Scully ON THE GAME

Commandos Strike Force

The first thing I noticed about Commandos Strike Force is that two of the soldiers are English. Thank you. At last, a WWII first-person-shooter that doesn't assume the Americans won the war on their own. This is the Commandos series first stab at the FPS genre, the previous entries being strategy games, and for a first attempt it's not bad. There are still signs that they want to keep the feel of the originals alive, but mostly they fall flat. What we are left with is a mixture stealth and combat.

The first two levels are about letting the audience know that there are two sides to the game. Level one introduces Bill the Cockney Sniper, on a sneaky infiltration mission. Learn the art of how not to be seen and how to skewer Jerry with a knife. The second level stars Frank, the American Green Beret, whose job it is to kill as many of the enemy as possible and to be suspicious of the Brits. Add to them upper class Colonel Brown the Spy, last of the three stereotypes, and you're good to go.

WWII shooters are ten a penny these days, with every studio and publisher jumping on the ever-growing bandwagon. Gamers are more spoiled for choice than ever before, and what would have been acceptable for game a few years ago is now way below par. On the face of it, CSF falls right into this category. The graphics are sub-standard, movement clunky, the whole thing looking old and outmoded. The frame rate is nothing to write home about either, locking up during moments of mass action. The voice over is constantly out of sync with the action and it doesn't help that the French Resistance all sound like Rene from 'Allo Allo'. Aiming is a bit of a random event as well. Sometimes, waving the gun in the general direction of the enemy is good enough for a kill, while at other times, deadly accuracy is needed. So why do I keep playing it and enjoying it, what does this have to offer to makes it worth my while?

Having recently finished Battlefield 2, I can't help but compare the two. B2 is a visual treat, excellent sound and graphics but about as much fun as watching paint dry. Commandos Strike Force on the other hand, looks like it was drawn on an etch-a-sketch by a one armed monkey, but once you get into it, it won't let you go. More difficult than most, not being able to complete a level is a frustrating experience, but one making you want to keep trying rather than call it a day.

Like B2, Strike Force has a mini-hotswap feature. During certain missions you can switch between the three members of the Strike Force team. Unlike B2, this feature isn't just a Death dodging re-spawn button. If one of the team members gets killed, the mission is over. It also gives you some limited choice in tactics. Do you take out the sentry with the sniper before you approach and risk someone finding the body, or do you try to infiltrate with the spy, hoping to steel a Nazi uniform? Usually it's a combination of both used in the right order that gets the job done.

Dressing up as the enemy doesn't always guarantee free passage. Anyone of lower rank will ignore you, unless garrotte one of their mates right in front of them. Anyone of equal rank will be suspicious of you, and anyone who outranks you with turn you into a bullet magnet on sight. So mugging the Gestapo is the first order of the day. It's these stealth levels which work best and, thankfully, they form a large part of the game, with the all out combat being a bit of a let down once you get into sneaking mode. There's real potential here, if only it looked the part.

You get points for stealth kills and for the rank of the Nazis you eliminate. You also get points for each primary and secondary objective you complete, but for the life of me I've no idea why, other than to keep body count and have a big number appear at the end of the game.

Conclusion

All that said, and despite the inadequacies in standard, I haven't enjoyed a stealth game this much since the Syphon Filter series on the PSone. There's enough variety here to stop you getting bored and levels are big and open, providing several ways to tackle the objectives. Enemy AI is good but most importantly, consistent, so that you can learn what you can get away with on the covert missions. And using the knife makes a really satisfying squelchy sound.

All in all, CSF is never going to challenge the Call of Duty's and the like, but is a good step in the right direction for the series. Hopefully the next on will improve on the technical side whilst retaining the playability.

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Commandos Strike Force
Excellent gameplay let down by outdated audio and visuals. Must try harder.
Overall Rating:	7 out of 10
ESRB Rating:	Teen (Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence, Blood)
Publisher:	Eidos Interacive
Available for:	GameCube, PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox