A true surprise,
it's a tactical space combat game, disguised as a casual game. Just
a fast look will not do this game justice. While it is a new game,
it harkens back to simpler time of top down one dimensional graphics
gaming, though the gaming itself in Space War Commander is anything
but one dimensional. So much is going on, with defense of the player
assets while attacking and planning out the demise of the enemy's
assets. Plus gathering and trading in supplies to keep you going.
The basics of the game look and sound simplistic and that's the
beauty of Space War Commander. A player can pick it up and have a go
at a gaming session for a few minutes or stretch it out, depending
on how addicted you get to this game.
It's a game that has the look of a beloved board game making a
successful jump to the Personal Computer. The player has a star base
and the enemy often has one as well. Simply destroying the enemy is
not enough here. True conquest is much like a galactic chess game of
moving pieces almost all at once. Should you counter the oppositions
move? Or should you continue on with your original goal for that
piece, and trust that you will get enough funds to create more
pieces to defend your star base? Spread through out a star field are
planets the player or the enemy can trade with, asteroids are here
too, they provide metals and other mineral for trade at neutral
trade post bases or planets. Depending on what the planets supply
and demands are.
Trade of course generates income for the player and the enemy alike,
enabling them to build more ships for attack and defense and also
trade cargo. The ships range from small fast lightly armored ships,
to medium armored ships, and cargo vessels, and also lumbering star
ships designed expressly to attack bases. Though it did seem that no
matter what level of play I partook in, the enemy ships though
small, where enough to take my base out.while my ships of the same
class only went to the slaughter when attacking the AI base ship.
The games AI takes on several different strategies over the course
of the game, but relies a lot on causing you to defend your base and
therefore loose track of gathering resources for yourself. This is a
bad thing. Over time your base starts to decay, so it's a race
against not only the AI opponent, but also time itself. Planning out
your moves is almost as important as being reactive to the AI's
moves. Some of the game is almost automatic and the player does not
have to worry about hitting a control like fire at will. if enemy
ships come within contact of each other, they fire on one another.
Now, if those ships are just crossing paths to their ultimate
destination, they will take a few blasts at each other, but move
right on unless you choose the ship and give it new orders to make
the offending ship a target. Then the ship will chase it down and
attack until the enemy ship is destroyed, or the enemy destroys it.
This PC game is well worth it, drop on over to
www.dreamspike.com
and have a go at the demo. Have fun, play games. Edwin Millheim
Impulse Gamer
