Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (PC)

Commandos behind enemy lines is a real time strategy game placing you in command of a crack squad of commandos behind enemy lines in nazi Germany. There are 20 levels all of which last a very long time and get more difficult farther on in the game. My initial impressions of the game were excellent. The game looked reasonably good, even though in my opinion graphics come second to game play in this category. I have played this game on 3 different systems and it is a lot more responsive and accurate as you would expect on the faster system.

The characters in the game are very diverse. First there is the green beret who specialises in close combat with his knife and strength to lift bodies. The marine is good under water (obviously) and can jump out and kill silently with a knife or spear gun. The sniper is good at sniping. The sapper uses the explosives and the driver can drive any vehicle and also carries a machine gun. The final commando is the spy, in my opinion the most useful.

The game interface was easy to navigate but it helps if you use the shortcut keys because some cases require precision timing. The view is fixed so there is no facility to rotate to see behind buildings. (hopefully this will be included in commandos 2). This can be frustrating because it can be difficult to tell whether or not you are in a hidden position. The AI is of quite a high standard there are some instances where soldiers just ignore the fact that there mates just been shot. The aim is to always keep yourself and dead enemies out of sight. In an ideal game you could kill every body without ever being seen. Most of the killing is done with the knife, the gun is noisy and will definitely attract unwanted attention. However there are instances where and area can be cleared with the gun simply because you are too far from a barracks for any reinforcements to care.

There should be no mistake that this is a difficult game and it is not uncommon to die numerous times on a certain part of the level. This difficulty adds a sort of addictiveness to the game. You can spend hours just trying to overcome one part of a mission. The missions are all very varied and all enjoyable. I very helpful tool to any commander is the strategy guide. Some people may think that this is cheating, but I like to think of it as Intel on the enemy. When I used the book I did not follow it exactly some missions I did not use it at all, and I commonly found easier ways to go about the levels.

Overall the game is excellent and very addictive patrols and enemies on roofs are the most dangerous, also watch for tanks and half tracks. I have reached the last mission so far but have yet to complete it.

Thanks, please comment, EFC1