Have you ever wondered what would happen if the teams from Space Marine 2 and Snowrunner jammed their ideas together, added hordes of zombies, tons of guns, vehicles, mud, and topped off with an over-the-top science-fiction story straight out of the mind of John Carpenter would look like?
Answer: Pure Chaos
I’m always cautious when an actor or author lends their name to a game. The biggest one that comes to mind is Tom Clancy, who wrote an incredible espionage action thriller you might have heard of called Rainbow Six. Before Siege, Rainbow Six had always been a tactical shooter, but it had an amazing story about terrorists and saving the world. Now, Tom Clancy’s name seems to be slapped on anything that is a gritty military shooter; it has lost its meaning.
So, with so many gigantic teams and developers in the mix of Toxic Commando, what part does John Carpenter have to play?
Let me take you back to a simpler time, the year is 1994- and 9-year-old Fraser is about to have nightmares for a week because John Carpenter’s “The Thing” is on Channel 2 tonight at 8:30. Now I’m not sure how I managed to watch it because my folks were pretty funny about what I was allowed to watch, nonetheless this started my obsession with horror in general.
With a back catalogue of movies like Halloween, Vampires, Attack on Precinct 13, and Escape from New York, John Carpenter is no stranger to horror, science fiction, or action. So, what better person to have tackle the story of a rag-tag group of mercenaries who are thrown into a cataclysmic zombie apocalypse to defeat a God!
Swarm, meet World War Z
Having put many hours into Saber Interactive’s other zombie shooter, World War Z, Toxic Commando feels like a genuine progression of that. They have opened up the map, included dozens of weapons, added vehicles, and introduced zombies to the Swarm Engine. For those of you who played Space Marine 2, you know what that engine can do. Hundreds of enemies on screen at any one time, screaming and running towards you. You fire everything you have at them, yet they still. Keep. Coming.
Tools for Destruction
Saber Interactive has been extremely generous. There is no leveling up to unlock weapons; you have access to everything from level 1. There are shotguns, rifles, SMGs, sniper rifles, and when all that ammo is gone, you have your trusty pistol.
Each weapon has attachments like scopes, grips, and magazines that can be unlocked by using the weapon. Each kill you get will grant you XP for said weapon. However, there is a maximum XP you can get each match that slows down progression.
These attachments, once unlocked, are purchasable using Sludgite. Sludgite is earned from collecting orange gems during missions. It can also be used to increase the rarity of your weapons, increasing damage.
If you play on harder difficulties, you can earn Residium and Mortite that can be spent on cosmetics, like gun skins and cute little haircuts, and jackets for your commando.
Classy
Thankfully, guns are not the only weapons the Toxic Commandos have in their arsenal. There are 4 separate operator classes to choose from. Each has a unique ultimate ability and skill tree.
The Strike
Armed with fireballs (yip, I said fireballs) and the eventual ability of evading grapples, unlimited stamina, and potential immunity to fire damage, the Striker is your main damage dealer.
The Medic
When things are looking dire, The Medic always comes in clutch. With the ability to produce a healing aura that can be upgraded to launch healing mortars at your squad. They not only heal, but also damage enemies who are unfortunate to wander too close.
The Operator
Joined by a trusty drone, the operator is your support class. Focusing on vehicle health and fuel efficiency. Downside: you must be driving. So, Operators do not ride shotgun! Plus, your drone can be kitted out with shotguns and launchers. It also has the ability to revive, in the case your medic is preoccupied.
The Defender
Just think of that crayon-eating Titan from Destiny. Pop down a defensive bubble that can protect from projectiles, gives you additional armour, and can be upgraded to damage anything that enters.
Getting Around
Now we have selected our weapons and class. It’s time to get to killing. There are 9 missions that need to be played in order for the first time. Completing this will unlock hard and very hard difficulties and the ability to choose any mission, including a random selector.
Upon loading in, you are on foot. A death sentence in harder difficulties. Your first goal is to find a vehicle. From a possible 6 different vehicles, 2 or 3 will be randomly placed on the map. Usually, there is one close.
All the vehicles have a special ability like an EMP pulse (for some reason, this kills zombies???), healing aura, or a Flamethrower turret, which has its own fuel supply.
Now we have a vehicle it’s time to head towards your objective. You will need to keep an eye on your fuel gauge because if it runs out, you are stuck. Speaking of stuck, there is so much mud and gore that your vehicle will often get bogged down. A few vehicles have a winch that can get you out of some situations; if not, then you are running.
The map is covered in POIs (points of interest) for you to check out. These will often have different weapons, health kits, and spare parts.
Spare parts are used to unlock heavy weapon crates, fix a totalled vehicle, or activate defences.
During your mission, you will arrive at certain locations that will require defending. This is where the Swarm Engine shines. During these set pieces, hordes of hundreds of zombies will pile over buildings or cliffs descending on you like a wave. Your only choice is to stand and fight.
If your squad dies it’s game over.
Better with friends
Toxic Commando is meant to be played 4 player co-op. Being able to communicate between players when to use healing or the ability to take multiple vehicles, everything just works better in co-op, especially in higher difficulties.
The bots are fine on lower difficulties. However, when you are playing on Hard or above, they just cannot keep up. Especially if you go down. They just run into the swarm that has surrounded you to try and get the res. Usually, it leads to 3 dead bots and a mission failure.
Performance
Playing the Demo of Toxic Commando on PC and then the full release on Xbox Series X, Toxic Commando runs like a dream. I have not had a single disconnection, and performance mode sits at a solid 60fps. My only gripe is the loading times. Big exaggeration, but it feels like minutes to load into a match.
Verdict
Everything about John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando just works. SnowRunner with Zombies about sums it up. So far, I’m having an absolute blast. With each completion giving me enough to upgrade something to make me feel a little bit stronger. I haven’t been able to complete a very hard mission yet, but I’m getting so close. With a couple more levels and full communicating squad, that Sludge God will be mincemeat.
Gamer Social Club was supplied with a copy of John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando for this review.
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando was reviewed on Xbox Series X
Available on PC (via Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S
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