Developed by legendary designer Chris Taylor, Supreme Commander became a
runaway hit upon release last year with its deep storyline featuring rival
factions. This RTS featured massively scaled levels and an excellent mix
of futuristic weaponry, ships and structures that allowed for an
unprecented sense of scale that really made the game stand out from the
pack. The cool zoom in feature and intuitive interface combined for an
excellent title that became one of the best-selling PC strategy titles on
the market. While the gameplay in Supreme Commander was immediately
popular with players, so its no surprise that THQ has decided to stick
with a winning formula for the series and commissioned this outstanding
expansion pack, Forged Alliances, which is an appropriate moniker
considering the circumstances of its release. This expansion includes more
than 100 new vehicles and items to use, dozens of new multiplayer maps and
an expanded faction system that includes an entirely new faction that
enhances the play mechanics and strategies that made the original title so
appealing.
Even with all these new additions and
enhancements, Forged Alliance doesn't change the basic formula too much,
and the new game's structure and feel operates much like the original,
though the new graphics engine feels sharper and better focused this time
around. The gameplay worlds are much larger as well, giving players much
greater flexibility when planning and implementing their attacks. Forged
Alliance offers players dozens of options and items, each of which can
serve a distinct purpose. For example, while the navy ships were a bit of
an add-on in the original game, they've been beefed up this time and now
play an integral role in the action. Making this even better, all of the
units at your disposal can now be customized and tweaked on the fly in an
easy, intuitive system that makes it much easier to control your forces.
Like the original Supreme Commander, one of the most impressive aspects of
the new game is the sheer scale of things, where you can view a battle
consisting of dozens of units simultaneously, with all the action visibile
on screen at once. This makes the battles much more intense and visceral
than in many of the more clinical strategy games on the market, and the
impressive animations make the game even more dynamic and exciting than
before. This is definitely one of those games where you'll find yourself
slowly getting into things and before you know it, you find yourself
hopelessly engrossed in the action.
Supreme
Commander's back story is fairly interesting as well. The game begins with
the existing three factions, Aeon Illuminate, Cybran Nation and United
Earth Federation battling it out for control in a planet-wide battle.
Suddenly, a new alien faction called the Seraphim appear and unleash a new
wave of alien technology on their opponents, which dramatically changes
the feel of the game. This adds many new weapons, items and experimental
technology onto the battlefield which gives the game even more added
depth. In addition to standard tech like mechs, tanks, jets and gun
turrets, players will be able to use torpedo launchers, aircraft carriers,
orbital satellites and quantum generators to unleash attacks. In order to
use these items, players first need to place and create various factories
to produce these items but your production is limited by the factory type
and level you build, so you need to be smart about what you choose. Each
faction in the game brings a number of unique items and tools to the
table, which makes the strategy for each side very different. Because the
game takes place in real time, the effects of each decision are immediate
so you need to make sure your actions are both accurate and decisive.
While the gameplay is quite addictive
throughout, Supreme Commander's single player mission is the main thrust
of the game and this makes for an engaging and challenging experience that
requires many hours to complete and defeat. However, the new Forged
Alliance hasn't forgotten the online component, and this new installment
features enhanced support for up to 16 players at the same time. Most of
the commands use a good combination of mouse and keyboard to perform, and
these are mapped out effectively to make for an easy to learn interface.
From a visual standpoint, the game looks razor sharp with an excellent,
coherent design that creates a consistent, believable world throughout.
This is one of the deepest and most enjoyable RTS titles on the market
because it gives players an almost unlimited set of options on an
expansive battlefield. The gameplay itself is smartly balanced, with each
faction offering an excellent mix of defensive and attacking units and
systems, to make every move count towards your ultimate victory or defeat.
While it doesn't change much about the formula, it expands it effectively,
which makes for an even deeper and more satisfying experience overall.
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance's impressive array of new features and
additions makes it a superb expansion that brings everything PC owners
enjoyed about the original game and adds more than enough content to make
its purchase an excellent bargain for RTS players.
- Michael Palisano
Grade: C+
