24 years on: original Carrier Command reviewers appraise Gaea Mission

24 years ago, a small Leeds-based developer released a game which would define a generation.

Available initially on Atari ST and Commodore Amiga, Carrier Command was an ambitious simulation of ground, sea and air warfare conducted over randomly-generated archipelagos. Players manufactured vehicles and then joined in the war directly.

It was a groundbreaking release, and one which was rightly celebrated. The Games Machine awarded the Atari ST and Amiga versions 98 and 97 per cent respectively and ranked Carrier Command the number one game of 1988. Advanced Computer Entertainment scored the PC version 965/1000; ST Action rated it 91 per cent.

Bohemia Interactive, most famous for the ARMA series of military games, today releases Carrier Command: Gaea Mission, a labour of love designed and developed as a bold re-imagining of the original.

The game’s strategy mode is as close to the original as possible – but updated with the whizzes and bangs that modern games players demand.

But how close is it to the spirit of the original? UK publisher Mastertronic decided to find out, tracking down three journalists who reviewed the original all those years ago.

Paul Presley, Andy Smith and Nick Clarkson were tempted out of reviews retirement for one last job, and the results are revealed today in a review that pays homage to the games magazines of yesteryear.

“As a publisher that was around at the time, re-assembling some of the best journalists of days gone by was an opportunity too good to pass,” says Andy Payne, Mastertronic. “It’s been a real joy working with Paul, Andy and Nick, and I’m delighted Gaea Mission lived up to their memories of Carrier Command.

Bohemia Interactive’s Carried Command: Gaea Mission is published by Mastertronic today for Xbox 360 and PC.