Supreme Commander

Strategy and warfare is good, obviously, but is it  enough to drag you off the sofa and over to your PC? Fortunately, there’s no need for that now. Ben Parfitt fires up the Xbox 360…

There was a time when the RTS genre was held aloft by PC gamers as one of the key reasons why their format reigned supreme. Replicating the gameplay of the genre that was perfectly suited to the keyboard and mouse, was an unenviable task on a joypad. But then there was a time when the same was said of FPS titles, and now console outings such as Halo and Call of Duty 4 are heralded as the very best examples of the genre.

The history of the console RTS isn’t quite as smooth, but the trend is one of improvement. Whilst the last generation played host to some tough-to-handle strategy outings, this generation has seen a number of titles make an admirable console transition, with 2K’s recent Civ Revolution perhaps the pinnacle to date.

Recognising the emerging new home for the genre, Gas Powered Games saw a good opportunity to bring its successful PC strategy title Supreme Commander to Xbox 360. And from 505 Games’ perspective, it was the lure of the developer’s head Chris Taylor that proved the deal clincher.

“Supreme Commander will stand out from the console RTS crowd partly as it comes from real-time strategy legend Chris Taylor, who previously created Total Annihilation and the Dungeon Siege series,” 505 Games UK’s product manager Juliette Fielder explains.

“He brings a massive amount of heritage to the game and he’s a well-respected name among RTS fans. No other Xbox 360 RTS title can claim to have someone like him on board.

“Also, one of the problems that has plagued RTS games on console is the difficulty of transferring the incredibly complex keyboard controls to a joypad with a fraction of all the buttons. But for Supreme Commander on 360, Hellbent has done an excellent job creating an accessible control system that lets players easily command an entire army, from the smallest land scout to massive mechs several stories tall.

“Finally, there’s also a fantastic multiplayer that enables players to go head-to-head against each other over Xbox Live and can choose to play as the three factions from the single-player – UEF, Cybran and Aeon.”

Chris Taylor and 360 developer Hellbent have gone to extreme lengths to ensure that all was great about the highly-rated PC outing is preserved, whilst also making any adaptations needed to make the title work on 360.

“In terms of the gameplay experience it’s virtually identical to the PC version,” Fielder continues. “Players can still choose to play three different factions and take to the battlefield to engage in some of the biggest RTS warfare ever seen. It also features the much-heralded ‘Strategic Zoom’ that ensures players can quickly take command of their units, get a bird’s eye view of the combat area in a split second and plan how they’ll destroy the enemy.

“The biggest change is the new control system that adapts the potentially complex PC controls to the 360 pad. There are also a range of exclusive new units, updated maps, a range of new multiplayer modes that can be played over Xbox Live and it incorporates some of the revised rules from the Forged Alliance expansion.”

505 is obviously delighted with the work that’s gone into this console outing. It’s also buoyed that the original was such a big hit – it currently boasts an impressive 86 score on reviews aggregation site Metacritic. All of which sees Fielder in confident mood:

“Supreme Commander is an RTS like nothing else on 360 and we fully expect gamers to revel in the opportunity to wage war on an epic scale.”