Naval Ops: Commander

"Nelson would be proud"

Naval Ops: Commander is one of those niche games. It is a game that is difficult to place in any specific genre, and it has a limited appeal. Yet those to whom this game does appeal will find an innovative, original game that will captivate them.

The plot of the game is as follows: While on a mission, your country is invaded and you lose contact with Naval Command. In response to this, you enter into operations to harass the enemy and ultimately gain naval supremacy. Its a little different and sets the scene nicely for the games missions and the plot lines that unfold as you progress

The game's graphics are pretty basic, with decent water effects and nice explosions, but the textures are a little drab, and lacking in any real variety or detail, but the mission areas are pretty vast and the scale does go someway to make up for it, but overall it could have been better. There are no framerate issues or any other graphical glitches which would hinder gameplay.

The gameplay on the surface is pretty simple - you control a small fleet of ships (or more precisely, the flagship) and you have to carry out various missions, generally involving protecting something or destroying something. Its pretty simple stuff but it is very addictive, which works in its favour. Completing the objectives results in experience, which allows you to use more powerful ships, and money, which can be used to increase your technology base, and to buy parts to construct new ships. Indeed, this is probably the best part of the game - designing your ship. To do this you enter into an interactive schematic of your ship, and then drag your parts to where you want them. You need to place certain parts as a must (engines, bridge etc), but you decide where they go. This may not sound important, but the best ships are ones that have a variety and large number of weapons in the smallest amount of space. You also have to strike a balance between speed and strength. What makes this really great is the fact that you can create a ship to suit your playing style, so that the gaming experience is tailored to suit you. There are also different ship classes, which have inherent strengths and weaknesses. These classes are Destroyer, Cruiser, Aircraft Carrier, Battleship and Battlecarrier. Each of them is useful in different contexts, and you have to learn when to use what. All this gives the game a surprisingly strategic depth to the otherwise simple blasting. Add to this a large number of missions, and you have a compelling yet simple game, with a lot of life.

The incidental sound is pretty average, with nothing wrong with it, but its hardly anything new or exciting. The voice acting is pretty bad. Its incredibly cheesy and features perhaps the most preposterous British accent ever to grace a game. On the plus side the sound effects are brilliant, with nice meaty explosions and convincing machine gun sounds.

Overall, this game has its flaws, but it manages to overcome them with strong and addictive gameplay and a very large number of missions. This game is not to everyone's taste, but for those wanting a quality game thats a little different, Naval Ops: Commander is a great game that, with a little perseverance, will become a welcome addition to their collection.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/02/07