Naval Ops: Commander

"A unique blend of strategy, action, and huge guns"

Kurogane no Houkou 2: Warship Commander is a naval combat game. It is a sequel to the first Kurogane no Houkou (''Roar of Steel''), a sleeper hit of sorts released for the North American PS2 under the name Warship Gunner. This review is based on the Windows version of the game, but I will mention some of the differences between this and the PS2 version which came out just recently, since the latter will probably get a domestic release. Koei has recently put out an ''Extra Kit'' upgrade, but that will also not be covered in this review. As a note to importers, this game cannot be installed on a non-Japanese Windows 98, even if you are running NJSTAR or a similar IME program. For this reason, unless you have Windows 2000 or XP (which the game runs perfectly on), you will probably want to get the PS2 version instead.

Gameplay: 8.5/10
Warship Commander is basically divided into two components, action sequences and strategic planning. The action is very straight-forward, and reminds me of a crude Starfleet Command match set to speed 10. You are in command of a warship, be it a destroyer, cruiser, carrier, battleship, or battlecarrier, and can take up to 3 friendly vessels with you. You control speed and heading with either the directional keys or mouse, and you fire your weapons just by pointing and clicking with the crosshair. (Note that the PS2 version uses a slightly different aiming system.) You can directly control any one of up to 7 weapons on your vessel, and either assign the others to auto-fire or turn them off to save ammo. You see the action from an overhead perspective, and the camera follows your ship by default. I should mention that this game is in desperate need of a zoom in/out feature. As it stands, you can move the camera as far away from your own ships as you like to deliver long-range shots to enemies off-screen, but you run the risk of being pummeled by enemies close by that you're not paying attention to. The AI is passable and pretty accurate when firing, but a bit quirky when controlling your fleetmates and your secondary weapons. A guided missile destroyer will launch missiles against targets not even on your radar, completely disregarding the fog of war, but missiles on your own ship set to auto-fire wait until near point-blank range to launch. While it's quite simplistic, there is often so much going on at one time that your reflexes will be pushed to the limit. If you can imagine trying to sink an angry battleship while stationary guns on the coast are shooting at you, subs are launching torpedoes, and hundreds of airplanes are dive-bombing you, you'll get an idea of what the later stages are like.

Even with all the action, the real joy of Warship Commander is designing your own fleet. In this sense, the game again reminds me of the Starfleet Command series, only with more depth. You start off with a dinky destroyer from one of the four countries that you selected in the beginning (Japan, USA, England, Germany), but you can build and customize up to 8 vessels to your heart's content. As you complete the stages, find items, earn money, and gain ranks, you will be able to buy new hulls, ship parts, weapons, and other items. You can also level up your technology, unlocking more and more powerful equipment. You can also purchase friendly vessels of all sorts to comprise your battlegroup. While the game starts you off with pre-WW2 gear, you'll eventually have access to modern stuff like nuclear reactors, guided missiles, and jet fighters. There are even some secret weapons such as railguns and laser cannons, as well as a nod to Space Battleship Yamato fans. Building your own ship is not as easy as it sounds, though. You need to take into account things like weight, space, engine power, armor coverage, reload time, firing arcs, radar, sonar, and all sorts of optional electronic gadgets. Once you get the hang of it, you'll find yourself spending hours tweaking your vessels to perfection, or adjusting them to tackle specific missions. If only the action part of the game was this deep and realistic, it would be a true classic.

Story: 6/10
Like most Koei action games, Warship Commander's story is flaky and riddled with more historical holes than the USS Arizona. Basically, you are the commander of a destroyer group that was pulled back (or was that forward?) in time to World War II by a mysterious plot device. You discover that countries around the world are creating ''superweapons,'' and suddenly it's your job to stop them. I don't think I have to mention that there was only one true ''superweapon'' in those days, and it sure wasn't an experimental warship. You end up traveling all over the world looking for these weapons of mass frustration, with each area being introduced with a cutscene and briefings for each mission. While the game supposedly has multiple endings, the missions don't change depending on the country you choose as far as I can tell, and you end up fighting everything and everyone. Apparently your group has no affiliation to the country you've chosen. Even if you're playing as Japan, for example, you'll end up fighting the IJN, sinking the Yamato, and blowing up whatever huge anachronistically high-tech contraption they've developed.

Graphics: 8/10
The game looks pretty good, but it's not particularly breathtaking. The game features a wide variety of 3D ship models, all of which can't be truly appreciated because they are so small on the screen. This has been changed in the PS2 version, with more detailed models and a more close-up 3rd-person viewpoint. The animations are very nice, especially the splashes of water when a shot misses or when a submarine is destroyed, not to mention the big explosions. To the designers' credit, when run on even a modest computer setup, there's little or no slowdown in this game even when there are a million things on screen at once. The strategy screens are fairly good, with a distinct ''secret underground shipyard'' kind of feel. Once you've created a ship, a process that takes place on a blue-print like production screen, you can view a very crisp-looking model of it and marvel at all the shiny guns. (The PS2 version is apparently even better in this area as well.)

Sound: 8/10
The sound effects are fairly good, but seem distant or muted. I suppose this is appropriate since you are looking down at the action from seemingly very far away, but I am still longing to find a game where firing a 16'' gun battery will make you deaf just like the real thing. The voice-overs are a nice touch; your crew announces changes in speed, objective and mission updates, air raid warnings, and other events. There's even a cute garbled radio transmission when you pick up enemy survivors floating in the water. I particularly like the ''battlestations'' siren you hear when you encounter an enemy superweapon. It's very ominous, and will either get you pumped up for battle, or make you panic and curse yourself for using up all your most powerful weapons already. The music is nothing exceptional, but it does its job of keeping the atmosphere of the game. The opening theme has a nice dramatic flair to it, though, as does the fanfare when you finally sink that superweapon that you've been pounding with your guns for five minutes straight.

Play time/Replay Value: 9/10
This game is deceptively long. There are 8 normal areas and 10 missions per area. This is not counting the secret areas that are unlocked by achieving the highest rank. Each mission is dynamic to a certain extent. As you complete certain objectives, new objectives can appear, giving you an opportunity for more points and more rewards. This means that what seems like a short mission with a simple objective, such as ''sink 50% of the enemy cruisers'' can turn into a half-hour spectacle of sailing all over the map, leaving you exhausted from shooting everything. The difficulty is very customizable, with 4 difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Super Hard. ''Super Hard'' is no understatement, as you really have to wait until you complete the game once to stand a chance. You can start over an area from the first mission at any time and change difficulty levels freely, making for a very adjustable learning curve, and allowing you to try the tougher levels for more funds and better equipment. Also, once you complete the game once, playing through old stages again will allow you to earn even more powerful weapons and gear, allowing you to build a ''superweapon'' of your own. After you've done all that, you can go through the game again with another country and give their ships and weapons a try.

Fun Factor: 9/10
Despite its few flaws, Warship Commander is very addicting. You build ships, you blow things up with them, you earn more equipment, and you build better ships. It turns into a nearly endless cycle that will keep you playing until you're convinced that you have the biggest ship with the biggest guns. And once you get that far, you'll find out that there's an even bigger ship and some crazy gun you've never heard of that you can get by playing a certain stage on Super Hard. Granted, playing on that difficulty level is not what I would call ''fun,'' but the rewards certainly provide some enjoyment.

Overall: 8
Kurogane no Houkou 2: Warship Commander is a solid action game with a fantastic ship-building element mixed in. It's not the best graphically, and it needs some polishing in terms of camera and weapon control, but it plays well. Gamers expecting a true WWII warship simulation, or anyone looking for an epic war story will be disappointed. However, armchair admirals who think they could teach the navy a thing or two about design, or those of us who just want to blow up a lot of ships, look no further.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/29/04