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Supreme Commander

(2007, Video Games - Real Time Strategy (RTS), Rated E10+, Play it on: Windows)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 11, age appropriate for kids over 12; suggested age 12.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    Gratifying real-time strategy game for PC users.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 12 and Up

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    It's a thinking person's war game as you must climb the "tech tree" and strategize.
 

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    It's purely fictional, but this futuristic war game teaches that violence begets violence.
  • Violence:

    A futuristic war fought on land, sea, and air -- and with plenty of over-the-top explosions.
  • Sex:

    Not an issue.
  • Language:

    The odd mention of the words "damn," "dammit," and "hell."
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Supreme Commander was written by Marc Saltzman

Parents need to know that this war game takes place in the future and involves all kinds of weapons: guns, missiles, bombs, and even a nuclear weapon. However, there is no blood or close-up scenes of violence. The game has an online component, which Common Sense doesn't recommend for anyone under 12. The game requires a high-end machine, so check system requirements before buying.

Families Can Talk About

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  • Families can talk about this futuristic, over-the-top premise of war. Do you think future war might be like this? What does playing this game teach you about the use of violence to solve problems?
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More on Supreme Commander

What’s the Story?

SUPREME COMMANDER takes place in the 37th century -- the year 3844 -- as three rival factions continue their centuries-long intergalactic war. In the single-player campaign, your goal is to end this Infinite War by choosing one of the sides and destroying its foes. As with most "real-time strategy" (RTS) games, you must establish a base camp, build structures, create fighting units and vehicles, and collect resources to fuel this growth. You use the map to find your enemies and fight them.

All three sides have access to Armored Command Units (ACUs), giant armored mechs piloted by a skilled person inside. The ACU you control is responsible for building armies and giving them orders. Throughout missions you can choose to enhance your ACUs with upgrades that vary depending on which side you're on. Supreme Commander also gives you access to land, sea, and air-based fighting units -- from tanks to submarines to bombers.

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Is It Any Good?

The visual reward for launching this kind of virtual firepower is gratifying. Along with the lengthy and intense single-player campaign is a skirmish mode, in which you play against the game's artificial intelligence. There are also online head-to-head modes via the game's built-in matchmaking service.

The game provides a so-so tutorial. Another issue is steep system requirements: Minimum specs are at least a 1.8GHz processor, 512 megabytes of system memory, and 128MB of video memory, but for it to run smoothly, it's more like a 3GHz processor or better, 1GB of system memory, and 256MB of video memory with vertex and pixel shader support (if you have to ask what this is, chances are you don't have it on your video card). The game also suffers from some technical bugs, most of which are addressed with a free, downloadable patch. But serious RTS fans with a powerful PC will be more than satisfied.

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Publisher’s Details

Released on 02/20/2007, price $49.99, not online enabled
ESRB rating: E10+ (for comic mischief, fantasy violence, mild language)

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See all 7 member reviews

Most Recent Reviews

  1. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Utah
    I rate this title on for age 12 and give it 5.0

    Hard Strategy Game

    Not very easy to play. Could not be won by a 7 year old. Best for Teenagers and Older

  2. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    Lives in Florida
    I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it 4.0

    Demanding,but amazing

    Supreme commander is a amazing game. Even though it requires a ultra powerful pc,it is really worth it. Playing it reminded me of one of those non-violent movies as supreme commander has absolutely no blood,and the only death is a gigantic king kong sized robot. I Would not recommend it for younger kids as it is a very complicated game to master as you could fry one of your brain cells just learning it! It had a easy to learn tutorial that got me off from the start. The multiplayer is defiantly for older kids(+14)as i have caught foul chat on there before. In total,supreme commander is a real rewarding game.

  3. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 10 and give it 3.0

    This is a complicated game so i don't even this kids under 11 will even understand this game.

  4. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in New Jersey
    I rate this title on for age 11 and give it 4.0

  5. Teen Reviewer Age 16
    Lives in Wisconsin
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 2.0

    Interesting premise, bad game

    This game is poorly designed and rather boring, its interesting premise does nothing for it, and on top of it all it requires a high-end pc.

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