When the main men behind the awe-inspiring Commandos 2, Spanish duo Gonzo Suarez (lead designer) and Jon Beltran (lead programmer), left Pyro Studios to form their own company, quite a few eyebrows were raised at the prospect of another sequel. Was this going to be just a last attempt to extract some more cash from one of the biggest-selling PC series in history? Could a rudderless team come up with enough surprises to match the infinite little touches of genius that marked C2 now the visionaries had left?
The announcement of a multiplayer mode seemed a clear indication that Pyro were going to push the concept as far as they could in this last instalment (for more on this see the Axis Vs Allies panel), but as we're concentrating mainly on the single-player campaigns in this review, the answers to the above questions would have to be 'sort of’ and 'not really'.
8/10 (245 votes) - Download Commandos Free. Commandos is a real-time strategy game that ended up being a complete revolution due to its well designed graphics and the playability it had to offer. Few strategy games have been as successful as Commandos, a title in which you had to take control of. 1,2,3,4,5: Commando is a game of tactics in real time provided for in World War II that puts you in leading a small band of elite soldiers. Send them behind enemy lines in a series of hazardous missions, and bring them alive again.
Inside And Out
In case you’re new to the series, Commandos is less a strategy game than it is a mindbending series of puzzles, where you have to figure out a way of completing missions while coordinating stealthy attacks, distracting guards and timing your actions to perfection. The only real novelties here are slight improvements in the Al and more weather effects (plus the online mode, of course). The graphics are disappointing in that the resolution is still fixed at 800x600 and there’s very little to distinguish it from the previous title. The only noticeable improvement is the new interior 3D engine, that allows more zooming and rotating than before. Even here though, should you get up close to acharacter (for example, when looking through a window to see a soldier standing right in front of you) you are treated to some shockingly low-res textures.
Cannon Fodder
Still, Commandos really is all about gameplay over graphics, and C2 managed to be breathtaking by the sheer detail of its levels. But there’s nothing here to compare to the incredible beauty and variety of that game, and the colours and buildings all end up looking a bit samey, despite the three campaigns being set in Stalingrad, Central Europe and Normandy. Where are the gorgeous Pacific islands, with their exotic plant life and piranha-infested sky-blue waters from the previous game? Or the architectural marvels of Far Eastern missions and incredible recreations of the Eiffel Tower and Colditz Castle?
The only thing that comes close to being that memorable is the Omaha beach landing. This is a massive and very clever map, where you have to use the same tactics the Allies employed in real life: get lots of footsoldiers massacred to make slow but steady progress. For once, stealth is cast aside and it’s full-on action. You can even get a character to grab a giant machinegun from its tripod and wander around in pure Rambo style. The level works well, and provides the one note of difference from what is otherwise a retread of old ground.
There are other niggles, such as the objectives not always being clear and the need for more shortcut keys. There are fewer commandos too. No beautiful female soldier and, most disappointingly, no dog. On top of that, the sniper, thief and diver are all underused, after being so cleverly deployed last time.
Just. One. More. Go
The difficulty level is on a par with Commandos 2, although the introduction of some timelimited objectives is not at all welcome, pushing frustration levels over the edge.
Most of the time the mix between tear-your-brain-out difficulty and satisfaction is just right though. Nearly every problem and every level looks impossible at first glance, until a bit of deep thinking and a lot of trial and error (you’re likely to wear the quicksave and quickload buttons out) lets you figure out a way, leading to laps of honour around your room when you succeed (well, at least in my room).
In the end, C3 feels more like an expansionpack than a proper sequel, the fact that it took me only threedays to complete it (compared to the seven or eight it took to finish C2) strengthening this argument.
So there you have it. The single-player game is as addictive as ever, but offers little new and can’t touch C2for variety, detail, immersion and imagination.
So What’s All This Multiplayer Lark Then?
The online games carry both deathmatch and CTF options, as well as co-op against Al opponents. You can choose to play with either the Allied Forces or standard commandos, the former offering eight types of troops to choose from: gunman, rifleman, medic, engineer, bazookaman, grenadier, paratrooper and submachine gunner.
It will be interesting to see whether such a thinking tactical game, which is based around beating recognisable Al patterns, will take off in multiplayer. Look out for a dedicated multiplayer review in our online section very soon.
- Developer: Eidos
- Genre: Strategy/Wargame
- Originally on: Windows (2001)
- Works on: PC, Windows
- Editor Rating:
- User Rating: 8.4/10 - 9 votes
- Rate this game:
I had a lot of fun with the first game, but Commandos 2 Men of Courage somehow manages to be even better! This is a series that I feel is one of the best of its kind. Yes, it is strategic, but the game has puzzle-solving and a great deal of action as well. It is just an awesome experience and I will always spend a few hours playing it when I fire it up.
The Horrors Of World War II!
Once again, you are in the heat of the battle of World War II. I like how they try to be historically accurate when possible here. I would not say that the story is as deep as some of the more modern games that are set during World War II. However, I did get pretty invested as I waged war through the games 10 main story missions.
The Fab Six Have Three New Members
Commandos 2 Men of Courage gives you control of the same six elite commandos that you had in the first game. What I like about this is that these commandos had the perfect amount of abilities in the first game. However, they kicked things up a notch by giving them a few new ones. The Sniper for example can now climb up to higher points, the Diver can use throwing knives and the Green Beret can do more athletic stuff. This is just a small example of what the original crew can do.
We also have three new commandos. There is the Seductress who can use her “female” ways to get her way and also use her abilities as a sniper. The Thief is great for getting into tight spaces and then we have Whisky who is a dog and he is awesome. Each mission gives you a subset of commandos to use and it is up to you to figure out how to do so.
The Mission, It Is All About The Mission.
Commandos 2 Men of Courage has over 20 missions for you to do. 10 of these are “story missions” and then we have 10 special missions which unlock as your progress through the story. There is also a couple of training missions that teach you the basics of the game, but these are a lot of fun and ease you into things.
Download Game Commandos 1 Full Crack
Each mission is like a puzzle, a puzzle that you have to figure out. Your commandos need to be moved into position and you need to make use of their unique abilities to complete each mission. It is the kind of thing that sounds simple and easy, but it is so deep and engrossing that you will be hooked. I love how even though the game is difficult, it is not unfairly difficult.
I could probably talk about Commandos 2 Men of Courage for hours on end not get bored. This is one of my favorite games of the early 2000s and I feel that it has aged like a fine wine. It is pretty much perfect in every way and it is so good that my main complaint is that I wish there was more of it! I will say that the PC version is the one that you want to play as the console version is not quite as good.
Final Score
Pros:
- The game captures the horrors of the war very well
- I liked how the original six commandos have new abilities
- The three new commandos are a lot of fun to command
- The game looks great
- Each mission feels unique
Cons:
- The game is so good, you wish it had more missions
- The console versions are not as good as the PC
Download Links
Commando 1 Game
System Requirements
Processor: PC compatible, Windows 95/98/Me, Processor: PII 300 MHz, 64 MB RAM, Free hard drive space: 2 GB 3D Video Card 12MB DirectX 8 DirectX 8
OS: Windows 9x, Windows 2000 Windows XP, Vista, Win 7, Win 8, Win 10.
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Game Features:Single game mode Multiplayer (Hotseat, LAN, Internet)