- 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - Aujourd'hui 00:01

Carrier Deck – Review

Modern combat is mostly done at a distance or in vehicles. This time we are not talking about drones or tanks but about fighter jets. Carrier Deck is a game about managing aircraft on the sea. This simulator game brings an iconic American military asset into the picture and shows us how it works. We put on our captain hat and got on board a carrier ship to manage digital warfare. Story The story in this game is absent. There is a campaign mode that puts you in scenarios that require you to take some actions, but there is no real narrative component here. This is normal for a simulator game that is about managing a carrier and the aircraft on it. The first couple of scenarios are like a tutorial on how it works, which is done nicely. Graphics Carrier Deck’s graphics look decent. There are details on the ship, like skid marks from the continuous use of planes. Even though there are some minor details, you can see that the graphics aren’t top-notch. It holds up well if you do not zoom in. The people that are required to prepare the plains are also visible on deck. Those NPCs can also be seen running if you prepare the aircraft, which is a nice detail that is also part of the mechanics. The HUD looks simple but effective and isn’t that cluttered. Sound The music isn’t out of place, as it does have action and tension. The other sounds, for example, when sending off aircraft or landing them, do sound decent. There are a few dialogue lines, but those are related to the tasks that you give out. It is overall decent, and there isn’t a lot to complain about. Gameplay The gameplay is, at first sight, complicated, as this is a management game after all. You have to queue an action, to then prepare the right aircraft for that mission, and then launch it. This all makes it sound difficult, but it isn’t. The only issue that held us back was that we had to click on everything as if we were playing on PC. For this port, they could have made some controller shortcuts for some actions. Some actions do take time, which worked against us. For example, when an enemy was approaching, we barely made it on time. The speed of the enemy and the speed to prepare to counter the enemy have a huge difference. Most of the time, when we tried to launch, the enemy had already reached us. In campaign mode, we essentially prepared all the necessary aircraft so we could respond to all types of situations. In survival mode, you get random enemies. This will make it interesting, as you will always need one aircraft for reconnaissance and one if there is a threat. There are sometimes additional friendly aircraft that can be added. This mode ends when you fail to protect the carrier. As the name suggests, the goal is to survive as long as possible. This mode is more entertaining than the campaign mode, as you just have to manage it on your own and need to think more about what you have to do. There is also a quick game, which is a 12-wave game of random scenarios. This mode is excellent if you just want to hop on to have some fun and then hop off. We did notice that once you know how the system works, it starts to look very simple and is only a game of paying attention to what is happening. You’ll often have to repeat the same actions over and over, toning down the overall complexity. The colors also make it easy to know what actions are needed. For example, red is for air reconnaissance and air attacks, and yellow is for submarine-related actions. We already mentioned above that the controls for this port of Carrier Deck aren’t that great. For the most part, you’ll have to click on items as you would when playing the game on PC. Luckily, there are a few controller shortcuts, such as camera angles, speeding up time, and a few others. We were really missing shortcuts for plane preparation, which is a key component of the experience. Conclusion Carrier Deck feels more like a strategy game than a simulator, which most management games do feel like. The controls aren’t easy to use in the beginning, as you have to click on most elements in the game like a computer game rather than an optimized console game. The graphics look a bit simplistic but there are still a few nice details to be spotted here and there. The music is decent, and the sound effects provide good audio feedback. Carrier Deck is a fun management game that never gets overly complex, but we do advise picking it up on PC for better controls.