Commandos 2: Men of Courage [Xbox]

The folks at Eidos came by this afternoon to show off their port of the PC hit Commandos 2: Men of Honor. Before you start moaning "oh no, not another PC port," listen up. First, some of us don't play PC games so port or not, it's a new game to us. Second, it's not quite the same game. And third, it's pretty darn good.

In Commandos 2, you take control of an elite squad of soldiers. Your mission: Squash the evil Axis powers. Your journey to defeating the Third Reich takes you all over the world in twelve missions (plus several bonus missions). You take direct control of over a half-dozen individuals, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. So how's it play? Pretty nice so far.

The interface has been changed from the PC version, which utilized a point-and-click system. Now, players will get to directly control each character to allow for a more immediate and immersing experience. The controls are intuitive and only take a few minutes of play to pick up. There are two training missions included to help familiarize gamers with the controls. One nice feature is the ability to rotate the camera 360 degrees and also zoom in for great detail.

Missions, did somebody say missions? The game won't be hitting shelves until May, so what we saw was still a pretty early build. Many of the missions are loosely based off of war movies. There's a firefight at the Bridge Over the River Kwai, and a submarine battle reminiscent of Das Boot. The levels themselves are very big. The earlier missions feature smaller, more manageable levels with small numbers of enemies. As you progress through the story, the missions become much larger and with much greater odds. One missions takes place in the arctic. You begin on a sub, which you can explore top to bottom, make your way outside where you can startle the penguins, and then explore a fully replicated battleship which is stuck in the ice.

The environments are highly detailed. The giant Buddha in Burma actually has small stains on it. Every building you find can be entered, and almost every vehicle can be driven, flown, or ridden. One of the levels allows you to ride an elephant. It's the only way to cross the river and not be bitten by crocs. Afraid of walking into a building full of Germans? Fear not. Get on your tippy-toes and peer through a window and you can see into a building before entering it. This is very helpful when trying to avoid being spotted. And some of those German women are sexy (though none are scantily dressed that I saw).

Bound and gagged Characters have access to a large variety of equipment and weapons. In fact, you can take anything you want from a fallen enemy, even their BVDs. My first experience with the enemy involved sneaking up behind the Kraut and smacking him on the noggin'. I dragged him behind some bushes and bound and gagged him. He tried to scream something at me in German, but I put my foot in his mouth. The advice from our friends at Eidos, don't let a captured German live. So I stabbed him and took all his goodies, including his uniform.

Commandos 2 doesn't come to the level of enemy interaction as Metal Gear Solid 2, but you can still do quite a lot to your enemies. The bad guys have a visual range, which increases in the hard and very hard difficulty level. Being spotted is a bad idea and an easy way to get killed. Stealth and disguises are the way to go. When you are spotted, you can expect to be shot at, chased, and hounded by the enemy. Fortunately, you have a team of experts at your disposal who are highly skilled at being unseen.

Your Own Private Army Each member of your squad has unique talents. They also have limitations. Jack, for example, is not a good driver. And it shows when you hop into a tank and try to go somewhere. To pass each mission, you'll need to utilize your personnel effectively.

Here are your commandos:

• Jack "Butcher" O'Hara - Expert in close combat and in handling bladed weapons
• Rene "Frenchy" Duchamp- Expert in communication and techniques of infiltration and sabotage.
• Thomas "Fireman" Hancock- Manufacture of explosives using almost any kind of material
• James "Fins" Blackwood- Invaluable in naval operations
• Samuel "Wheels" Brooklyn- 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.

Of these, Paul was the most fun to use. As the thief, he can climb telephone poles and shimmy along phone wires. Tight spots that other characters can't squeeze into are no problem for the Lupin. Natasha is also fun. She's a seductress and can be used (once disguised) to distract the enemy. And distraction is a good thing in this game.

A puzzling war Each mission features certain areas that are somewhat like puzzles. You'll need your wits to figure out how to either cause a specific event to occur, how to move through a specific area, or which characters to use to properly infiltrate a building. See, not so bad having a few PC ports, is it?

The enemy is not stupid. From the start of play, it's clear the Nazis aren't as dumb as we all thought. A nice twist is that an increase in difficulty level (normal-hard-very hard) noticeably boosts the AI. Aside from a greater range of vision, enemies that used to remain at a post will instead walk varying routes, making them tougher to sneak up on. Just another little puzzle to figure out.

What it comes down to There isn't another game on the Xbox like Commandos 2, which will make it a nice addition to the Xbox's library. It doesn't have the all-out action of the wondrous Halo, or the sheer brilliance of a MGS2, but it is a solid title nonetheless. When I say the environments are massive, I do mean massive. Each mission will take 2-5 hours to complete, depending on your level of skill. Even at two hours a level, you're looking at a 30+ hour game with all the bonus missions. Not bad for fifty bucks.

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