John Carpenter's Toxic Commando
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Critic Reviews for John Carpenter's Toxic Commando
John Carpenter's Toxic Commando blends Left 4 Dead-style zombie blasting with systems borrowed from Saber's back catalogue. The results work well enough, but are undermined by flabby mission design and unnecessary meta-progression.
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando focuses on delivering a very specific pleasure. Four buddies, a towering horde of undead, and a soundtrack that sounds like it escaped from something covered in dust in your basement. It identifies that particular itch perfectly, and it leans into it with a sense of gleeful, gory enthusiasm.
In its best moments, John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is an unbelievably good time. Even in its worst moments, it's still a pretty solid zombie shooter with some great set pieces. That being said, any problems with the game can and probably will be fixed in time. The janky bots and frustrating solo player experience definitely make things a little rough around the edges, but underneath that is a fantastic game that will absolutely exceed your expectations if you give it a chance.
Toxic Commando never really manages to be more than the sum of its parts. It's enjoyable, and the big horde set pieces remain a gaming highlight, especially at its peaks in the finale, but like a 90s family holiday, there's also just a lot of time spent looking at a map to plan your route, and then driving to the next sightseeing stop while the kids in the back pretend to shoot stuff out the window.
What John Carpenter's Toxic Commando lacks in innovation, it more than makes up for in thrilling, zombie-blasting multiplayer fun.
John Carpenter's Toxic Commando feels like the ultimate fantasy for Black Ops fans who dream of Treyarch releasing the Zombies mode as a standalone game. However, Saber Interactive takes it a step further by offering vehicles with advanced physics.
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Although its relatively short length and limited class variety will leave some disappointed, there’s no denying how thrilling it can be to jump into a jeep and wreck shop as a team of souped-up military professionals. If you’re in the mood for old-school Left 4 Dead vibes you’ll find it here. Just don’t go in expecting too much more than that.
