Nintendo’s Gameboy Advance and DS have had a long list of smash hit titles with the Advance Wars series residing somewhere near the top. Outstanding gameplay, flaring anime graphics, a playful musical score, and some of the best multiplayer options are just some of the reasons why Advance Wars rocks Nintendo’s handheld world. Sony, with its “me too” attitude, has recently released their own version of Advance Wars titled Field Commander.
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Never before has a game been so ripped off blatantly. Field Commander is an exact replica of Advance Wars, just with a more realistic graphical theme. In fact, I would not be surprised if Nintendo and Intelligent Systems sued for copyright infringement. Every rule, gameplay element, strategy, and even super powers have all been mimicked from Advance Wars. Needless to say, if you played Advance Wars, you will know exactly what Field Commander is all about.
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Field Commander is a turn based strategy game, not that different from a game of chess. Players each take turns moving their armies in hopes of destroying all opposing threats or overtaking their headquarters. However, easy-to-remember rules give the game its depth and strategy. Infantry units are the only unit allowed to capture cities and bases. Tanks are the power houses of ground combat. Anti-air guns make quick work of planes. Submarines, while sneaky, require a lot of fuel to stay submersed. Cities and factories require 20 points from an infantry unit before it is captured. All occupied territories generate gold after each turn. And indirect combat units can only move or attack in one turn, not both. Because there are so many types of units, each specializing in a field of combat, a well thought out strategy is always important.
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Unlike Advance Wars, Field Commander uses realistic looking visuals instead of a of brightly colored anime theme. Even though this game looks exactly like a typical PSP game, the anime stylize visual scheme seems to have more of an impact on the gameplay. The PS2 quality graphics do look nice on the PSP’s high res screen, but it does not really fit the overall atmosphere of the game in the same way Advance Wars did. Anger, rage, and worry are all emotions felt frequently on the battlefield, but can be better expressed through the creativeness of anime.
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For newbies, Field Commander does offer an option tutorial. While this tutorial teaches the general basics of combat, it does not go into the full detail that Advance War’s tutorial stages did. Even if the player does not play through these optional teaching stages, the game will subtly offer hints and gameplay tips before or during a mission of the main campaign mode. However, these extra little hints are usually so vague that I would have had a hard time figuring them out if I had not played Advance Wars before.
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Field Commander also displays full voice acting. The short story elements in-between battles are all acted well and help bring a little more life to the small screen. But even though the actors do a good job portraying their characters through the use of voice, it all becomes slightly irrelevant because the story is so weak. Understandably, the story was not meant to be an important part of the game, but it should still have been a meaningful force. The only indication of a story is how you, the player, has “done so well, so quickly” to help oppress the opposition. The player will play this game to engage in strategy, not hear a detailed war tale.
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The music, while entertaining, is subtle enough to transition the player from battle to battle without growing repetitive. However, the musical score just does not contain the same level of quality as other stragety games. But the well acted voice work does put many points in this game’s corner.
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Advance Wars made the best use of the GBA’s multiplayer capabilities. By offering single pak, multi pak, and pass the system multiplayer options, Advance Wars is one of the best games to play with friends. Building off this ideal, SOE has taken all these wonderful multiplayer options and expanded them in Field Commander. Making use of the PSP’s powerful hardware, players can participate in ad-hoc or infrastructure mode. Internet play is a wonderful option for hardcore players who do not have any local friends to war with. Even though infrastructure mode is included, the developers have also added a clever and very unique way to play against your buddies. Because stragety games usually take a lot of time to play, playing multiplayer matches can grow tiresome simply due to the fact that you have to wait for your opponent to move before you can do anything. Taking this into consideration, players can compete via email. Once one player moves, the next player’s turns will be waiting for him the next time the system is turned on. Yes, playing this way can take a very long time to finish a single battle, but it offers a convenient option so players can compete whenever they want without losing their place.
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Again, just like Advance Wars, the player can even make his or her own maps. The map editor is easy to use and fans are sure to enjoy this extra feature.
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Field Commander is a good game. Why? Because it “borrowed” all of its gameplay motives from the Advance Wars series. Field Commander is nothing more Advance Wars with a fresh coat of paint. But while Nintendo players will hark that Sony stole their coveted stragety game, you can’t ignore the fact Sony’s multiplayer mode one-ups the GBA and DS versions. Playing online is a killer way to play this game, and the turn-by-turn email form of play offers nothing but convenience. However, fans will be sure to appreciate the anime visual style over the more realistic themes. If Advance Wars was never released, then Field Commander would be standing tall on the portable stragety game list. All in all, if you never played either of these games, I would have to tip my hat towards Advance Wars not only because it came first, but because it just has a better overall presentation. However, if internet play is your main gameplay concern, then Field Commander will be the road to travel. Field Commander is a solid portable game, worthy of playing in short bursts or for hours at a time. Plus, the load times are pretty low as well. If you are a PSP owner looking for that solid stragety game, look no further than Field Commander. Just be sure to pay your respects to Advance Wars first.
