John Carenter is a F$cking national treasure! You just look up his films, and you’ll see a library of cult classics; every horror fiend has at least five of his films in their collection. Now, fans of his will be scratching their heads as he has entered a new era in his career, Video Games. Folks, this is John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando. I want to give a massive thank you to friends of Horror Fuel, Focus Entertainment, and Saber Interactive for sending over a copy for me to experience the madness!
In John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, in an attempt to harnes never ending energy from the Earth, a scientist accidentally releases a creature called The Sludge God, who covered the nearby areas in a toxic sludge and turned people into zombies. A group of mercenaries was brought in with what could end the outbreak, just to kind of mess it up and get themselves infected in the process.
Now, onto the game itself! When it comes to the controls for John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, they’re your standard FPS controls, so game shooter vets should not have any issue. The driving controls are quick to learn as well. Thankfully, with the tutorial mode at the start, you can learn fast.
Sound design is good, the voice acting is good too, I just wish the game did not have the characters saying the same lines over and over again in the levels when nothing is going on, just to fill in the empty air. I think this is because they’re hoping that players will be on headsets talking to one another while playing co-op. The soundtrack is amazing, well, it would be, John Carpenter himself composed the game’s score!
Gameplay-wise, it depends. I was playing it from a single player POV, if you choose to go that route, like me, you’ll have bot teammates who are useful. General gameplay, in each level, there are objectives you have to complete to finish the level, duh, I know, but you can take any route you wish within these levels, which can extend your gameplay. You can either explore the map on foot or, if you can find it, take a vehicle and drive. The cars can take damage and need fuel, so you’ll have to keep an eye out for gas cans, ammo cans (if the vehicle has a gun turret), and tool boxes.
The game is a lot like the usual Left 4 Dead kind of game; there are special zombies, moments where large numbers of zombies attack, and moments where you have to prepare a defense line to face off against a horde of them. Completing levels will allow you to level up your abilities, as well as your weapons, and unlock parts for them that you can purchase, which you then can customize your weapon to how you like it.
Overall, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is what games like Back 4 Blood wish it could be. This game seems like a movie that Carpenter would make if he had billions in funding, so it would be nothing but practical effects. The over-the-top combat, gore, synth music, and comedic dialogue sprinkled between really will appeal to fans of Carpenter’s films, and if you look closely, I’m sure you may even notice some nods to his past films. I found a couple, actually, but I’ll keep that as a surprise for you!
On my scale of 1-10, the only negative thing that bothered me was the repeated dialogue from the characters that was unnecessary. Other than that, this is just another squad vs. zombie horde game, but with the added mechanics of having vehicles, it’s different, and the unlocking system for upgrading weapons and gear is fun, I give it a 9/10!
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
