Every so often something comes along that changes forever the games we play. Programmable joysticks. Graphics accelerators. PC Steering wheels.

And now Game Commander.

Game Commander is voice recognition software for games. It's that simple. It ships with a small microphone that plugs into your standard soundcard (I have an old SB16). You can use it for pretty much any command. You can even use it to start programs off your desktop.

Most of us here play flight sims. And so in Falcon 4 I simply ask AWACS to "Declare". And it does, every time, with no voice training needed. In European Air War I shout "Flight Help Me!" when I have four Fockes on my tail. In Su-27 I simply say "Look front" to return from whatever I am doing to get the standard cockpit screen.

Best of all is M1 Tank Platoon 2. In a tank most of the commander's fighting is done by voice, not hands. You roll towards Kuwait Airport under the gathering oil clouds:
- Driver Fast!
- Load Sabot!
- Platoon Fire at Will!

The possibilities are endless. Talking to your flight in Falcon 4 is so much better than pressing RRR4. Saying:
- Flight go ladder
- Flight Close Up
- Flight say Fuel
makes it seem so much more real.

The only drawback comes in games with a lot of radio chatter, like F4 or M1TP2. If the loudspeakers are up too high it can confuse the microphone. So I got a headphones/mic combination from Electronics Boutique for £ 6.99 and it works perfectly. Game Commander - get it!