Customer Reviews

Field Commander

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Overview:
A turn based strategy game, that is heavy on the strategy, with a military theme.

Graphics: 7
It's ok. I mean it's a nifty 3D env, but most of the time, you'll be viewing from the top, where it turns into 2D. And once you get into competitive online play, you'll almost always entirely skip the 3D view animations. One particular quirk that I have is that the group units are represented as a single unit. E.g., a infantry unit is represented as a single person, rather than a group of people. It looks a bit odd when a tank goes against an infantry unit. But nothing horrendous really.

Sound: 8
Very good, imho. Having been a RTS player, I've looked for the sound cues relevant to the gameplay. So far, the most obvious and important one I've noticed is this sound that enemy units make when they enter stealth. There are others - such as when the enemy uses the factory, for e.g.. And all the vocals, the "yes, sir!" type of responses, are pretty clear and well done.

Gameplay: 8
Excellent. It's hard core think before you shoot type of a strategy game. Think something like Risk or Chess, with far more complex rules. And while balance isn't perfect, it's actually better balanced then any other RTS/TBS games I've played so far.

Story: 3
Yeah, whatever. The campaign mode is fun, and it'll last you a few weeks. But it's also pretty easy to beat, and the story is certainly no RPG. The campaign mode unlocks new divisions that you can use, so it is definitely worthwhile.

Vs: 8
Here's the real meat of this game. Fixed maps are a disappointment, and the SOE server and matchmaking system leaves a lot to be desired. That said, the game allows quite a few methods of Vs play- Hot Swap, Ad-Hoc, Infrastructure, and Transmission. I've tried all of these but Ad-Hoc, and I must say, Vs play is fun. Hot Swap allows two player play with one psp- very convenient feature when introducing the game to a friend of yours. Infrastructure - pretty good. The SOE server tends to disconnect, but the system does have methods to save and rehost. And since many of the PSP games do not have Infrastructure, I'd say that this is a huge selling point. Transmission - I have to say, that this is quite the saving grace for many. It allows the game to be played slowly, over days and weeks, for the busy gamer who can only spend small portions of their day to gaming. It does have its weaknesses, but it's not bad at all.

Replay Value: 8
As noted, the lack of random maps is a huge disappointment, and seriously cuts down on the replay value. That said, even with this lack, the game does offer you quite a few maps that you can play on, and online vs mode does offer quite a bit. This category would have been a 10 if random maps were present.


Overall: 8
It's a PSP strategy game designed for the current median gamer profile (i.e., grew up on games, now in their 30's, with a busy RL). Not bad at all, and there's no equal like it on the PSP at the moment.

If you have ever played Advance Wars on the GBA or DS you will be VERY familiar with Field Commander. This game is almost EXACTLY the same. From joining damaged forces together as one unit, using a super, flying in troops, taking over buildings, etc. It is ALL in there. The few differences that I have noticed are the ability of a trooper to lay mines, shoot out trees to make a path, Satellite strikes, Napalm etc.. and being able to double stack aircraft on one playing spot.

The gameplay is as fun if not better than AW but with some great online modes. There is a two player swap back and forth, AD-HOC and direct online modes. The Transmit mode is great for those long games. The ability to transmit a game back and forth makes for a (chess like) multi-day game session. You can simply set up a game and transmit for an online player. Make all your moves then transmit and come back when the other player makes his move. Get this game if you are a fan of Strategy Games and love being able to control an Army on the go.

Remember to keep your aircraft fueled before they crash!

Its no secret that this game "heavily borrows" almost all of it's elements from the GameBoy's Advance Wars series. However, speaking as a big fan of Advance Wars, this is a good thing. This is because the basic elements of the original series have been expanded and improved upon, and that doesn't even take into account the superior graphics and on-line multiplayer capabilities of the PSP.

The PROS:
1) Many different unit types.
2) Many different CO's and divisions with various abilities.
3) Good graphics.
4) Shallow learning curve. Easy to pick up and play.
5) Multiplayer capability.

The CONS:
1) Computer AI has occasional lapses in judgment making it easy to beat at times.
2) Maps could be bigger.

There is a story mode in the single player campaign, but if you find this annoying its as easy to skip over as hitting the "X" button, and its nowhere near as annoying as the one in Advance Wars.

If you liked the Advance War series, you will love Field Commander (unless you're a hopeless Nintendo fanboy). This is a turned based strategy game that is well worth picking up.

If you're a fan of turn-based strategy games this game should meet your expectations. It's got nice graphics, easy to play, and can be played in all modes (single player, Wi-Fi, and Infrastructure). It has enough unit types with varying strengths/weaknesses to allow many defensive/offensive strategic decisions to be made. It's like playing a complex and dynamic game of chess.

All in all I've been satisfied with this game and would recommend it for turn based strategy fans.

I love turn-based strategy games on the pc, but was concerned how the interface would be on a handheld. Field commander has a nice and simple user interface. The graphics and animation are nice. Speech throughout gives more personality to the characters in the story (campaign mode).

Campaign mode is a fun story driven mission oriented game. It starts off easy and gets more difficult over time.

The only problem I have with this game is the mediocre to poor AI (the reason I gave this 4 rather than 5 stars). Early on it is plain dumb (to make for easier missions) and gets a little better as you go on, but most of the difficulties later appear to be due to more difficult setups. However, campaign mode is still a great deal of fun.

The multiplayer mode bails the game's AI out. Being able to play online against other players and go up the rankings is a lot of fun and extremely challenging. You can choose different squadrons which give each player different advantages.

Overall, this is a fun game and definitely one worth buying. I can safely say that I won't sell it used either since I'll continue playing multiplayer games.

A strategy game that does not involve cards!
Most of the reviews I have seen for Field Commander leave out that the game comes with an editor allowing you to create your own scenarios and play them, as well as download them from the internet. Also, while the game can be easy at times, it still offers enough of a challenge to make it interesting to play. A couple of the missions in the initial campaign story are very difficult. Graphics are superb, sound and music is great, diversity of weaponry is excellent, without making any one weapon too strong, often an achilles heel for this type of game. This game is the only choice currently on the PSP if you are into axis and allies inspired turn based strategy, and a great deal especially, at the price I bought it at, around 15 dollars. Hoping Warhammer's planned strategy game is even 3/4 as good as this one. Please note, because it is a war based game this game depicts some graphic violence, and may not be suitable for very young players. I give this game 5 stars, even though some battles against the computer are easily won, it is worth playing.

This game is truly great. It is a great strategy game, much like the game of chess but at a larger scale. I own this game and cant stop playing it. But the only problem is the length of this game. You could spend hours playing one mission. Basicly in the game you are a commander of an army and lead your army to victory over foes. While fighting, you have to think about where to move. If you move a smaller unit in front of a larger unit good chances are you are dead.
Overall this game is pretty good but it could use some improvement with teaching fundementals of the game. So if you are looking to buy a new game for your psp and are a big strategy lover this game is the game for you.

We'd think that with the lack of strategy titles (well, lack of turn based, non-fantasy military anyway) that Field Commander would fill the gap and stand out like a sore thumb right? Well, truth be told it does have some popular praise, but I have to wonder if it's easy to be the best when you stand alone.

Releasing a comprehensive turn based strategy is a tough endeavor for any software company. The reasons being are that this genre is one of the oldest in what is "advanced" video gaming. Back in the days of old (early to mid 80s) you had two basic kinds of games; button mashers and thinkers. Almost all of the thinkers for PC were either text novel or TBS in nature. The genre does not attract new players so much, and developers must draw from a pool of the converted which typically are, quite seasoned.

So how does Field Commander stack up? Well, first and foremost the game is highly playable and easy to get into. Save for a long load time at start, the mission loading goes by fairly quickly and we go from screen to screen and into the campaign missions without much problem. There are cities and structures one can capture for additional resources, terrain is a factor in engagements where defensive bonus is important, there are movement penalties through rough terrain, and at times different ways to win a particular mission.

Unfortunately however, there are mechanics to the game are rather flawed in way as to limit the depth and replayability of the title. For one any defending unit that gets attacked may fire back. That's ok, but it should be limited. For example, if you have a unit in a good defensive that gets attacked by say, 3 enemy units, the defending unit may fire on all three. I could see firing back once, but a bonus to the attacker for overrunning should be in the way of not allowing a defending unit to have a turn on each and every attacker. This unbalances the gameplay.

I do appreciate however that the structure of unit design doesn't involve a rock, paper, scissors layout. Many of these types of games have this where unit A crushes unit B, unit B can crush unit C, and unit C crushes A. Even the antithesis of unit A does have a small chance of losing a fight provided that they are weak to begin with. It's too bad that units at full health cannot ever under any circumstance be killed in one attack, which always allows for a counterattack and potentially a loss for the attacker if they finish the turn with the enemy unit intact which unless you have multiple (usually 3) attacks is going to happen.

Further limiting the gameplay are the tiny maps but even worse; their layout. Most of the structures are at polar opposites of the map, so there is little incentive or need to attack or defend something on the edge of your supply route. Instead, almost all of the fighting will be done either inside your base, or theirs, and the attacker must be much, much stronger than the defender, which results typically in a rush with a high unit count to make any meaningful move in the game. What's worse, is that once the enemy is in force in your base, the game is over long before it ends. By needing only one turn to make a unit, even the best and most expensive ones, they can just be funneled into the enemy base. And due to the fact that one cannot sit on or pass through an occupied area, this means that one or two grunts in a key position can prevent even tanks from being able to break the defensive line. Bad.

The campaign is rather lackluster. While the voice acting is ok, you're typically talked to like you're an idiot, which especially sucks considering that you can't choose which side you play... and speaking of the sides, they have identical units. While some special abilities for each side are different, the units are exactly the same. Big downer for me there. Not only that, but the computer AI has moments of awkwardness where it creates defenseless supply trucks in attempt to thwart off an attack. While the AI will attempt to defend factories and the HQ as a priority, it doesn't follow up this tactic with units that can serve to fight the enemy away from the base (or at all), and you spend most of your time completing a mission by shooting fish in a barrel until the computer runs out of resources, meanwhile your commanders tell you that you're taking too long with the game... ugh!

Multiplayer would be a nice option, considering it's available. Make sure you have a friend close to play with you, because the online games are dead, vacant, and non-existent.

How long could one really play this game? I'm not sure. After a few missions I feel I've seen it all. I've never come close to losing, as it's really not that hard. Keep units in fortified positions until you build up enough to rush in. Rinse, repeat. With the tiny map layout and only N,S,E,W movements, this plays more like an enhanced game of chess than it does a strategy game. Because of these limitations, the depth of the game is restricted, and this becomes a simple board game. I feel like I'm playing chess or Risk at times, but definitely not Axis and Allies.

If you're a TBS junkie and want something other than the fantasy of say Jeanne D'arc or FF Tactics (even though those are much better games, especially Jeanne D'arc) and need your gaming on the go, you have not much choice but that of Field Commander. If you're expecting Norm Kroger's Operational Art of War or Gettysburg, your expectations are too high. And if you've even played any game like those mentioned, Field Commander will seem overly simplistic and limited.

This is an excellently crafted game in the venue of turn based strategies. It spans many cmapaigns with loads of features and unique units. once you get into using stealth units, it will really begin to tax your ability to win with losing few forces. The graphics are decent and have a good contrast to them. The units themselves are fairly distinct and the on screen display really helps with your strategy so that you are never caught of guard. I really enjoy this game still, even with my friends who I can play with via email movements.

I have to say, this is the only game I've purchased so far that I've really enjoyed on the PSP!!! If you are into strategy games this is the one for you!! Great game play, difficulty is really nice. It's not super easy to beat, but not impossible either. A lot of the maps differ in difficulty also. It's nice to have a easy round now and then.

Definitely a "Must Have" for the PSP.