Commando

Commando won't stretch your mind and if you've got a downer on mercenary militarism then give it a miss. But if you like your shoot'em ups simple, they don't come much simpler than this. Play it and blast away a few brain cells - yours and the enemies!!

The graphics are pretty dull overall, but what makes Commando fun is the non-stop action. There are plenty of soldiers on the screen at any given time, and thankfully their bullets travel only slightly faster than they run. While you're dodging bullets I recommend shooting like a madman. The action really heats up when you find the automatic weapon, which lets you spray bullets by holding the fire button - very cool. My main complaint is the lack of a two-player simultaneous mode. Another problem I encountered is not really the game's fault, but the lousy Atari 7800 controller. Playing this game absolutely KILLED my hand - I mean, I was literally in pain by the time it was done. But I guess that's the price you have to pay for some kick-ass shooting action on the 7800.

Alors qu’une description indiquant qu’un petit bonhomme vert doit tuer plein de petits bonshommes bleus pourrait largement suffire pour expliquer à la fois le scénario et le gameplay, Commando recèle de multiples détails qui en font un jeu addictif, drôle et fascinant. Encore faudra-t-il apprendre à surmonter la difficulté extrême du jeu, la version Amstrad CPC étant de loin le portage le plus hard. Le titre de Capcom reste une icône du jeu d’action qu’il faut au moins avoir essayé une fois dans sa vie.

Commando was the vertically-scrolling shoot-'em-up of 1984. Trouble is, that things have progressed a bit since then. The 16-bit release of Commando is as much a mystery as Paperboy's release four months ago. Elite would say that it's because the game's one of the most playable games of all-time - it was. Do people really expect to pay twenty quid for a poor conversion of an old arcade game?

It would be okay if Commando was good, but it's lost playability, has poor collision detection and is just as easy as the Spectrum version.

Commando was one of the earliest attempts on the NES at the shoot ‘em up genre. It is very basic but is definitely fun. If you enjoy this genre or early NES games then pick this one up, otherwise it might not be worth it.

So what if later games did it better? Commando still proves to very playable and fun if one can overlook the flaws that plagued this genre for years. You really can't go wrong with games like this when they only run a couple of bucks on today' market. While it may never be as well remembered as games like Ikari Warriors, Commando is a worthy addition to any war fans game collection.

If you want the arcade game at home, with its enemies attacking in huge masses, this isn't the version to play. In fact, none of them are. The numbers tossed at the player in that classic cabinet are almost impossible to replicate at home. This version does what it can with the material and not much else.

The action is smooth but the flicker can be excessive at times, detracting from the otherwise sharp visuals. Commando is extremely challenging, and can be frustrating for the novice. The mobs of regenerating enemies are relentless, and you're more likely to die from touching one of them than from actually being shot. Trying to aim diagonally can be especially frustrating. If there's a secret to doing well in Commando, it is this: Shoot constantly and keep moving. It turns out that enemies can't fire their guns or catch up to you once you pass them, so just concentrate on those ahead of you. The background graphics depict a bland, brown environment suggestive of Desert Storm. I wasn't terribly impressed with the gameplay, but Commando did keep me entertained for a little while. It's a shame that the two-player mode requires both players to take turns instead of playing at the same time.

Commando's audio features a little marching ditty that repeats over and over. I usually like this style of game, but Commando feels like a half-hearted effort.