Take control of an elite group of commandos who must venture deep into enemy
territory and utilize their combined expertise to complete a series of mission-based
objectives. Go covert into new environments based on authentic WWII locations:
the heart of the third Reich, a northern European submarine installation, the
headquarters of the Japanese army and more! Commandos 2: Men of
Courage is a tactical action/strategy game set against the backdrop
of World War II that will keep you thinking, plotting your next method of execution
to rise victorious.

Gameplay

Commandos 2 is a highly intricate and challenging mission based
game, that was originally released for the PC. Incorporating all of the original
high marks of it’s predecessor, Commandos 2 game play lives up to what gamers
have come to expect from an excellent tactical gaming experience. Played from
a third person perspective, you take control of a elite squad of soldiers, each
with their own special talents and abilities. As the man in command, you are
responsible for not only controlling each soldier, but devising the best method
of action based on the situation at hand. In addition to the two training levels,
there are about 10 missions in the game giving you such challenges as assassinating
key members of the enemy forces, retrieving vital documents, and in general
just giving the enemies a hard time.

Controlling the Commandos is no easy task at first, as there are so many options.
This title makes use of every button on the controller, and many variations
depending what the circumstances are. At the onset of the game, you have the
option of going through a very detailed tutorial, presented in a highly impressive
and effective manner. We recommend that if you want to have any chance of success
in Commandos 2, that you pay close attention during the tutorial. The missions
for the most part are covert operations, where you’ll need to pick off the enemy
wisely, without being seen. With a large range of attack options available,
this seems far more simple than it actually is. The enemy AI reacts very well
when they have reason to believe you are nearby. Dawning an enemy uniform makes
going through the levels undetected a bit easier, but anything you do to make
them think twice will cause them to find you out.

If you have played the PC version, you will appreciate the way the developer
incorporated all of the options, maneuvers, and attack methods into the Xbox
version, and I honestly think the Xbox version is easier to play than it’s PC
counterpart. Each mission needs a well thought out approach, after examining
the map, you’ll need to take note of the enemy forces, obstacles, and escape
routes. You don’t have an option of which soldiers to begin each mission with,
and they vary from mission to mission, so you’ll need to adapt on the fly, and
deal the hand you’ve been dealt. Having a heavy cast of controllable characters,
including a Marine, a Sapper, a Driver, a Spy and many more, you’ll need to
exhaust every resource to get through alive. Sneaking up on the enemy, sticking
a knife in their back, tying and gagging, and then pilfering your enemy’s possessions
will often get you the tools you’ll need.

Enemy guards aren’t stupid, distracting them by throwing a pack of cigarettes,
or a bottle of wine nearby can give you the needed time to reach a vehicle you
that will ride you to your comrades. In fact, you even have a dog you can take
control of, as well as a ton of vehicles, including boats, jeeps, tanks, and
more. Controlling nearly all vehicles is done almost identical to the other,
although some vehicles will require you have 2 or more soldiers onboard to operate
it, such as the tank, since you need an artillery man. Giving all the details
of the game would take a ten page review, so I’ll cut it short and move on to
the graphics section, but the main point to remember is that this game is a
highly tactical and detailed experience, where you’ll need to take advantage
of every opportunity that’s presented if you’re going to survive.

Graphics

Having played all three versions of the game, the Xbox version
has graphics almost as crisp as the PC version, and definitely have the edge
over the Playstation 2. This is important since the small characters and items
can be hard to distinguish from the environmental aspects on the Playstation
version, but are much more easily noticed on the Xbox. Character animations
are done with great detail, right up to the status monitor images on the right
of the screen, which change in appearance based on your commandos actions and
health status. The environments are varied, detailed, and scaled to perfection.
The levels are loaded quickly, and run at a very smooth frame rate.

Audio

The soundtrack included is excellent, and changes quickly based
on circumstances of the game, going from smooth and mellow to suspenseful and
beckoning. The ambient sounds, such as bombs, machine guns, grenades, and vehicles
are done perfectly, and add an ever greater sense of realism throughout the
game.

Replay Value

It will probably be cheaper just to buy this game from
the start rather than renting it, since it will take some time to familiarize
yourself with the controls and options, and you’ll find yourself replaying the
missions over and over just to get through the first time. Once you do complete
all of the missions there is still allot of replay value, since there are different
difficulty levels to the game, and many different ways to complete each mission.
The difficulty setting affects the reactions of the enemy AI, and make an already
challenging game even more difficult and thought provoking.

Overall Score

Overall Score: 9.0 [Not an Average]

Additional Comments

This is truly a kick ass game.
If you’re ready for an extremely challenging mission based combat game that
will stress your mind as much as your fingers, then we Recommend you check Commandos
2: Men of Courage out!

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