I think it was kind of ambitious of them to create a game based on such a lackluster movie. The movie itself is cheesy but it's a fun watch, especially with friends. The film revolves around a line of futuristic "Cowboys Vs Indians" toys gaining sentience with the help of artificial intelligence. The violent, militaristic Commandos will stop at nothing to wipe out the nature-loving, pacifist Gorgonites simply because they were programmed to do so. I actually had the game and played it as a child long before I ever saw the movie. In fact for a long time, I thought the movie was based on the game.
In terms of the concept, I think they took it in the best possible direction you could take a movie tie-in like this. Rather than having the movie context of being a toy in 90's suburbia blowing up other toys, you play as the actual characters the toys are based on in their homeland. Gorgon is being invaded by the Commandos and you play as Archer, the Gorgonite leader, to drive them out. As you progress, you begin encroaching on the Commandos' heavily-armed outposts. If anything, this game feels like it could be a product that existed in the universe of the movie; it's kind of cool in a way.
As for the actual game itself, it's okay. The combat is pretty standard and the controls are very stiff. This game uses tank controls and while many people discuss if/when tank controls are appropriate in shooters, it just doesn't service this game well, in my opinion. On top of that, I feel this game doesn't use some of the basic concepts a shooter-platformer should have. You really don't have any dodging moves and there's barely any cover to hide behind. This becomes a problem late game, since the game will just start spamming enemies at you in wide, open areas. You can summon helpers sometimes, but most of the time, you're just one guy with a dinky gun and tank controls while the Commandos run circles around you with their automatic assault weapons. Eventually you realize there's hardly anything stopping you from progressing, so you just start running past enemies rather than fighting them. If combat is the main focus of your game, I feel running away shouldn't be the optimal solution. I think this game could've been much cooler if it released in like the early 2000's.
In terms of the concept, I think they took it in the best possible direction you could take a movie tie-in like this. Rather than having the movie context of being a toy in 90's suburbia blowing up other toys, you play as the actual characters the toys are based on in their homeland. Gorgon is being invaded by the Commandos and you play as Archer, the Gorgonite leader, to drive them out. As you progress, you begin encroaching on the Commandos' heavily-armed outposts. If anything, this game feels like it could be a product that existed in the universe of the movie; it's kind of cool in a way.
As for the actual game itself, it's okay. The combat is pretty standard and the controls are very stiff. This game uses tank controls and while many people discuss if/when tank controls are appropriate in shooters, it just doesn't service this game well, in my opinion. On top of that, I feel this game doesn't use some of the basic concepts a shooter-platformer should have. You really don't have any dodging moves and there's barely any cover to hide behind. This becomes a problem late game, since the game will just start spamming enemies at you in wide, open areas. You can summon helpers sometimes, but most of the time, you're just one guy with a dinky gun and tank controls while the Commandos run circles around you with their automatic assault weapons. Eventually you realize there's hardly anything stopping you from progressing, so you just start running past enemies rather than fighting them. If combat is the main focus of your game, I feel running away shouldn't be the optimal solution. I think this game could've been much cooler if it released in like the early 2000's.