Score
Gameplay:	9
Graphics:	9
Sound:	8
FunFactor:	9
PlasmaFactor:	10
Overall:	9

Field Commander Review
June 25, 2006 by Kenneth Seward, Jr.

The ingredients for a good portable strategy game are as follows: fun and addictive game play, balanced military units, great A.I., multiplayer modes, and good graphics! Field Commander, developed by SOE for the PSP, has all that and then some.

 

 

It’s My Turn!

 

When I first heard about Field Commander, I must admit, I wasn’t impressed. The PSP doesn’t have too many must-have titles and I didn’t think Field Commander would be one of them. That changed as soon as I started playing. It was really fun. Actually, it was the most fun I had playing a game on the PSP period. I was surprised at just how good it was. Developed by the same people who brought us the Untold Legend series, Field Commander is a game that will improve anyone’s PSP game library. In Field Commander you play as a new recruit of the ATLAS (Advance Tactical Legion for Allied Security) tasked with defending the world from rogue military groups bent on world domination. In order to complete your task, you must command highly trained soldiers with state-of-the-art equipment and wage war with terrorism (weapons of mass destruction included). Sounds simple enough!

When starting up Field Commander I recommend playing the tutorial missions first. The controls aren’t overly complicated and the game play mechanics are easy to learn so it’s not imperative that you go through the tutorial. However, it does help when it comes to knowing how to get the most out of the game’s three major unit types. The three major unit types are land, air, and sea. Out of these three comes thirty six different sub units, each with there own strengths and weaknesses. After completing the tutorial missions I jumped into a custom game against the computer. Here you can pick what map to play on, your commanding officer and division, and the limits of the match (like how much money each player starts with). The match starts with both factions at opposite ends of the map. The map consists of a grassy environment with interconnecting roads and buildings spread throughout. Each faction holds a certain number of buildings as their own (represented by the building being their faction’s color) which in turn, gives the factions money to purchase more units. This points out one strategic element of Field Commander in that whoever controls the most buildings will have the most cash. Also, depending on what type of buildings you occupy, you will receive different bonuses to help give you the edge over the opposition. The Factory is one of the most important buildings in the game, providing you with ground units and $1000 revenue per turn. The same goes for the Airport and the Seaport, which gives you air and sea units and $1000 revenue per turn. There are other buildings that, once acquired, gives you weapon bonuses. Like the Satellite Laser Control Room. This building allows you the ability to call in satellite-based attacks that is devastating against all unit types. In order to gain control a building a player must get one of his troops into the building and choose to capture it. Depending on which unit/soldier is chosen for the job, it might take two or three turns to fully capture the building. Most games our won when one faction captures the other’s headquarters.

Another thing to think about while playing Field Commander is your unit selections. The first unit type you must consider is the infantry. They are (going from weakest to strongest) the Grunt, Special Ops, and Sniper. Each soldier has a different price that you will have to pay for their services. Then there are the vehicles. These units go from simple supply trucks to stealth fighters. The soldier, while they don’t need fuel to operate, can only move a small number of squares on the map at a time. The vehicles are able to move large distances in one turn but, their use is limited because they need fuel. After each turn their fuel level drops and the only way to refill it is for them to return to the building they spawned from or wait for a supply vehicle. You don’t want to wait too long to get gas because once they run out of fuel they explode. The next big thing to consider is each unit’s abilities. To help the soldiers get around, some vehicles have the ability to pick them up and drop them off at different locations on the map.  This ability comes in handy seeing how only the soldiers can be used to capture buildings. Some units must be close to opponents in order to attack them, while others have to be at a distance. Some units can become invisible and others can submerge themselves under water.

It might sound like a lot to remember but in actuality, it’s quite simple. If you do find yourself forgetting what a particular unit can do, you can scroll over it and press triangle. This will bring up a screen displaying the unit’s information (like how far it can move per turn). Speaking of controls, they all work well on the PSP. You won’t find yourself fumbling with them, trying to remember what button does what because the controls feel natural. This helps with making Field Commander a very accessible game that you can jump right into and start playing.

 

It’s Partly Cloudy, With a High Chance Bullets!

 

Field Commanders graphics are rather good for the PSP. In fact there aren’t many PSP titles with better graphics. To be fair, most of the time the camera is positioned high above the map. When someone is attacking, the camera pulls in to a little to cover the action. Because of the fact that you are viewing the game from a far, the troops onscreen aren’t too highly detailed (that changes when you view the units close up in different menus during the game). Other than that, everything looks great, especially the environments. Field Commander allows you to play in different weather, which in turn adds a little something extra to the map. Like when it snows, for example, you can see the tanks kick up tiny bits of it as they move around the map. When the camera pulls in to show the units fighting, you’re able to see them a little better. What’s really cool is seeing things blow up. You get treated to miniature bits of colorful debris and shrapnel flying through the air, raining down seconds later all over the battlefield. All the menus in the game look great. They’re all colorful and bright, showcasing the power of the PSP, and all the writing is very clear and legible.

 

BOOOOM!

 

All the sounds in Field Commander are dead on. I wish I could have plugged the PSP into some speakers to really hear the action unfold. During gameplay, your ears are treated to sounds of bullets ricocheting off of metal objects and missiles being fired at ships causing loud explosions upon contact. You even get different sounds for each of the different vehicles in the game. A tank moving across a grassy plane sounds different from a ship speeding by in the water. Something else I should note is the voice-overs for commanders in the game. Your mission briefs are told to you by your commanding officer at the start of each mission. All the characters sound nice on the PSP and add to the overall quality of the game.

 

Share Your Bullets With Friends and Family!

 

Field Commander is a really fun game. The only reason I stopped playing the first time I put in Field Commander was because my neck started hurting from all the hours spent looking down at the PSP. I might have needed a neck brace if I had had a friend over. Not only can you play with friends using the PSP’s wireless connection, you can also play over the internet. Heck, if that doesn’t work you can even play with two people using a single PSP by passing it back and forth between turns. Another cool feature is the ability to create custom missions and share them with friends over the internet. Throw in online ranking leaderboards and you have a pretty cool multiplayer experience on your hands.

 

 

 

Button Line!

 

Field Commander is a must by for PSP owners who love a great strategy game with good graphics and addictive gameplay. Even if you’re not into strategic games, I would recommend giving it a try anyway. With thirty single-player missions, player created missions, and the ability to play against a friend using the same PSP, I don’t see anyone getting tired of Field Commander anytime soon!