Apple, This Week's Editor's Choice Is a Flop [Mac App Store]

Glu Mobile Inc. has released Frontline Commando, a free, third-person military shooter, in the Mac App Store. The game features in-app purchases, poor gameplay, and no quit button.

Hardcore gamers will not be impressed by Frontline Commando’s mechanics and control scheme. It’s basically one of those rail shooters you could find scattered around arcades in the ‘90s - Revolution X ring a bell? - only with better graphics.

The first missions are as easy as “shoot this guy; now shot that one,” which makes for a poor experience (maybe not if you’re eight years old, stuck with dad’s iMac on a rainy day, home alone).

If you’re using a Magic Mouse, be sure to set the sensitivity to almost zero. Just a nudge will make the difference between aiming at a beer can or an F16.

But don’t jump to the download just yet. Frontline Commando gets stuck at certain points when you don’t complete an objective the instant you’re told to do so.

By the third mission I realized it had taken over my computer. No Quit button either. Nothing could get OS X to respond to my commands. I was stuck in the first line of battle!

I cowardly restarted my iMac by force, relaunched the game (I still couldn’t believe it didn’t offer the option to quit to OS X) and it crashed. It continues to do so every time now, even after I re-downloaded it from the Mac App Store.


Bottom line, even if it’s free to download and play a few missions, Frontline Commando isn’t the title to deserve an “Editor’s Choice” award. Not if Apple wants to convince people that there’s some good stuff to download from the Mac App Store.

Disclaimer
This is a Personal Thoughts piece reflecting the author’s “personal” opinion on matters relating to Apple and / or the products associated with the Apple brand. This article should not be taken as the official stance of Softpedia on Apple-related matters.