Forget everything you knew about Supreme Commander tactics

Old favourites are still as valuable as they used to be. Here, the mighty Mavor artillery, almost ready to unleash hell from across the map.

Forged Alliance allows the player to use a huge range of new and interesting units, all of which offer fresh tactics or ways to counter earlier tactics. The new units include shield boats, mobile bombs, line-of-sight towers and even an offensive satellite system. One of the biggest issues for some gamers was that the factions weren't different enough, besides their highest tier units, since every side had an equivalent for each unit up to the experimental level. Not only has this changed with the new units, which all are unique additions to each faction, but the strengths and weaknesses of each race have been amplified even further for all of their units. The UEF are all about defence, long range bombardments and sturdy units, whilst the Cybrans rely on stealth, powerful regular experimental units , and the Aeon on speed and hit and run tactics, in addition to a powerful economy (thanks to their new experimental among others).

This leaves us with one of the other biggest new features, the Seraphim race. Sadly, it seems a bit like they didn't get as much love from GPG as the other factions, since their unit line-up resembles the other factions before Forged Alliance, but this doesn't mean that they aren't a feasible alternative. With extremely powerful land units, the strongest shields, and some very spectacular experimentals, they seem to offer something for everyone. It should also be mentioned that the nuke-system has been entirely altered, so assisting nuclear missile launchers (and defences) doesn't work any longer. This means that having a nuke launcher up before your opponent builds a defence can easily decide the outcome of the game. On the other hand, the nuke defences have become very cheap in comparison, so building one before your opponent is rather a question of remembering to build one, instead of having the best economy up, but with the newly gained importance of off-base mass-extractors and fire-bases, nukes and nuke-defences are, contrary to what the first reactions from players were, more crucial than ever.

The Seraphim have some very capable experimentals, this particular one is not only a match for the galactic colossus, it also has some basic AA capabilities, and leaves a nasty surprise behind when killed.

The new king of non strategic experimentals, the Megalith is insanely durable, can swim, has something against everything and can build several tech 3 units.

When talking about the units, it has to be mentioned that for some strange reason the balance is completely different in the campaign mode, being somewhat of a mixture between the above mentioned and the original game, so don't be surprised when things don't seem to behave like what you'd expect after playing through the single-player part of the game. It was a rather shocking experience when I tried to build a Soul Ripper under twenty minutes in my first multiplayer game, only to find that contrary to SC and the Forged Alliance campaign instead of it being the cheapest, it was the most expensive non-long range experimental in the game. Another interesting aspect worth mentioning, is the improved veterancy system. Finally units gain ranks quicker, for lower end units a few kills are sufficient and it really does make a difference. Higher health and health regeneration give veteran units a lot higher survivability, so instead of just sending your troops in to die, manoeuvring them so that they'd survive really does pay off.

Let's get to the good stuff: multiplayer

Not only is the design of the new units very distinct, they also all fulfil their own, unique roles. Here pictured, the UEF tech 3 mobile missile launcher.

It seemed to be a general trend for some custom-game players to specify restrictions in the server's name, such as "no nukes" or "no T4 arty", whether these were really kept by the players joining was up to them really, since there was no way to enforce it. Forged Alliance allows the host to disable all sorts of build options, such as nukes, experimentals or even more general groups such as air units or a given tech level altogether. This allows for a lot of variation and will satisfy those players that would enjoy a good old fashioned encounter with hundreds of regular tanks, mechs and other lower tech units, assisted by support units such as mobile shield generators and AA, without a single experimental waltzing in and annihilating everything in sight. This means that the Custom game and skirmish portion of the game are a lot more flexible than before. There are also quite a few new maps in FA, some of which are instant favourites, so Supreme Commander players tired of everyone playing Isis will be glad to hear that there are several 2vs2 maps that are great alternatives now! The new maps are also somewhat more colourful than the originals, but can still be a bit too bland; it's a pity that all we really see are trees and rocks on them with the occasional tiny neutral colony.

The skirmish AI has also undergone a lot of changes: it actually mimics quite a few tactics used by players in online matches, such as attacking your mass extractors with light assault bots or air-lifting engineers close to your base in order to build tactical missile launchers and wipe you out before you get a chance to find out what's happening. Of course it's still no match for a seasoned player, but beginners will have a tough time with the new AI. For those that want a real challenge, without playing online, there is a special "cheating" AI with double resource and build rates. This is a quite lethal combination, and a much appreciated addition for those that are into co-op LAN gaming, for example.