This is the long-awaited real-time strategy game from Chris Taylor, the architect of Total Annihilation all those years ago. And as such we installed it with bated breath, or we would have done had we known how to bate our breath. But it sounded suspiciously like that involved maggots or something, so we just steered clear of the whole thorny issue.

First things first. It quickly becomes apparent that Supreme Commander is a slick looking game. As your ACU (Armoured Command Unit - basically a big mech) lands with a shockwave that flattens all the nearby trees, you know you're in for a bit of a treat. The explosions, craters and chaos of a sci-fi war are captured perfectly by the visuals and it's a thrill just to watch a major assault unfold.

But - yes, there had to be one - it's not such a thrill when you get massive frame-rate judders in these apocalyptic confrontations. We were forced to turn the resolution and details down on our mid-range PC, although even then the game was still sluggish at times. Plus, at a resolution of 1024 x 768, the viewing window is rather too narrow for comfort, as the interface itself takes up a fair bit of screen real-estate.

That gripe out of the way, what Supreme Commander gets spot-on is the aforementioned atmosphere of a war. Not merely with the visuals, but with the setup of the scenarios and the interface as well. Each mission has multiple objectives and fronts to fight on and you can zoom right out on the world map for a strategic overview, with your units represented by little dots.

Pushing these around like a World War II General with one of those croupier-style stick things gives you, well, a supreme sense of power. The interface is quite standard and streamlined - patrol orders are given by shift clicking, formations can be added to a movement order by holding down the mouse button and twisting the units round - but there are more sophisticated possibilities such as synchronising different groups of troops so that they attack the same point simultaneously.

The resource scheme is also kept streamlined and fairly basic, so most of your time is taken up with deciding your army composition (with a large selection of land, air and naval units) and your attack plans. It's engrossing stuff, especially for the more tactically minded and patient players out there. The maps and missions can be so large and lengthy, however, that there's a danger of some RTS fans finding it a little laboured.

So while Supreme Commander does indeed deliver war on a grand scale, with three campaigns along with skirmish and multiplayer modes, its pace might not be to everyone's taste and it certainly has frame-rate issues on the technical front.

Verdict
The problem with a hotly anticipated title such as Supreme Commander is that expectations can be set at an unrealistically high level. This is an RTS that delivers an excellent tactical war gaming experience, make no mistake, but there may be some slightly disappointed people who fall out with the game's pacing, or the demands it makes on their hardware.

Company: THQ

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