Welcome to APC's haven for games aficionados

Many games have special requirements. Windows games frequently need DirectX (for help click here), so be sure to read the instructions below and any Readme files included with these games. Download the DirectX 7 file \gamezone\dx70eng.exe to your local drive, then run the program from the command prompt.

Force Commander uses the usual troop control ideas (dragging to select groups, assignable group numbers, and so on) quite well. However, the camera control is where it all falls apart; the 3D controls are horrible. Click to select a unit, and you'll get a poor view of them. Try to spin the view to facilitate combat, and the camera will end up behind a huge rock so you can't see your troops at all. Zoom in on your troops and you'll realise that they're actually not all that good to look at -- even with a high-spec graphics card they're blocky and unremarkable. Because you constantly have to fiddle with even the smallest camera movements, you can't adequately plan attacks, pull out dying soldiers or commandeer resources. Force Commander also uses an odd system whereby most troops have to be 'requested' from dropships, rather than the standard harvest resource/build troop model. This means you've got to stick to the exact battleplan for each mission, otherwise it's no troops for you.

Much like in Caesar 3, it is your ability to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of these citizens that determines their prosperity and the amount you can tax them.

Because your colony is on an island, resources are limited, more so than in most games of this type. It is essential therefore that you supplement your resource supply in other ways. The military option is difficult because the game is set up to make conquest very difficult against a well-prepared island opponent. The only real option then is trade, and lots of it.

Graphically, the game is attractive. Like Caesar 3 and Pharaoh, the citizens going about their business on the streets indicates the status of your colony. There is also the usual variety of in-game screens to consult, although the information could be better organised and more detailed.

Finally, the physics of the game are horrible; turning some of the fighter aircrafts in a direction is in itself a task. However, enemy aircraft seem to have no problem; multiple bogeys come from every direction, fortifying their position while you're still busy trying to figure out how to turn your aircraft around.

Will it convert the Quake/Unreal junkies? Not likely. It's deliberately less violent, with people simply being knocked out, and it's really, really bright and garish -- not the kind of game you want to play with a hangover, or even for more than an hour or so. Nerf Arena's target market -- younger gamers, or more accurately, their violence-concerned parents -- will probably shy away from it because of its puzzling M rating. It's fun in a 'hey -- I'm shooting soft foam at someone' way, but it's unlikely to capture too many fans, which is a pity. Underneath the garish, nerf-centric exterior, it is a perfectly acceptable FPS.