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Platform: XBox |
Developer: Pyro Studios |
Publisher: Eidos |
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Genre: Tactical Action |
ETA: June 2002 |
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Commandos
2: Men of Courage When
it comes to tactical action games the XBox doesn’t really have a lot
to hoot and holler about, while it has most other bases covered quite
well, this particular genre has yet to see any support.
Then again, the genre hasn’t really established self well on
any other console platform, instead contenting itself to keep its feet
firmly planted in the realm of PC gaming.
Now it looks like one of these PC games is about to go AWOL as
Commandos 2: Men of Courage makes its way to the XBox, providing players
with some console-friendly control changes and the opportunity to play
the game on a nice, comfy couch instead of the typical “back straight,
face forward” PC chair. For
those who haven’t a clue what this game is about, it is a tactical
action game where being sneaky and trying to avoid conflict is the key
to success. There’s none
of this suiting up with 30 bazookas and an oversized chain gun, then
running in guns blazing. It’s
all about finesse, subtly prowling the compound in question, and successfully completing your tasks while the guards do their rounds, none
the wiser of your presence. In
Commandos 2 all of this takes place during World War II with players
infiltrating bases operated by members of the Axis, so expect plenty of
sneaking around Nazi and Japanese instillations, and such. While
busting into these areas players will have a team of nine highly
specialized operatives. First
we have Thomas “Fireman” Hancock who is your explosives expert, next
there is Rene “Frenchy” Duchamp who handles your communications and
has a knack for infiltration and sabotage, and if you suddenly have the
need to take out someone from 100 paces you can count on your sniper,
Sir Francis “Duke” T. Woodridge to get the job done.
Adding a little T&A appeal to your squad is Natasha "The
Seductress" Nikochevski, who uses her assets to woo the enemy into
doing what you want, but if brawn takes precedence over beauty Jack
"Butcher" O'Hara is the man to talk to as he has a particular
proficiency in close combat and knows a thing or two about handling a
blade. Complementing
O’Hara’s physical abilities is Paul "Lupin" Toledo, the
speediest of the group, and staying right up with him is Whiskey the Dog
with his own brand of K9 strength and speed to add to the equation.
But sometimes man’s best friend won’t cut it, especially when
naval operations are in order, so this is when you’ll want to call on
James "Fins" Blackwood to take care of business. So, as you can see the game has a very wide range of
characters to be dealt with, and thus comes the strategy.
Players will need to know when to use whom to accomplish what
where. While
you may have a fairly formidable force at your disposal, there’s still
the matter of dealing with guards, sentries, and anyone else who might
be patrolling the grounds in which you have to complete your objectives.
These guys are being designed not to be pushovers either.
Make a noise and they’ll hear it and investigate, and if you
leave clues that you were in an area that they check, they’ll use them
in an effort to locate you, so not screwing up is paramount.
Fortunately for players the characters will have their fair share
of maneuvers like climbing, shimmying, driving vehicles, swimming, and
even dressing up in disguises to
get around while hopefully not drawing attention to themselves. While
all this getting around was done through point-and-click gameplay in the
PC version of the game, the controls have been modified in the XBox to
be far more accommodating to the platform.
Now players will take direct control of their selected character
when performing tasks, which begs the question of how much this will add
an arcade-styled flavor to the game. Those
seeking multiplayer options should be happy to know that in the very
least Commandos 2 will support LAN play for up to 8 people, but whether or not there will
be full-on online play is anyone’s guess at this time. With
racing, shooters, and sports already digging their heels in on the XBox,
it’s nice to see that the system is still getting entries from other
genres to help round out its library. If this port can retain the elements that made the PC version
work while nailing down the control modifications, XBox owners could
have something to look forward to here. - Mr. Nash
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