Supreme Commander
Warning: long post incoming!
I bought «Supreme Commander» some time ago. I’m pretty sure it was shortly after its release, because I was a big fan of its predecessor series, «Total Annihilation».
Anyway, I haven’t been playing it for a long time now and I wasn’t sure why. So I gave it another shot. I remember now: My computer just can’t cope with the requirements. Don’t get me wrong, it can run the game, but it gets laggy as soon as more than a few units move around at the same time.
The graphics aren’t the problem. «Supreme Commander» calculates a lot of physics. Every single shot, I’m told. And when things get rough there are a lot of missiles, bullets, plasma beams and laser rays flying around on the battlefield.
Still, the game is great in my oppinion. It’s very abstract, though. Almost no bloodshed, since the only living being on a battlefield is the commander and he’s safely tucket away in his ACU (Armoured Command Unit). Of course the ACU can be blown up (and spectacularly so) which marks the end of a battle for that commander’s army. This abstractness might not appeal to each and every gamer out there, but it serves a purpose. «Supreme Commander» lets you concentrate on tactics and strategy rather than on spilling as much blood as possible.
Sadly, the game’s lacking there sometimes. It is quite easily possible to overwhelm an enemy with an army consisting of only one type of unit. If you can avoid that, the large-scale (well, truly epic, actually) battles can be a lot of fun. Every plan you set in motion takes some time to be executed, so you have to actually think a few steps further than in other strategy games. The three armies of the conflict here aren’t very different, though. They all get the same unit types, but there are some minor differences. Harder armour, an extra weapon, stuff like that. These differences suit themselves to different styles of play. Each side has one unique unit which is basically an upgrade to a standard unit.
The biggest eye-catchers are the experimental units, though. Here the factions differ greatly from one another. It takes time to reach the technological requirements to build these and they cost a lot. Although they can take a beating, none of them can actually win a game on its own. The only exception here is a giant artillery cannon with unlimited range and pinpoint accuracy which literally takes hours to build. That, or a very strong economy. If your opponent sees you building one of these you can be sure he will do everything to take it down. Yes, it’s that strong
As I mentioned earlier, the most important unit of every army is its commander. He can hold his own in the early stages of the game and has rudimentary building abilities. He uses a lot of resources while building or repairing, but that also makes him a really fast worker. He can be upgraded in several ways. You can make him more survivable, a hard hitter or the best builder of your army, but you can’t do it all. You can revoke every upgrade, so making a mistake isn’t a big problem, but reconfiguring your commander takes some time.
Ok, enough of that. Let’s talk about gameplay. In skirmish and multiplayer modes you get the usual goals (destroying the enemy commander, destroying all of his factories or destroying all of his units) – nothing to see here, let’s move along. There’s also a campaign telling the story of the infinite war raging between the three factions. The story’s nothing special: You’re a young commander in the service of your faction and soon become the most able fighter they’ve got. Only you can save them… yadda yadda yadda. From time to time the enemy commanders try to teach you the error of your ways but you can’t actually change sides. There’s one good thing about the story, though: If you’ve played all three campaigns there isn’t actually an evil side. All fight for their cause and think the others are the baddies. Much like in real life, methinks.
The campaign missions themselves offer some twists and turns that make the whole thing more interesting. The most notable feature here is that the map expands when you get a new objective. In some missions, enemy units come from somewhere outside of your current map, but there’s always an enemy base there when the map grows larger. The missions range from fetching supplies, esorting allied units and defending an area for some time to repairing a building within a timelimit. Ultimately, though, you’re always almost asked to take out one or more enemy commanders.
Oops! Almost forgot to write about graphics and sound. I can’t say much about the former because I use the lowest settings (yep, I definitely need a new computer), but the sound’s quite nice. The music is comparable to that of «Total Annihilation», which means it’s orchestral and fits the epic mood of the game. The sound effects are ok, though the “pew pew” of lasers annoys me a bit.
Time to close this case! Summary: «Supreme Commander» is a great game for people who like big battles with a massive amount of units, for people who like to think about strategy rather then tactics and for patient folks. Make sure your computer can handle the game, though. It taxes your processor heavily.
P.S.: Updating the game takes a looooooooooooooong time, so make sure you aren’t in a hurry!
