We'll admit that we had almost forgotten that a console port of Chris Taylor and Gas Powered Games' Supreme Commander was in the works for the Xbox 360, which is probably just as well as it keeps us from being disappointed that the futuristic RTS won't be making its April release date. According to Shacknews, the port, which is being handled by Hellbent Games, has been pushed out by publisher Aspyr until "later this spring or early summer."

No reason was given, through Aspyr marketing man Eric Duncan spun up the delay, stating that "the additional time put into development will result in better gameplay and more fun for gamers." Supreme Commander is certainly one of the most complex RTS releases to come along in a good while, and will be a good test to see just how far the genre can be pushed on a game pad, as long as they don't push it over the cliff.

A far cry from leather and swords, you'll be playing an engineer who can sacrifice parts of his humanity for cybernetic upgrades. How much humanity you're willing to give up seems to be one of the game's central struggles, with NPCs reacting to you differently depending on how human you are.

You're on one of the last remaining ships carrying humans after an attack on Earth and, as you have probably have already guessed, you'll be attempting to save the human race from being eradicated. Also mentioned in the release: A co-op multiplayer mode for up to four players. More info on the game is due in PC Gamer's September issue and (we would bet) during E3.

CEO and founder of Gas Powered Games Chris Taylor (Supreme Commander, Dungeon Siege) wants to retire the old-school game design philosophies of punishing gamers. In an essay on GameDaily BIZ, Taylor notes an observed trend towards games that now reward players.

It started with casual games, says Taylor, when The Sims and Railroad Tycoon were selling millions and bringing women gamers on board. He compares the old punishment system to Carnival games -- you get three lives, a few options for more, but if you die then you start all the way over. Taylor uses Grand Theft Auto as an example where, if you screw up, you simply walk out of jail or the hospital. "The punishment is quite small, and perfectly integrated into the gameplay. Hats off to Rockstar," he said.

Much of his essay is muddled, however, in defining the line between making a game universally accessible and dumbing it down in difficulty. "Games shouldn't punish the player, but rather reward them. Oh, and it should be a whole lot easier to win," he said, followed by "Duh! Can I say duh?" You can, but a game like Ninja Gaiden serves as an opposing example to that argument, where toning down the difficulty would likely result in a less satisfying and indeed, less rewarding experience.