MoonBase Commander Demo

Although strategy games usually involve the second World War, orcs, or some kind of huge future robots and aliens, they clearly need to feature something exciting in order to be taken seriously. However, as it was also proven a few times throughout the years, simple ideas can go a long way as well, as long as the gameplay mechanics are sturdy and people have a lot of fun with them.

MoonBase Commander is not your usual turn-based strategy game, but it is fun and complex enough to keep the players fighting each other for hours on end. Hence, the apparently simple gameplay mechanics turn out to be much deeper once you get to know them better, which means that the matches get more exciting as the two players manage to take advantage of their abilities.

In essence, the main goal is for one player to acquire all the energy on the map and destroy the other players, using an assortment of units and heavy artillery. Bombs, rockets, and various other weapons are available and they can be fired in the desired direction if you have enough energy. On the other hand, you’d be much better off if you expand your area of influence and get some troops out, because things get tougher later on in the game.

Since you mostly have to use the mouse alone in order to perform the desired action, anyone can easily pick up on the rules and the tactics. Since the action does not take place in real time, you have plenty of time to think about the next move and carefully plan your actions. There are multiple AI players to choose from in case you decide to play in singleplayer, but the real fun is when you go head-to-head with other human opponents in multiplayer.

As such, there are also a few different maps to choose from, as well as the option to play with or without the fog of war. Wind can be included to add an extra difficulty level, given the fact that it has an effect on the trajectory of your projectiles. Not only that, but you can also set up a time limit for the match, to put some pressure on everyone.

When it’s all said and done, MoonBase Commander has the misfortune of looking rather silly at a first sight, which is why it doesn’t really have a huge fanbase out there. However, if you can get past the modest looks and give it a try, the game can turn out to be quite the fun strategy game.