Commandos: Origins Review
Commandos: Origins Review
Commandos: Origins never needs big bangs and cutscenes to hook you. Slow, deliberate gameplay is the approach of choice. Where planning, patience and timing are better than fast reflexes. It’s a prequel to the original Commandos games, of course, yet without familiarity with them, this one fares quite well independently.
Innovative Design
The game is set against World War II’s backdrop and follows an outfit of specialist characters, each of whom has his/her mission, profile, and unique abilities. In its first mission, already, you can see this game encourages thinking. In its merit, never does its story try to be flashy, it tries to let its missions defend themselves. You’ll stalk through snow outposts, deserts, and razed villages, fixing problems along the way.
The level design was truly impressive. Every mission seems to be akin to a puzzle and you can do them in different ways. You have the option to find secret paths, set diversions, or perfectly timed takedowns. Even when objectives remain constant, it keeps you engaged.
Stealth Comes First Than Shooting
This isn’t a run-and-gun. You’re leading a small unit and each of your men has something to bring to the table. You’re always scouting enemy patrols, planning ahead, and giving orders to your men. One of the best parts is “Command Mode” in which you can plan and coordinate strategy among your men. When you perform an elegant take out or sneaky sabotage, man, it’s just so satisfying.
However, the game’s not perfect. Every so often, AI does act in ways it shouldn’t, enemies won’t respond to clear noise, or respond in bizarre ways. It can ruin the rhythm, slightly, in a game where precision matters. One can only hope they address that in future patches.
Appears Old School, Plays Modern
Being completely honest with you, part of it is great; on one hand, Hazel’s move set, double jumps, glides, dashes, and magical ‘weaving’ attacks plays well with environmental dangers. It gave me moments of pure joy when an otherwise difficult platforming challenge or sneaky little puzzle was solved by thinking slightly outside the box. But on the down side, combat can be repetitive. The rhythm is easy to summarize: enter an arena with some Haints to whittle down, whittle them down using basic and special attacks and repeat. While these battles are well-tuned to one another, sometimes I found that I wished to see some more variety and complexity to combat. But that being said, never does the simpleness break suspension: each fight still feels linked to the story in healing up a corrupted world, although the challenge becomes more one of stamina rather than figuring out what to do.
The Sounds Of Silence
The audio is rather subtle, which is just right for the sneaky atmosphere. There is ambient music, and little details such as footwear sounds against gravel or walking sounds in the snow do wonders for creating atmosphere. Background sounds rather than words do almost all of this.
Final Thoughts
Despite overall strength in gameplay, glitches do come along. Controls can get clunky at points, especially when you’re in the middle of completing an action. Character movement isn’t always fluid, which is infuriating in the middle of a frantic sequence.
The game is also safe in its design. It isn’t an attempt to break conventions, which is fine for genre fans, although should you have perfected your reflexes elsewhere, it can feel somewhat restrictive. Closing Remarks Commandos: Origins is one of those brainy, slim strategy games that brings back classical tactics in glossy new-look. It’s not so much about gaudy reward and bombastic action, it’s about outthinking one’s opponent and applying well-rehearsed tactics. It is not perfect, certainly, but cunning, subtle, and positively different amidst today’s competitive field of bang-and-blast. If you enjoy planning ahead and taking some time to get everything in gear, this one is really worth checking out, whether you’re an experienced strategy buff or just after something a little bit brainier.
**Disclaimer:** All images used in this review are the property of Claymore Game Studios and Kalypso Media