Supreme Commander

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Gratifying real-time strategy game for PC users.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

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.

  • It's purely fictional, but this futuristic war game teaches that violence begets violence.
  • A futuristic war fought on land, sea, and air -- and with plenty of over-the-top explosions.
  • Not applicable.

What's it about?

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.


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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What families can talk about

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?


This review was written by Marc Saltzman
Adult
January 11, 2009
 
This is a complicated game so i don't even this kids under 11 will even understand this game.

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Teen, 16 years old
February 18, 2011
 
The perfect strategy game for all ages
This is a fantastic game for all ages. I rated 12+ because it is still a war-based game. However, it also makes you think and teaches you how to handle resources. It is hard to say how violent it actually is, because all of the fighting takes place amongst robotic machines controlled by a human commander in a large bipedal walker called an ACU (Armoured Commande Unit). However, the violence does consist of robotic tanks, bombers, walkers, and navy being blown up, smashed and utterly destroyed. It is a great game though, and well worth playing. If you are interested in it, check out the sequel.

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Teen, 14 years old
May 28, 2009
 
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.

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Adult
July 20, 2009
 
Hard Strategy Game
Not very easy to play. Could not be won by a 7 year old. Best for Teenagers and Older

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
I'd just love to see the person who rates this "OFF"
No blood, no killing, the only human casualty is a destroyed ACU; whoever rates this OFF is obviously technophobic. Not that I'm saying anyone did, but still... Although the requirements are steep, it pays off. The game uses a Newtonian system to track shots and see if they hit, rather than making it all random. The visuals are about as good as Age Of Empires 3's, if not better. Bottom line: Get. This. Game. You will be blown away.

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Teen, 18 years old
September 4, 2010
 
This game is fine for kids, but this is a highly conplex game that wont exactly "click" with their heads...
This game is quite fine for most ages. I doubt anyone below their "tweens" would get the concept of the game though. (This game requires skill, patience, time, not to mention a gaming PC to master) To those that gave it a bad review, clearly have not played online over GPG net and got their skulls crushed in by an experienced player. The only downside of the game is the skirmish AI. (Which is fixed in the expansion "Forged Alliance") So never come to early conclusions. :P This game DOES however, require a good PC to run, despite the requirements, I'd recommend a 3.0 ghz dual core, 4 gb of ram, and a current generation graphics card. :P

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Teen, 14 years old
March 8, 2010
 
Complex but fun strategy game
While Supreme Commander does contain fighting, I don't consider it violent because almost no people are harmed. If your kids can handle mild language such as the D-word, they can handle this game. However, it is not especially an easy game to get into and requires some brainpower to triumph over even the weakest opponent. If your child is good with computers, they can modify the game or download modifications for it, making it a very long lasting game. There are many mods on GPGnet, and they have kept me playing for three years. Lag is an issue with slower computers, but this can be averted by lowering the graphics settings.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 

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Teen, 18 years old
April 9, 2008
 
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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This review was written by Marc Saltzman
Platforms:Windows
Available online?Available online
Genre:Real Time Strategy (RTS)
Developer:THQ
Release date:February 20, 2007
Price:$49.99
ESRB rating:E10+ for comic mischief, fantasy violence, mild language

This review was written by Marc Saltzman

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ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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