My current theory about Micro Commandos genesis goes something like this: Developer 1: I had a crazy dream last night. The Fraggles tried to take over Earth. Developer 2: Did you eat Twinkies with hot sauce again? Developer 1: No. But wouldn’t that make a great idea for a game? Developer 2: Twinkies in hot sauce? Maybe. Developer 1: No, you idiot. The Fraggles taking over Earth. Developer 2: Why not? Let’s do it.

Now in order to give my theory merit, we have to assume that the developers were unsuccessful in their attempt to procure the rights to use the Fraggles. Or maybe they just decided to be cheap about it. Anyways, the end result was Micro Commandos, a game that centers around tiny little aliens who arrive on Earth with the intent to take over the planet. Realizing that their tiny size would make a direct conflict with the Big Ones (that’s us) an utter failure, they adopt a strategy of stealth and subterfuge in an attempt to procure the Ultimate Weapon. The Ultimate Weapon, it turns out, is actually something we humans created, and the aliens intercepted a communication that talked about the existence, but not the location of the ol’ UW. Micro Commandos actually follows a linear plot; the game comprises individual missions, each one with a variety of goals to accomplish in order to complete the mission, rescue and material collection being two popular ones. The final goal of the game is to find the Ultimate Weapon and thus be able to complete your mission.

As if being only 15 centimeters tall (is that the same as three apples high?) and attempting to conquer an entire planet was not hard enough, there are other factors that further complicate matters. The Aliens are part of the Intergalactic Confederacy, who has recently lost their leader. Despite being an advanced civilization who has mastered space travel, democracy seems to be beyond them. Therefore, it has been decreed that whichever leader of the force conquers Earth will be the new Commander In Chief of the Confederacy. This is good news for you, as a commander of the Scales, because you want your General Mutmak to ascend to the Commander In Chief position, assumedly because that would mean one hell of a coronation party. Unfortunately, the other two Confederate members, the Nibbles and the Galaxians, have the same aspirations for their Generals. Which means you’ve got more to worry about then just the Big Ones spotting you and whipping out some RAID. Fortunately, unlike the humans, the other Aliens can be fought, which is where the military element of Micro Commandos comes in.

You have three type of aliens, or Units as the game calls them, at your disposal: Collectors, Engineers and Soldiers. The Collectors do exactly that: They are your recon men who go out and gather supplies, namely food, energy and building materials. The Engineers put the supplies to work, building new structures such as hospitals, kitchens, dormitories and other edifices necessary for a military camp. They are also the only unit who can drive vehicles, which are essential in the missions as vehicle types include Mobile Kitchens and Dormitories (to satisfy the omnipresent need for sleep and eating) and Troop Transports. These vehicles are extremely important, as you only have one main base, and it is stationary. So the farther a field you go, the more you need mobile facilities. And on a side note, the Engineers kinda look like those little guys on Fraggle Rock that drove the bulldozers…the Dozers, that was it. Anyways, the Soldiers, big surprise, are your fighters. They can gather supplies to a lesser extent, but they are best used as escorts and warriors when the need arises. As long as you have a school at your base you can change any type of Unit into any other type, and knowing how many of each particular unit you need is key to completing the missions.

Every Unit has needs, which are pretty similar and just vary in degree. They each need food and sleep, and these two gauges are something that need to be constantly monitored, lest your Unit abort his usually crucial mission and wander off in search of sustenance and/or shelter. The other important display is that of the total energy of your base camp, as once you run out of power, none of the buildings work, which means your Units can no longer eat and sleep. I lost count of the number of times that I could not rest my Units because there was no power, yet I could not get power because there were no fed and rested Units. Ugh.

Honestly, the game should be called Micro-Management Commandos. You control everything about your force, including when they eat and sleep, which is one of the biggest flaws of the game. Any fun and satisfaction to be had from solving the puzzles is whittled away each time you restart a level because you had to constantly tell your soldiers to take a nap. I am all for detailed strategy simulations, but it seems to me that something as fundamental as eating and sleeping would be automatic for any type of soldier. Not to mention the inability of any of the Units to carry their own rations or sleep somewhere other then a dormitory.

And that flaw is unfortunate, because it takes away from what would otherwise be an entertaining game. The concept is original, and the environment is done well enough that the everyday sight of a kitchen is transformed into an alien landscape fashioned by giants. Overall the game has a very cartoonish feel, hence the Fraggle Rock analogy, but this blends well with the sense of humor the game displays. Even the battles are comical, with the losing soldier lying splayed out on the ground with stars circling over his head. And the game does not stop at merely using a human household as the setting. Common everyday items such as outlets and dog dishes are now sources of power and food. Footstools and coffee tables are now obstacles that need to be surmounted – fortunately your factory can produce grapple devices to facilitate the ascent.

The other details of the strategy nature of Micro Commandos work well. The more materials you bring in, the more structures you can build and the more soldiers you can hatch, which brings you closer to completing the final mission. Unfortunately, the inability to automate any tasks makes the game very frustrating. Additionally, the controls are not set up well; a game that keeps you constantly clicking the mouse, executing orders at a frantic pace, needs to have a much better, smoother interface then what Micro Commandos provides. There were far too many instances when the cursor would jump from one icon to another without provocation, resulting in a completely undesired result when clicked, or when simply the cursor icon and the results did not match up with what was supposed to happen.

If you are a big strategy game junkie and looking for a game with a unique enough premise to hold your attention, then Micro Commandos may be worth a look. However, if you are new to the strategy genre, you would be well advised to seek elsewhere for your indoctrination to this type of game, as Micro Commandos would most likely frustrate you more then it would entertain.