Commandos 2

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Genre: Action Release Date: Available Publisher: Eidos Developer: Pyro Studios ESRB: Teen Requirements: Pentium II 300 Windows 9x/ME 32 MB RAM 4x CD-ROM DRIVE DirectX 8.0 2GB free HDspace

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Commandos 2 is based upon the WW2 era, therefore your main enemy is the Germans, though you run into other countries (Japan, India, etc.). The Commandos include Jerry "Tiny" McHale (Green Beret), Rene "Spooky" Duchamp (Spy), Thomas "Inferno" Hancock (Sapper), James "Fins" Blackwood (Diver), Sid "Tread" Perkins (Driver), Natasha "Seductress" Nikochevski (Resistance Operative), Paul "Lupin" Toledo (Thief), and "Whiskey" (Dog). Each character has distinct skills and attributes to help you make it through the level. The spy can turn into any of the Germans, with the proper attire, and go unnoticed. The Sapper can place bombs, use blowtorches, etc. The levels are designed to have the player take complete control of the team he is given. For each mission, the computer chooses which commandos to fight with.

The gameplay is perhaps the greatest aspect of the game. The way to move the commandos is simply point and click. To make them pull out a gun, you can use a hot key, or select the gun from the side menu during the game. You can tell them to get down, stand next to walls, crouch, and stand with their guns out to shoot anything that walks by. Though the game sounds fast paced, it requires full use of mind to achieve success. The AI is very impressive, in a way that they can hear your footsteps if you're walking too fast, notice dead bodies on the ground, and signal the alarm. To make it through a level successfully, you need to use each commando in his appropriate fashion. If you send the Thief into a zone filled with soldiers, the chances of survival are thin. Each level is composed of certain objectives, including rescuing allies in the heat of battle, destroying bridges, and killing a whole army. There are three different types of difficulty levels, which are easy, hard, and very hard. I STRONGLY recommend starting off in the easy mode, because the game is truly a challenge. The game has a total of 10 levels, and 9 different locations. Each locale is filled with little detail making you recognize exactly where you are. In the tropics you can see birds flying from one tree to another, in cities you can hear townspeople talking, etc. Weapons are given to you at the start of the level, but after you kill someone, you can take whatever they have on them (smokes, clothes, guns, etc.). Each character will have a specific weapon no other has. The Green Beret has a knife, the Sniper has a sniper rifle, the Diver has under water equipment, and so on.

Commandos was known for its unique angle at a strategy game, with a birds-eye view camera angle. Commandos 2 lets you adjust the camera angle to fit your favorite perspective. The last version had buildings, but you couldn't interact with them. Commandos 2 allows you to go inside buildings, seeing just how graphically amazing the game is. When you walk inside a building, the camera transfers inside seamlessly. Coming out is the same way. Each level is done to the top amount of detail. The levels are lush, and filled with areas to explore. The explosions are another sight to see. When throwing a bomb, the aftermath is too beautiful. As well as going inside and outside, you can even go underwater in some areas. While underwater there are wavy effects making the screen seem underwater.

To make the game fully authentic, you would of course need authentic sounds. The game delivers again. When in Germany, the Germans talk to each other in German, and sometimes if you listen closely, you can hear some words heard in war movies. The guns have amazing sounds as well; each with is distinct. Vehicles are very well done from the roar of the tank, to the stuttering engine of a truck. The voice acting isn't the best ever, but it is decent. In the beginning of each level, the narrator will explain the story behind the war (most of it is true, and follows a decent timeline), and where the commandos come in. The commandos acknowledge your every command, and can get annoying fast. There are a few different sounds the commandos make. While playing, the game transfers into little cut-scenes, using the graphic detail in game. In other words, it doesn't transfer to a pre-rendered movie, it plays along in game. There are extra sounds, like a radio voice, and water flows, which are highly detailed.

The differences from the original title and this year are amazing. The same developers worked on Commandos 2, so the elements are there, but they tore up last year's 3D engine, creating a new, more flexible one. New features are rotating the camera in 360 degrees, moving seamlessly in/out of buildings, submarines, planes, and under water swimming. Also, a new zooming feature has been included. Interactions have been improved where you can steal enemy uniforms and weapons, climb poles, telephone wires, etc. The game has made improvements, and while playing, you will feel differences from last versions.

Commandos 2 is a very demanding game. Time-consuming, and difficult, the game requires a lot of time, and patience. Sometimes the objectives seem impossible, but the game was designed to have you think about different possibilities of winning the game. The games graphics, sound, and gameplay is the best to date. The game is extremely authentic, and makes you feel like you're in a WW2 movie. When I was plying a mission, with my Commandos rushing a beach... I felt like Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan. So if you are a gamer with a lot of time, A LOT OF TIME, on your hands Commandos 2 is the best game to date, featuring all the elements in a good Action/Strategy game.