“We're gonna drive this convoy...!”
And that little excerpt of song spins through my brain every time Convoy – the game – starts. It's really annoying.
Convoy is one of those games that can last ten minutes or more than an hour. (Fortunately, for those times when you get on a roll a single save is permitted when you quit so you can pick-up where you left off.) The game always begins with a handful of missions that are in aid of making repairs to your large capital ship that has been “marooned' on Omek Prime. “Marooned” is in quotes because rather than being alone, the planet is a hive of activity. As you crawl around the surface with your convoy of upgradeable vehicles, you'll discover friendly “camps” are available for buying/selling equipment and gas, and you can't throw a rock without hitting one of three violent factions embedded in Omek Prime.
The game basically consists of two parts: Navigating an overworld map littered with random events and points of interest, and orchestrating vehicle battles.
The overworld map is a simple enough to figure out. Click somewhere on the map and the convoy rolls toward it. Stick to the roads and the convoy moves faster; grind through the mountains and you'll move slower and burn through fuel. Keep an eye on your fuel because that's really the only consideration you'll have to make while exploring. There are some really light, adventure game style choices to make – speaking to characters, ambush/ignore raiders, etc. -- but the majority of thinking comes into play during the combat portions.
During combat, if the large (and immovable from its center-screen position) MCV is destroyed then the game ends, so much of the strategy centers on keeping it safe by utilizing a clutch of up to four other vehicles to defend since the MCV is basically a mobile bullet sponge with little in the way of offensive or defensive capabilities. So that means you might be able to stun enemies with an EMP blast or raise a shield of fire a rocket or railgun with long cool down periods, but that's about it. Winning battles often comes down to the other vehicles in the convoy.
The battles take place in real time; however, the space bar will pause the action at any time so movements and attacks can be planned. This is especially handy when an onscreen icon indicates that a vehicle-ending obstacle is fast approaching and you might get the opportunity to stun an enemy long enough to force it to crash or line up vehicles to prevent the enemy from escaping a fatal roadblock. That kind of strategy feels really good.
The battles will also prove out the way you've kitted each vehicle. Large vehicles have up to four upgrade slots while smaller, faster vehicles might only have two. The basic stats of the vehicles can also be upgraded by spending scrap acquired through the course of the game. I found myself spending a lot of time figuring out the best combinations and complements of vehicles and upgrade load-outs, which makes it all the more heartbreaking when a vehicle is lost during combat. While there are no brakes on Omek Prime, there's a definite finality to death. Once a vehicles is obliterated, it's gone. You can't even scavenge the wreckage for parts!
The randomness of some events and plenty of little side missions to explore layered on top of the vehicles upgrades and excellent strategy, Convoy is a great little title that does what it does very well and offers a good gaming fix for as long or as a little as you can play.
- Aaron Simmer
The Good:
- Simplistic graphical approach belies its strong strategy elements
- A game can be over in less than ten minutes or can go for hours
- Music is atmospheric without becoming tedious
The Bad:
- It's a crushing blow when all your careful planning and upgrading can be wiped out in a heartbeat because you forgot to make use of the spacebar
