YonanCarrier Command 2 is a real-time strategy game developed by Geometa and published by MicroProse. It is the sequel to the 1988 game Carrier Command and was released for Microsoft Windows and macOS in December 2021. While this review focuses on the non-VR version, we did try it with our HTC Vive headset and it worked admirably, despite the 1st gen headsets age. The game also allows for co-op play but we only tried solo – to see how co-op works, check out Rimmys 4-carrier video here.
The game is set in a future where humanity has reached the stars, at least in a limited fashion, and gameplay takes place on a planet whose resources are essential to a war on Earth. Players take on the role of the captain of an aircraft carrier and must use their ship and its complement of vehicles and aircraft to complete missions and objectives against the STANZA terrorists seeking to undermine the UEC government. The ability to manually take control of every type of vehicle under your command works in single player, it scales well in multiplayer as each player can control any particular drone as needed instead of leaving them to follow given orders.
Carrier Command 2 is a complex and challenging game, with a steep learning curve. You gather intel from your vehicles’ radars, pick what targets to attack with the tools available, and how to go about it. Do you invade the island that gives you increased resources or one that unlocks a new unit, and do you do it with a fleet of air drones, deploy aquatic tanks, or a mixture of both? Do you go slowly and harass the enemy, trying to pull their formation apart or take them head-on to go faster since there is a time pressure as the enemy continues to progress too.
The approach you take to a situation will play a big part in the outcome. The game’s interface is not very intuitive, and there is no tutorial to help players learn the ropes. If you stick with it, the unique gameplay can be rewarding but can also grow stale quite quickly. This has been a common theme among the revamped Microprose games such as Waranoi and Mech Engineer – it’s admirable that they’re trying something so unique, but sometimes it only reaches a very small audience that appreciate it.
A large part of the fun is trying to make the most of different unit synergies and create combined arms assaults to efficiently win battles. Once you have taken an island you will need to exploit and defend the resources it provides while you continue your conquests elsewhere. Carrier Command 2 also offers a lot of strategic depth while you ensure supply lines remain open, managing resources, and using the environment to your advantage.
While it can be difficult and cumbersome to learn, Carrier Command 2 has moments of rewarding gameplay if you are willing to grin and bare through the learning phase. There is a unique and challenging strategic experience to be found with a variety of vehicles and aircraft at your disposal. The procedurally generated maps and diverse unit types can spice up some variety, but with skirmish maps being the only singleplayer option, it can get repetitive fast.
Overall, I’d have to call it a conditional recommend – if you think you’ll like what you see, while understanding the learning curve and other potential flaws, you can find a lot of fun here but if those seem too annoying, it might sadly be a pass. The unique gameplay is worth trying for a fan of strategy games and it’s well worth picking up at a decent discount to experience this unique game.
This review utilised a key provided by MicroProse and Carrier Command 2 is available on Steam.
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Justin Bozanich
Chris Inglis