Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance (PC)

Even epic experiences can be better.
1/31/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 2

In the opening movie of Supreme Commander, we are briefly introduced to the Seraphim, an alien race that adopts a group of humans as worshippers and then is wiped out in a genocidal campaign by the United Earth Force. (This war crime spawns the Aeon as a religious fanatic faction.) The original campaign ends with allusions to the return of this alien behemoth, ready for revenge on the universe. I guess the lesson is that genocide is a bad thing, more so if you don't do the job right the first time.

Forged Alliance, the stand-alone expansion to Supreme Commander, gives us the Seraphim, and -- surprise -- they are just like everyone else. Same Commander system, same building structure, same unit types. It's as if this alien race decided to go native and fight the war with the tech that almost destroyed their civilization. If you can't beat 'em, copy 'em.

The title refers to the between-game events. Faced with the overwhelming threat presented by an invading Seraphim army, the three factions from the original game team up to save the universe. Betrayals, assassinations and a civil war amongst the Aeon fanatics all happen in the campaign world before you even load a map. Then you get more betrayals as you work your way through it.

I usually wouldn't spend so much time on the backstory of the campaign for a real-time strategy game, but in this case it exemplifies the missed opportunity of Forged Alliance. Given the chance to really shake things up and create a new faction, Gas Powered Games just gives you the same robots, airplanes and defenses you had before. After writing a truly interesting story about how enemies must come together to fight a common enemy, they decide to start the campaign after all the interesting stuff has already happened.

This is part and parcel of Gas Powered Games' plan for Supreme Commander. At the 2007 Game Developers Conference, Chris Taylor told an audience that the game was for hardcore RTSers, i.e., the multiplayer community. As long as the game provided the level of challenge and depth that the online gamers demand, his job was done.

Since Supreme Commander is designed for that hardcore audience that likes to figure out the fastest way to get their super-duper experimental weapons out, adding a fourth faction in Forged Alliance means 33 percent more analysis. The Seraphim get a new experimental bomber, as well as an assault bot and strategic missile base that can devastate enemy forces. All experimental units get built faster, making them a more practical option for the endgame than they were in the core game. Experimentals are still a considerable investment, but because they have quicker deployment times, the cost/benefit analysis falls in their favor more often.

Having the new faction means you get a little more variety in appearance in those big multiplayer games, but the Seraphim don't really force many new calculations. A radical reimagining of who or what the Seraphim were would upset that precious balance, and in the online world, balance will always win over flavor. Your old build order will still work fine, the templates you have hotkeyed won't need to be changed much, and you will still have to assemble those huge armies and monster weapons that only Supreme Commander can give you. Forged Alliance keeps all that was good about Supreme Commander and gives you -- frankly, not a lot more for the $40 asking price, a full 10 bucks over your standard expansion costs.