New Blood #6 : Field Commander

Aaron Gray

Field Commander for the PlayStation Portable is a strategy role-playing game (SRPG), a type of turn-based gameplay which can be compared to games like Pathway To Glory on the N-Gage.
The semi-realistic military-type units combined with a futuristic theme make up the backdrop of Field Commander’s game universe. The game gives you command of a platoon of soldiers and artillery, which ranges from machine-gunners to heavy-armoured tanks. Of course, you won’t immediately start off with the best – your armory increases as you move up the ranks and delve deeper into the storyline of Field Commander.

Terrorists threatening the world set the background story in Field Commander. The well-funded criminal organisations declared war on the world’s governments, wanting nothing more than world domination. The Advanced Tactical Legion for Allied Security (aka ATLAS) has recruited you into its ranks to deter and defeat the threats.

You will get to have more than 30 vehicles at our disposal as you progress, ranging from ground units (like tanks) to air (like stealth fighters). Each class of vehicles plays different roles best – some are good at taking offensive stances while others may be good for reconnaissance purposes. This means you need to sit, think and plan carefully your strategy and not rush every unit to the forefront expecting immediate victory.

There are a number of divisions you can choose to command, each comes with its own reputation and unique attributes. Depending on your preference, you can have a division that boasts increased damage or choose one that comes with enhanced movement for some critical advantage during play on the battle map.

A tutorial is available in Field Commander, teaching you the basics of land, sea and air movement/combat. The game excels in graphics and sound, showing off the PSP’ best attributes in 3D display.

Although the single-player campaign spans up to 30 missions to keep you busy for a while (e.g. capture building, rescue so-and-so, destroy enemy’s base), the fun really starts when you have a buddy to play it with. Head-to-head battles over WiFi can be enjoyable, but you can still play it with friends if you only have one PSP. Field Commander features a hot-seat gameplay, where you pass the PSP to the next person after your turn ends, and him to the next, and so on.
If you feel you’re ready to take on the world (literally), you can access the Infrastructure Mode. This will take you to Field Commander’s virtual lobby where you can chat and join/set up a game session with other players around the world.



If all the above is not your cup of cake because you can’t be seen holding the PSP most of the time during office hours, you can always try out the Transmit Mode, which is similar to play-by-email. How this works: a player hosts a game session and the other joins, then the host will make a move (ala chess) and waits for the other player to make his/hers. This can last anywhere between an hour to a few weeks as it depends on how fast the game is played via Transmit Mode.

Field Commander may not be enticing to those who dislike turn-based strategy games, but new players who are interested can easily pick up the gameplay as the leaning curve isn’t too steep… not to mention there’s a tutorial in tow as well.

Compared to other turn-based strategy games available on the PSP, I would say Field Commander is as excellent as it comes for handheld consoles like the PSP. If you feel the single player campaign is a little too easy for you to handle, the multiplayer options will keep you busy for months.  

Aaron found it easier to order virtual troops to go on a suicide mission than getting his sister to wash the car. You can share similar gaming sentiments at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it