Commandos 2: Men of Courage [Xbox]

The rest of 2002 should see a wide range of game genres making their debut on Xbox, but the squad-based tactical-action category is going to be well represented with addition of Commandos 2. Pyro Studios is handling the development duties and bringing their popular franchise from the PC to the next generation consoles.

Commandos 2 will face strong competition in the form of Brute Force, Microsoft's own squad based tactical-action game from Digital Anvil. But the World War II theme of Commandos 2 plus the franchise's presence on PC will give it an extra bit of familiarity to Xbox owners. We fully expect the console version of C2 to have the same strengths that made the PC versions such blockbuster hits: excellent graphics, attention to detail and extremely challenging gameplay.

The Features

• 12 Missions based on several real life WWII events
• 10 different WWII era environments modeled to scale.
• Particle effects for weather, explosions and the elements.
• Free camera system allows you rotate and zoom in and out
• Drive WWII era jeeps, tanks, trucks, ships and elephants.
• Full arsenal of weapons from flamethrowers and grenades to bazookas and mines.
• Co-op multiplayer mode and online play via LAN or internet.

The Allies are in deep trouble as WWII heats up and as the Axis powers continue to dominate Europe. You're placed in control of an elite unit of Commandos who will operate "under the radar" and do all you can to undermine the Axis war efforts. As a squad based game you will have nine operatives at your disposal at different points throughout the game. Each has a specialty and it's up to you to get the job done with the people you have. And it's in your best interest to use them wisely.

Here are your commandos:

• Jerry McHale "Tiny" - Expert in close combat and in handling bladed weapons
• Rene "Spooky" Duchamp- Expert in communication and techniques of infiltration and sabotage.
• Thomas "Inferno" Hancock- Manufacture of explosives using almost any kind of material
• James "Fins" Blackwood- Invaluable in naval operations
• Sid "Treads" Perkins - Wide knowledge of mechanics and all types of arms.
• Sir Francis "Duke" T. Woodbridge- Expert marksman, extremely effective
• Natasha "The Seductress" Nikochevski- Easy to establish relationships with the enemy.
• Paul "Lupin" Toledo- Small and a little burly, his great agility and velocity are exceptional.
• Whiskey the Dog- Strong and fast, can become really fierce.

In the PC version of the game you often had to use only one operative on a mission and sometimes finding and liberating other commandos to use later on was the mission. But the point is you have to pay very close attention to what the team members can and can't do and stick to the rules. You don't want to get into an all-out firefight with a sniper like "Duke" for example.

Commandos 2 should feature impressive interaction between the characters and the environments. As pretty as some of the real world backgrounds look, it'd be easy to dismiss them as mere background paintings that just sit there. But in C2 you will drive vehicles and they'll bounce and slide all over the place. You will take characters into and out of water and climb structures all in real time.

Interacting with the enemy should be quite engaging as well. Enemies will react to sounds and appear to have brains as they will look for you and process what's going on as you infiltrate bases and tear stuff up. You can steal disguises and use the enemy's weapons in addition to the guns that your commandos will be bringing to the fight. This includes vehicles too like the Panzer tank and all sorts of other Axis machines.

The WWII authenticity, like we said, should be an appealing feature for the Xbox owning-history buffs out there. In addition to real life WWII gear and vehicles you're going to be doing battle in locations made famous by World War II movies. You can get you Alec Guinness on in Thailand and hang out by the bridge over the Kwai river. If you're feeling extra ornery why not blow up the Eiffel Tower to make yourself feel better?

Details on the multiplayer components of Commandos 2 are a little fuzzy but there is the promise of co-operative play with up to eight players via LAN

Outlook: As we said, C2 and Brute Force may end up staring each other down for best tactical-action game sometime later in 2002. We expect both titles to be very well done but there's room for both because of BF's sci-fi theme and C2's historical take on the genre. Commandos 2 should be out for Xbox in Spring when it helps launch the Xbox in Europe. We'll be sure to keep an eye on this one in the meantime.

©2002, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved