The Strategic Commander will change the way you play real-time strategy titles, and will certainly offer an edge during play, particularly during the first moments of the game where it can be crucial to assign tasks to units and get the mission underway. Though the Commander will work across the board within the real-time genre, it seems like the controller was made to suit Microsoft's own Age of Empires series, a title that currently appears in the company's ad campaign for the Strategic Commander.

With almost seamless gameplay once the controller is programmed, the swivel function can sometimes get the best of the player and move by accident, and throw off a few key moves. It is best, of course, to have the device rest on a desk or table and not on your lap. However it is not always possible; my own computer desk does not accommodate bulky peripherals either.

The setup is also extremely easy as the Strategic Commander is a USB device, and the software installs without much of a hitch. The only problem is that many gamers will probably end up going out to buy a USB hub in order to allow for all of the other cool USB devices that make playing games more enjoyable.

Game Commander is an innovative device that could improve your game and make it more fun. However, if you don't use hot keys while playing RTS games, then you might have a longer learning curve with the device. But once the keys are learned, you may just be near invincible.