Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Review

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance is technically an expansion pack for the core game. In practice, however, it's a bit more than that- much like C&C Generals: Zero Hour was. This is largely because the meat of Supreme Commander has always been its skirmish/multiplay modes. Simply put, Forged Alliance makes SC a much better game- it adds a great deal of improvement to the AI, especially in terms of pathfinding, and makes a lot of useful improvements to units and the interface. As gravy, it also adds a campaign that's actually fun to play.

It is immediately evident that the AI has been improved. Enemy units are more aggressive, enemy commanders actually rebuild things you blow up, and pathfinding in particular is massively improved. I've still seen units get stuck once in a while, but it's a far cry from the original game- where sometimes ships or tanks literally couldn't even get out of their factory and you're forced to reclaim the structure to clear logjams. Generally speaking, if you order ground or naval units to go somewhere they actually get there now. They'll even take the fastest path and arrive in formation if applicable, so it doesn't take them a half hour to reach the destination. I can't stress how much of a relief this is after having played old SC skirmish.

In the original game, defenses were ridiculously overpowered. If you had half a brain cell and knew what to build, you could erect a nearly invincible base; this made it very easy to arrive at a stalemate in melee games. To a great degree this has been resolved in Forged Alliance, especially when it comes to experimental units. Experimentals are SCARY now, whereas previously they were essentially a waste of resources. Even solo they can crack pretty much any defense, save for one supported by other experimentals. Even then, they'll likely do pretty serious damage before going down, which means it's actually a good thing to go on the offensive now. This greatly improves the pacing of the game, as you're actually inclined to seize the initiative instead of turtling. A lot of units and structures have also been added, some of which are pretty darn powerful. They also add more distinction between the races, giving them unique combat advantages with special high tech units (e.g. Aeon get a T3 torpedo bomber, missile ship, and sniper bot).

The added units are nice, but there's something even better: a fourth faction, the Seraphim. Their units are quite interesting, especially in appearance, and they're definitely worth checking out. To do so you'll have to play skirmish/multiplayer mode, as there's no Seraphim missions in the campaign. In the single player missions (which are about as long as one of the original campaigns) they serve as the enemy. The plot is actually rather interesting, the levels are more challenging than the originals, and you start at the highest tech level. It's engaging enough that you might actually want to play it again as a different faction (you choose at the start) and there's fewer stupid instant-fail conditions that cause you to waste time and discourage replay. Those who have played the original game will likely find that the individual campaign levels run a bit faster than before, but this is largely due to the changes in units rather than any difference in map size or number of objectives. Additionally, you'll sometimes have AI allies that are actually worth keeping up- a far cry from the rarely seen and often useless assistance you got before.

One of the most irritating things about vanilla SC was the fact that you couldn't see jack squat. Most units didn't have a radar or sonar and had very short vision range, so you couldn't even see where enemies are. Things like air and land scouts could see farther, but were so weak and vulnerable that usually the moment you spot something they'd blow your scout away. The only real way to crack a heavily defended base was to go build a radar array in range of them, set up some artillery, and shoot into the fog of war until all the icons disappear. It was a pretty common situation to actually never see your enemy's base. Forged Alliance greatly improves this: units in general can see much farther, most units have radar or sonar- and all have had their ranged increased. There are also methods other than spy planes to scout enemy positions. Now when you nuke your opponent's base, you can actually watch the fireworks!

The bottom line is that Forged Alliance is much more than an expansion; it in fact remakes the game and does a very good job at it. I honestly have no complaints with Supreme Commander now, and really wish GPG had done this good a job with the game in the first place. Better late than never, though, and if you had even a remote affection for the original then this is a must-have.

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Feature

• Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance PC

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance Overview

Warfare on an epic scaleProduct InformationSet in the 37th century Supreme Commander signals the next evolution in the RTS genre by being the first strategy game to deliver a truly strategic and tactical experience. You direct one of three warring human factions the Aeon Illuminate the Cybran Nation or the United Earth Federation as their SupremeCommander. Humanity thinks that the Seraphim are extinct. They are wrong. When Black Sun fires it creates a soft spot in the Quantum realm that the Seraphim use as a doorway to our galaxy. The resulting invasion is swift and without mercy--Earth is reduced to ash the UEF decimated. The Seraphim then set out to destroy the rest of the galaxy.Backed into a corner the remnants of the UEF and the Cybran Nation form an uneasy alliance. They are joined by Crusader Rhiza and a handful of Aeon Commanders that remain loyal to Princess Burke. Struggling against insurmountable odds the Coalition wages a desperate guerrilla war against both the Seraphim and the newly christened Order of the Illuminate the Aeon that view the Seraphim as their gods. It is a war that will decide the fate of all of humanity.Product FeaturesPlanetary Warfare on a Galactic ScaleDelivering one of the most advanced and innovative features of any RTS game Supreme Commander establishes a breathtaking new standard with the sheer scope and scale of itsgameplay. Colossal battles tear across maps of incomparable size as hundreds of units clash in epic battles of supremacy.Scale: Witness tiny assault bots get crushed into oblivion by towering mega units or watch as smaller attack bombers desperately try to bring down a gigantic experimental unit.Scope: Concentrate on individual ground battles or zoom all the way out in a single seamless motion that reveals the full theatre of war. Plan and unleash multiple strategic attacks from this tactical vantage point.Command & Control InterfaceEase of Use:  Be

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