There are the building blocks for a decent game here. However, there was no follow through.
I went on a whim and thought I might try something out of the bargain bin Wii games. I wanted to try something I have never heard of with hopes that I would find a hidden gem. I bought Ocean Commander because it looked like a fun 2D shooter from the back cover (the front cover is ugly as sin). A 2D shooter it is, however it is not so fun.
Ocean Commander provides the requisite story of a future where mankind has adapted to living underwater in domed cities. This peaceful civilization has come under attack by an evil group of militarists that want to rule the world. To combat this threat they send you in a top secret submarine called Metal Fin (sorta like Metal Slug, cool!!).
The game starts out promising. The controls work pretty well with using the nunchuck to move the sub while pointing with the WiiMote at what you would like to shoot at. Also you are given 12 weapons in which you can purchase 3 different power levels with. As the game progresses you can have all 12 weapons at once blasting away at the enemy subs.
Where this came falls flat is the level design. There are absolutely no obstacles to avoid. Every level is the same in that enemy subs shaped to resemble various fish move slowly across the screen firing their weapon at you until you destroy them or they go off the opposite side of the screen. There are also a few ground enemies as well that fire missiles at you. Eventually you reach a boss battle with a large sub resembling a fish, then you rinse and repeat. All 21 levels are the same sleep inducing thing.
The game is also too easy. I beat the main game without dying once and I'm far from great at shooters. I would have beaten it in one sitting if I didn't have to go take a nap in the middle.
There is a mode called Challenge mode that drops you in the middle of a frenzy of all of the enemies of the main game minus the bosses. In this mode you pick up the weapon powerups rather than buying them. The premise is to last as long as possible and build up as high of a score as you can. It is better than the main game since it at least provides a challenge.
This could have been a fun game with creative level design and some major balance tweaks. As is, Ocean Commander is a great treatment for insomnia and the worst shooter I've played since Laser Blast on the Atari 2600.