the game unplayable.”
  • music18 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the great soundtrack and its epic battle themes, others find it inconsistent and distracting, often overshadowing voice acting. Additionally, the relatively short 25-minute soundtrack is criticized for not being sufficient for a lengthy campaign. Overall, the music is seen as a highlight but is hampered by technical limitations and volume issues.

    • “The music is great and the graphics are nice.”
    • “Nice graphics, nice story, nice music, good gameplay. I didn't find any important bug or glitch, the pathfinding is a little dumb but nothing particularly bad.”
    • “I really liked the graphics, music, and the general concept of the game - being a FPS/RTS game.”
    • “The soundtrack is around 25 minutes, and frankly doesn't come close to cutting it, considering the campaign can last 15+ hours.”
    • “I had to constantly lower the music volume because it would shift between epic sounding battle music and then some people loudly wailing in my ears as I was trying to hear the voice actors.”
    • “I had to constantly lower the music volume because it would shift between epic sounding battle music and then some people loudly wailing in my ears as I was trying to hear the voice actors.”
  • optimization16 mentions

    The game's optimization is severely lacking, with frequent crashes, significant AI pathfinding issues, and poor performance even on high settings. Players report that AI units behave erratically, failing to engage appropriate targets, which necessitates constant micromanagement. Overall, the combination of technical flaws and subpar visual quality detracts from the gameplay experience.

    • “I'm also still astounded by the fact that there are many different weather conditions that affect you, not only in vehicle performance, but for the visual aspect of it. For example, a rainstorm makes it harder for you as a player to see what you're doing, and the psychological aspect is especially delivered with the weather and environmental depth of the game.”
    • “The game literally revolves around the use of AI-controlled units which are so poorly optimized that the pathing is incredibly bad.”
    • “That's not all, the AI to which this game revolves heavily around is so poorly optimized that your anti-tank equipped units will fruitlessly shoot at airborne targets and vice versa with the AA units. What's worse is that they won't switch targets to hit the appropriate enemy units, so you literally have to babysit a total of 8 dumb AIs!”
    • “Optimization is terrible, and even at the highest quality, character models look awful.”
  • grinding14 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, with slow unit restoration and a lack of manual time compression leading to prolonged and boring gameplay. The addition of FPS elements and a storyline has not alleviated the monotony, instead making island conquests feel laborious and frustrating. Overall, the game's pacing and resource generation mechanics are seen as outdated and unengaging.

    • “Lastly, restoring units is tediously slow, and you can only speed up time when traveling between islands.”
    • “Unfortunately, the original game's tediously slow pacing (that was fun in 1989) is copied with perfection, as are fundamental elements of the game's design that leave the player stuck waiting for resources to generate.”
    • “There is no manual time compression, so taking poorly defended islands can be tedious and boring.”
  • humor12 mentions

    The humor in the game is largely derived from its quirky elements, such as the protagonist's hilariously off British accent and the absurdity of AI and vehicle behaviors, which often lead to comical situations. Players find amusement in the game's numerous bugs and odd physics, particularly when vehicles get lost or stuck, creating a blend of frustration and laughter. However, the humor can sometimes border on the tedious, especially when gameplay mechanics become more of a chore than a source of fun.

    • “The British accent of the protagonist is hilarious. Can't tell if it's real or not, but it definitely sounds off.”
    • “The vehicles can often get lost by themselves, often with hilarious results, not to mention some odd physics.”
    • “It has a huge amount of potential but there are so many bugs, so much stupid AI, and so much lack of attention to detail by the programmers (i.e. hearing bird chirps and wildlife sounds while deep underground in the bowels of a research center - kinda funny actually).”
  • replayability8 mentions

    The game's replayability is generally viewed as commendable, though some users note that the absence of multiplayer significantly limits its potential for repeated play. While technical improvements can enhance the experience, the lack of competitive human interaction is seen as a missed opportunity for greater replay value.

    • “The game's replay value is commendable.”
    • “Even if it doesn't have replayability.”
    • “Lack of multiplayer cripples replayability - it would be brilliant vs. another human.”
  • atmosphere8 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is praised for its atmospheric graphics and overall visual appeal, creating an enjoyable experience for players. However, the cutscenes and voice acting are criticized for lacking depth and feeling uninspired, detracting from the overall immersion. Despite these shortcomings, the game's design elements, including vehicles, contribute positively to its balanced aesthetic.

    • “This is an excellent game with atmospheric graphics, moderate tactical depth, and thoughtful missions.”
    • “Love the controls and atmosphere.”
    • “I love the look; the graphics are neat (if a bit 2005), great atmospherics, and an overall joy to look at. The vehicles are well-designed too; not too gimmicky and have a balanced future feel.”
    • “The aforementioned cutscenes are on the whole horrible, the voice acting is wooden and they somehow feel devoid of any atmosphere or effort.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development in the game is criticized for being poorly executed, with players expressing frustration over initial bugs and a lack of engaging character arcs, leading to a negative first impression.

    • “The game starts off on a really bad note, but after 15 minutes of bugs and nail-bitingly poor character development, I think I've had enough of this game.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

59% average critic score

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Play time

38hMedian play time
26hAverage play time
2-50hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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