Carrier Command: Gaea Mission

Lore & Background

The game's story takes place on the planet-moon Taurus, a battleground between the United Earth Coalition (UEC) and the Asia Pacific Alliance (APA). The player controls UEC Lieutenant Myrik, who leads a team to take control of Taurus. After surviving a missile strike during descent, Myrik captures an APA Carrier and begins conquering islands. The plot involves Major Harrigan, Captain Aurora, and the antagonist Mao Shin, an old enemy of Myrik. The ending depends on player actions: in the bad ending, Mao Shin escapes and kills Aurora; in the good ending, Aurora kills Mao Shin but dies from injuries.

Reader's Guide

Carrier Command: Gaea Mission is significant as a remake of a classic 1988 title, attempting to modernize the franchise with real-time strategy and action gameplay. Its legacy is mixed, with critics praising the graphics and soundtrack but heavily criticizing the unit pathfinding and AI, which were called some of the biggest problems a real-time strategy game could have. The game lacks multiplayer, which was noted as a shortcoming. It offers a strategy mode without story elements, focusing purely on conquest. The game was developed since 2008, originally by Black Element Software before being acquired by Bohemia Interactive. Its story was inspired by the unfinished Gaea trilogy. Despite its flaws, it was awarded 3rd best video game developed in the Czech Republic of 2013.

Did You Know?

• The game features a timewarp mechanic that accelerates travel between islands, during which maintenance activities can still be performed.
• Islands can be set to defense, resource, or production, and a stockpile island is used to supply the carrier via a supply barque.
• The story was inspired by the unfinished Gaea trilogy, particularly the unreleased second book 'Gaea: Sonrise'.
• A film adaptation of the first Gaea book was planned before the game, and a film trailer was released.