Breakout, Space Invaders, and Missile Command. Within minutes of starting to play Neon Commander by HeroCraft, my mind went racing back to the days in which I spent hours playing those old classics. Okay, maybe I was actually playing the new Flash versions of the game, but they were still important in building my love for gaming. So when it came time to try out Neon Commander, which is available for both iOS and Android, I became excited to check out a game with a premise that's familiar and fun. I found that while it works to align itself with the classics, it also offers enough of a unique experience to stand on its own merit. Neon Commander uses familiar gameplay mechanics to keep the player comfortable but combines them with modern twists to keep the entire experience feeling fresh.
When playing Neon Commander, you're tasked with defending and counter-attacking alien invaders that want to bring the human civilization to its ultimate demise. Much like the classics, Neon Commander features an entire fleet of alien spaceships that hover close to Earth while blasting dangerous projectiles. It's up to you to defend the planet using intuitive finger controls and "the latest Plasmashield technology" to deflect those shots right back at the aliens.
Neon Commander includes a variety of enemy ships to engage and several challenging boss levels. The game does a great job of offering new and creative ways to destroy the enemy ships, which keeps the game feeling fresh and fun the whole way through. Playing through the campaign was a challenging and fun experience that required me to work fast and efficiently. I especially loved the boss levels that had me using different strategies and tactics to bring down the opposing ships. When you take the game's unique alien encounters and combine them with its cheesy but hilariously entertaining storyline, you begin to understand the humor and charm that HeroCraft has built into Neon Commander.
Neon Commander's overall presentation is beautiful. With vibrant colors, beautiful mission backdrops, fun characters and intense sound effects, the game mixes a retro feel with a modern twist that looks great on today's mobile devices. You really can't ask much more out of the Defender-style game.
The Wrap-up
The Good: Neon Commander is easy to understand, which is great for on-the-go gaming. The visuals are impressive and supplement the hilarious story beautifully. The game also has a great progression rate that challenges players in all the right areas.
The Bad: With only 32 levels and 6 boss encounters, there may not be enough of Neon Commander to satisfy some players.
The Verdict: If you love the Defender genre, then do yourself a favor and try out Neon Commander. The game is free with ads on iOS and Android devices, so there is zero risk involved in downloading it. I truly hope to see more Neon Commander-style experiences in the future, and hopefully we will see more content from HeroCraft soon.
Now that you know what I think of Neon Commander, I'd love to hear your opinion of the game. Try it out and leave a comment about your experience below!
