Field Commander First-Look

Take to the battlefield. First impressions and media!

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) dropped by the offices earlier today toting an unfinished build of Field Commander, the first military turn-based strategy game developed specifically for the PSP. Now, the sad part about our meeting with SOE is the fact we didn't get to play Field Commander. No, we only watched as Sony representatives had all the fun blasting stuff. No matter, we did get a pretty good idea about the game and how it works. More importantly, we walked out of the meeting impressed with what we saw.

Developed by SOE, Field Commander placed us in the role of (gasp!) a field commander working for an independent group established by the Allied Nations. Our job in the game was to defend the world from terrorist groups working to start wars, sell illegal weapons and, of course, take over the known universe. In order to secure the homeland, we had to command an army consisting of land, sea and air units, each of which had its own innate strengths and weakness on the battlefield. Field Commander let us command two different armies, each of which had some 15 unit types.

Since developers wanted to steer clear of realism, these units have only a passing resemblance to their real-world counterparts. Obviously, tanks look like tanks and helicopters look like helicopters, but each looks somewhat cartoon-like in its design. Plus, each army has a pretty funky color scheme, so units actually look delicious in a candy-coated sort of way. Odd, sure, but that pretty much describes the aesthetic of Field Commander, at least as far as units (and structures) are concerned. As far as unit variety goes, we saw planes, helicopters, tanks, attack boats, cruisers, anti-aircraft vehicles and a variety of other land, sea and air units.

Action in Field Commander looks pretty straightforward. Those familiar with the turn-based strategy genre will definitely feel right at home. Units move along a full 3D, grid-based map, with local topography playing heavily into the overall strategy of each encounter. We could see where certain situations called for specific units to seek high ground, where as other situations called for units to seek shelter behind hills, trees and other obstructions. The game uses a cool three-plane system, divided as underwater, surface and air, so there's plenty of room for strategic planning and positioning of units.

The game revolves primarily around destruction of enemy units and the capturing of enemy structures. We weren't able to see every unit and structure available, but we did see some form of napalm factory and a satellite weapon system. Once captured, these structures can be used against the enemy. The napalm factory, for example, launches a fireball at a specific target. At first, the blaze caused by the napalm attack appears small, but after a few turns, the fire grows to encompass several grid spaces or "tiles." The satellite weapons platform looks and acts just like the orbital attack from Command & Conquer. First, a giant reticule scans a specific area of the map and then a devastating energy beam shoots down from the heavens and cooks everything in its path.

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