The direct approach
isn't always the best approach this concept lies at the heart of Commandos 2
just as it did with its predecessor, the innovative 1998 real time tactical
combat game that mixed elements of stealth, action, and even puzzle solving in
a World War II setting. Spanish developer Pyro Studios' visually stunning
sequel takes the core gameplay of the original, adds some of the features from
the 1999 stand-alone expansion pack along with plenty of great new ideas, and
ultimately provides a highly challenging, sophisticated experience that's even
better than the first. But be warned Commandos 2 can be as intimidating as its
premise makes it sound: You'll command a small group of elite Allied operatives
deep behind enemy lines to perform a series of important clandestine missions.
At every turn, your commandos will be avoiding the patrols of German or
Japanese forces. It can be a difficult game, especially at first, but Commandos
2 truly evokes the intensity of the harrowing depictions of World War II that
you've probably seen in film or on television.
Make no mistake,
though by any standards, all these missions are huge, and you'll typically
spend many hours trying to accomplish the laundry list of objectives in each
one. There's also good incentive to replay each mission, since a number of
smaller bonus levels can be unlocked if you thoroughly explore the main
missions. And the game's two higher difficulty settings noticeably affect the
way enemy guards react, requiring you to take different paths to success. But
before you can get into the main missions, you must first get through two
"tutorial" levels, which have to be the most difficult tutorials ever
put into a game. These smaller missions provide very little actual tutorial instead,
they take a sink or swim approach by dropping you straight into enemy
territory, leaving you to learn the hard way about the intricacies of the
complex gameplay of Commandos 2. This can make the first hours of play
unnecessarily frustrating, so much so that some players may be quickly turned
off to the game. That's too bad, because Commandos 2 is well worth the effort
it takes to learn.
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