I first played Naval Ops: Commander many years ago and do not remember how I came to own it, but I would say it is one of my favorite titles on the PS2, a console known for its width and depth of available games. This was my first brush with the Kurogane No Houkou series, the existence of which I was unaware of at the time, nor was I aware that only three games from that series were localized for English release. On top of that, Commander is the second of three games in a sub-series and we received neither the first nor the third, which is a bummer. The core gameplay of Commander is a simple top-down arcade shooter about capital-grade naval warships, with a more methodical pace then most arcade shooters, and a few more simulator-oriented features: You can issue formation commands to your escort ships, manage the firing behaviors of your weapons, and location-based damage is a factor. It differs in its perspective from Warship Gunner 1 and 2, which used more of a third-person view and do not have AI escort ships for the player.Commander is set on an alternate Earth with technology ranging from familiar 20th-Century level to science fiction lasers, energy shields and more, in a fashion not unlike the Ace Combat series. The campaign is quite long, with admittedly repetitive mission objectives: destroy enemy fleets or harbors, escort friendly ships, move to specific locations, etc., broken up by boss fights with massive "superships", the highlight of the series as a whole, the smallest of which dwarf player-made ships: rocket-powered super cruisers, twin-hulled bombers, flying saucers, iceberg carriers, ships with huge forward drills and more. Missions reward you with funds and sometimes parts, the former of which you can use to raise your technology levels (Aircraft, Engines, Metallurgy, Weapons and Electronics) and unlock new parts for sale from the Depot screen. That is where the very in-depth customization system comes in. You can create destroyers, cruisers, carriers, battleships and hybrid "battlecarriers" with a dedicated ship designer screen showing you top and side views of your vessel, allowing you to place individual parts to your liking: bridges, boilers, turbines, weapons, electronic subsystems and more, with your current and maximum weight limit, parts limit and top speed updated in real time as you place and move parts. There are large variety of parts, especially weapons, and there is typically more then one setup that will work for a variety of situations, though in general fielding your largest available battleship hull with strong main guns (shifting towards the gatling-style "Special Machine Guns" as they become available) and as much speed as you can get using a large number of boilers and speed-boosting subsystems will work. There are some hidden factors to take into account: Guns will weigh more if placed off the centerline of your vessel, boiler and turbine placement relative to each other affects weight and efficiency, and more. The most I can say against the game is the relatively low quality voice acting, occasionally stilted dialogue, and a soundtrack that is all over the place thematically the electronica-sounding design screen music goes very hard for example, whereas the in-game combat music is much more subdued military style horns and drums. Some players might also feel the campaign drags on too long with not enough gameplay variety, and that's a fair assessment. You will know very quickly if NO:C's gameplay is to your liking, and if you will be comfortable playing 80+ levels of the same. If you enjoy either top-down shooters or games with in-depth vehicle customization, or just enjoy experiencing quirky Japanese PS2 games, Naval Ops: Commander is worth a try. These games also served as an inspiration for an indie game called Waves of Steel, which is on Steam and also worth checking out.

Repetitive missions, clunky menus, and slow progression - this game takes some getting used to. It is a highly strategic game which requires you to use fast manuvering and good use of your escort ships, otherwise you will be sunk. Out of the 80 missions, there are only a few unique ones. Destroy this harbor, destroy these ships, and escort these ships - those are the 3 missions you will be completing. Sound: The sounds of the game are awesome. Once you get bigger guns and shoot them off, it is incredibly satisfying to hear the loud pop and slam when they connect with enemy ships. The voiceovers are a little bit cheesy, but that is to be expected for a game localized for North America, coming from Japan. Gameplay: The gameplay is very slow, until the middle and later stages of the game. Your ships don't travel very fast, and the enemy ships don't die very fast. The strategy starts from the beginning of the game, making you have to think about your moves from the very beginning. The difficulty curves at the first boss fight, however it is not as steep as games such as FFXIII, or Ni No Kuni. Menus: Like I stated before, the menus are very clunky. Trying to save your game makes you go through 3-4 different menus every time, which gets pretty annoying because the load times are not that fast (even when installed on the PS3). Other than that, buying ships and selling parts is very easy, and you won't need a strategy guide for either. Creativity: You need to be creative with your ships to go far. If you just slap some guns and engines on a hull, don't expect to go far. As for the game itself, for it's time a console real-time-strategy wasn't really a thing. Sure there were others such as Command & Conquer, but this one just feels right. The concept is great, however the missions are mundane. I don't quite know what people were expecting, but if you wan to go really fast and shoot things a lot, then I suggest playing a flight simulator. This is a naval simulator of sorts, and that is why the gameplay is slow and the missions are repetitive. Overall: This is a game I have been playing for quite a long time. It has great replay value but is lacking in very many different departments. even through that, it is still a great game that you should try out if you are a real time strategy enthusiast, as this is one of the few that works on console.