Download commandos 2 men of courage

The game incorporates several new features and utilizes a completely new 3D game engine, enabling indoor and outdoor locations as well as the ability to rotate the environment. The player is given a huge new playing field and total freedom to explore as no corner is out of reach. Commandos 2 features three new characters, who bring with them unique skills to help you defeat the enemy. However, enemy soldiers are smarter and more varied than ever and they will hear, see and even smell your every move!

Take your commandos to new geographical environments including Asia, the Arctic, North Africa as well as Europe. You will drive new vehicles and fire new weapons.

The gameplay is faster, more realistic and more action packed than ever before. When I first played Commandos back in , I had no preconceptions. It just showed up as a demo in a stack of demos, and happened to be the game I chose to play on a rainy afternoon.

It's taken three years to get the sequel ready, but my patience has paid dividends. In fairness to Spanish developer Pyro Studios, three years isn't that long to wait for a game in this industry, and given that it took me about nine months to wrap up the first game, and there was a mission pack, the intervening period wasn't even that long.

The problem with truly great games though, is that you hang on every word, every screenshot and every glimpse you can get of the game. Every time Eidos unleashed another slew of screenshots I found myself lusting after the sequel, wanting ever so much just to sink my teeth back into the nit and grit, the trademark engrossing gameplay of Commandos.

So it does feel like we've been waiting a long time. The good news is that for Commandos fans the game has certainly been worth the wait, and it's as intimidating and downright insurmountable as before, if not more so. The game draws on plenty of movies to bring you the ultimate 'behind enemy lines' experience, and fans of films such as Where Eagles Dare and Saving Private Ryan will spot a number of references. The world Pyro Studios have built for the sequel is very believable, and as you guide your tiny task force of allied operatives deep into enemy territory, you truly appreciate how much more challenging and sophisticated an experience Commandos 2 is compared to its predecessor.

The maps themselves are equally believable. At first sight the screenshots we have been peering at for the last three years look decidedly similar to the original game, but the difference is in the detail. The levels are still pre-rendered, but everything is minutely detailed right down to the door handles and bits of rubbish littering the streets of a sacked French town.

The intelligence of the Germans has been beefed up considerably, with a noticeable difference in behaviour between the German ranks. Officers will point and shout and will always graciously let his NCOs into a room before himself - usually into a hail of bullets - fun to watch if nothing else. Pyro are aiming for approximately 70 to 80 hours of gameplay, so the number of missions could change from the planned 12, but considering the size of the levels one even accurately maps the entire grounds of Colditz Castle that seems unlikely.

As well as the Colditz mission, there is plenty that borrows from the war movies of our youth. There's a nod to the final battle of Saving Private Ryan, a few choice moments from Where Eagles Dare, plus a rather famous bridge across the river Kwai hopefully your task is to blow it rather than build it. Vehicles will be more integral to success this time around, and there'll be more of them. Taking control of the tank will of course be the highlight, and if you manage to crew it with two of your men, you can make short work of any retreating Germans.

Watching the turret cannon recoil while the tank rolls back on its tracks is truly a work of art in terms of animation. Commandos 2, though some months away, is certainly worth getting excited about. The fact that you can choose which characters you want to take on each mission, as well as start each mission in a number of different places, just goes to show how much Pyro has listened to fans of the original game. We are promised an easier time of it this time around, with a rich and fully interactive environment to play toy soldiers in.

If you're British, you're going to love it. If you're German, as I partially am, you're going to love it even more. Gott im Himmel! There's no doubt about it -Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines was a bloody hard game. If you played it, you can no doubt imagine the scenario: studying the map for hours on end before making a single move; setting up a multiplicity of cameras to capture the viewpoint from every conceivable position; painstakingly mapping out the perfect route in your mind; then moving your soldier slightly more than an inch to your right five seconds later and getting filled with more holes than an explosion in a sieve factory.

Ho hum, time to start again unless you constantly used the quicksave key, you lily-livered scum. Commandos required almost perfect timing as you navigated your team of hardened warriors past countless dangers in order to complete your objectives.

To some, it was strategy heaven, to others it was as exciting as defragging the hard drive - but bollocks to that lot, eh? They didn't get this sequel rammed up the commission pipe, did they? Thankfully, to ease things a tad for the less cerebral among us, the skills exclusive to each member are available to all others in a reduced capacity, meaning that losing one doesn't mean having to start all over again not to say you shouldn't keep all your men intact.

Whatever the case, there are some new cases joining the original line-up Green Beret, spy, driver sniper, sapper, dance instructor and marine. First off there's an obedient dog by the name of Whisky, aiding you in your continuing assault against the march of fascism.

As can probably be guessed, Whisky doesn't have much in the way of special abilities, but he is able to act as delivery boy, shuttling weapons and equipment between team members without attracting that bully Hun's attention. Of course, it isn't long before the other side is fighting back, placing freshly mown lawns and other dogs' arses in the way of our wily canine's destinations. Oh, and call us sick and wrong, but the chance to strap a barrel-load of explosives on to the dog's back and throw his favourite ball through the window of the nearest Nazi mess hall sounds like a winning tactic.

But you don't have to worry your pretty little heads about inflicting such cruelty on poor old Whisky, animal lovers: chances are he'll never make it past Level 6's 'Sausage Factor mission. Of course, if you're going to have a dog in the game, you're best to balance it out with a bit of skirt as well, aren't you? Step forward Natasha Nikochevski, seductress extraordinaire.

Natasha has the enviable ability to turn the enemies' heads in her direction as she pouts and glides, distracting Jerry as our boys sneak past and give them a right good shoeing Natasha letting fly a hefty kick to the Fuhrers as well. Mind you, with the war going on as long as it did, what with every man being locked up for months on end with nothing but a company of sweaty, grunting males, they might as well have sent in a walrus wearing a blonde wig for precisely the same effect.

Or, if we're to believe the more extremes of anti-Nazi propaganda, they could just send in the dog see, boys and girls, didn't we tell you that a barking bomb's the only humane way to an honourable end for our loveable hound? Then there's Lupin, the thief who sneaks about in the shadows avoiding the guards' detection far more easily than anyone else on the team. He'll be used for picking pockets and getting past locked doors then. And let's not forget the chance to give minor commands to NPCs, setting up ambushes and decoys to aid you in your violent crusade.

From the footage we've seen, the animation of each character is looking mighty impressive. While die cartoonish look of the original is still retained, the models have been given a thorough working to ensure that they look as realistic in their environment as possible.

The backgrounds, too, show a higher level of artistic detail than we've seen before. The Sim City alike ability to rotate the landscape through degree horizontal increments is a welcome inclusion for those who were irritated when inconveniently placed structures obscured the action. Even better, though, is the news that the all-new interior locations are fully rotatable through a full degrees. Ignoring the fact that the rooms seem to reside in an existentially lightless void, it's a nice touch and should allow you to traverse the claustrophobic confines of bases and barracks with much greater strategic precision.

It also helps that the resolution has been upped to today's cosmetic requirements of x instead of the shoddy x today's resolution equivalent of Brian May. Besides, it's a good job that the resolution's been increased because the playing areas are reportedly far bigger in size than before not that they weren't big enough to do the job last time.

Although to level this out, instead of the 24 missions of the first, the number's been halved to a dozen though Pyro promises that just as much time will be spent playing the game. The PC Speculate-O-Tron keeps its fingers crossed which is a bit hard for a machine, believe me that the large areas don't lead to sloppy play dynamics as the lengthy missions drag on interminably.

Still, early days, eh? It was always a surprise that the original Commandos was such a big hit. It never relied on a flashy campaign or over-hyped enthusiasm to sell it. Whether it's just because it's a good game or whether it's got anything to do with the post-post-WW2 generation's unconscious desire to re-enact the glory and machismo of war in a disillusioned, slack society is anyone's guess or someone qualified to write about the subject at least.

Whatever the case, it all looks rather delicious. While most improvements seem to be generally cosmetic, here's hoping that the large interactive environments and additional characters lead to something truly special in the play department. We've already had one data disk looking remarkably similar to the original, we don't need another.

However, from the looks of tilings the sequel promises to be much more than that - and we haven't even mentioned the new weapons, realistically modelled vehicles, new AI and obligatory multiplayer mode. That should even the odds quite a bit when Commandos 2 is released in a couple of months.

Spain is probably thelast place you'd expect to find a World War II classic. After all, during the conflict, the country was recovering from the ravages of a Civil War that had left the nation physically and spiritually broken, where brother had slain brother and neighbours condemned lifelong friends to the firing squad.

And while Franco's dictatorship had friendly relations with Hitler, Spain never became personally involved in the war. Gonzo Suarez, the project head and main visionary behind Commandos, pointed out to me that Spain benefited greatly during WWII, perhaps referring as much to the success of the first game as to the consequences of this being a neutral country in such a devastating war. The original Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines was a huge sleeper hit - to borrow a Hollywood term - in that surprised everyone by sitting at the top of the charts for 15 weeks in the UK and selling consistently throughout Europe.

What makes it more extraordinary is that it was an extremely difficult game aimed at hardcore strategists that somehow managed to cross over to the average garnet. People bought it not really knowing what to expect, became completely addicted and started telling all their friends about it. That gives a game a longevity that all the adverts in the world can't buy. They really like their strategy games hard and thorough over there, although when the German press first saw it they looked so serious and tight-lipped I was convinced they hated it.

But when the reviews came out it was clear they loved it. It's been a long journey for Gonzo though, who started out working in advertising and cinema 24 years ago, up until the rime a Spectrum landed on his lap in I made about six games with them and went independent in , around the time the industry fell apart in this country.

According to Gonzo, the consequences of that crash can still be felt today, and it was only in that he was able to start work on Commandos.

But even then it was an uphill struggle. Most of the talent has gone abroad and there's very little investment, so it's quite hard. There's only really three big teams in this country and, after 17 years, I'm practically the grandfather of the industry. Most of the people who were working when I started out all retired in the early '90s. One of the toughest things making this game was to build a good enough team and make sure we brought all the best people.

There are people who are great programmers, but have no experience making computer games, so you have to train them up. But because there's only three teams, at least what little talent there is isn't completely diluted.

But Gonzo is nothing if not tough. His heavy build and strong features go hand-in-hand with the fact that he used to be a boxer. I love contact sport. You can never foresee what's going to happen and you can only work with what's in front of you. That gives your life a more vital rhythm. Gonzo doesn't speak English, so he stands behind Jon Beltran - the talented lead programmer - telling him what to do.

He is a natural leader and strides through the press room like a general briefing foreign troops. He also seems a little nervous, and his eyes twinkle while Jon translates everything he says. He looks like an excited father as he shows off the myriad of details the game possesses and manages to stun even the most cynical of journalists present.

Commandos 2 is just what a sequel should be. Ir rakes the idea of the original and catapults it to a whole new level. Gonzo shows us the thief climbing walls, peeking through windows, hiding under beds and stealing from Nazi soldiers.

He shows us the commando, swinging from cables and diving underwater among schools of fish. He shows us the sniper aiming from a window inside a building, soldiers in the street and officers sitting in a room in another building.

He shows us all the vehicles you can drive and the massive, detailed maps of the missions, including a full replica of the Eiffel Tower and a stunning recreation of Colditz. In addition to passing the story campaign, you can fight with other gamers in multiplayer.

Here, each fighter is an expert in his field. In addition to the characters already familiar from the first part, 3 new recruits were added. A clever thief climbs walls, enters houses through windows, opens locks and steals things from other people's pockets. Bull Terrier Whiskey emits a distracting barking and carries some objects on itself.

Spy Natasha skillfully joins the enemy's camp and buys time for the team. Seasoned warriors also learned new tricks. The spy and the sailor tie the soldier, and the "green beret" can hang on one hand outside the window, waiting for the right moment to burst. Bazookas and Flamethrowers were introduced in Commando 2: Reward for Courage.

Note: actual results may vary. Commandos 2 is a resounding success on all counts. It looks better, it sounds better, it offers you more strategy and single player game time than the original did, it takes longer to complete, it has a multiplayer mode and it boasts unparalleled replay value which forces you to think laterally about the same situations because of guards with increased alertness. This will probably see you through until next year, so if you have been looking for this winter's killer application on PC, pull up a chair and ration yourself some cocoa.

It's going to be a long haul. Commandos 2: Men of Courage is a real-time tacticsvideo game, developed by Pyro Studios, published by Eidos Interactive, and released on September 20, It is a sequel to Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines and the second installment of the Commandos series , and is the only strategy game of the series to be designed not only for Microsoft Windows, but also for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

The game sees players taking control of a squad of commandos, along with various allied units, as they sneak behind enemy lines to accomplish various missions in World War II, between and , that will help them to thwart the war efforts of the Germans and the Japanese.

The game features several improvements to the gameplay from its predecessor, including the ability to use enemy weapons and explore interior locations, the inclusion of three new commandos, a number of new skills for the original six members along with their other abilities, and new pieces of equipment to help overcome the enemy. While the PC version of the game was well received, the console versions received less favourable reviews.

Much like its predecessor, Commandos 2 sees the player taking on the role of an allied officer in charge of directing a group of commandos, each with a different set of skills and abilities that they can use, who take part in a series of twenty-two missions - two training stages to get used to controlling the commandos; ten story missions; and ten bonus missions that feature unique challenges and situations to complete, but are only accessible after each story mission is completed, if the player acquires a set of books marked 'BONUS' within each of them.

Each mission in the game features a series of objectives, divided between main and secondary, that the player needs to complete in order to finish a mission, including securing an escape route from an area, as well as clues to where players can find supplies or locate useful assets to help them with their mission; while briefings for each mission outline most objectives and clues, others are provided through completing current objectives or clues the player has knowledge of i.

Much like Behind Enemy Lines , each mission features the player having control of a subset of commandos, though in some missions, the player begins with a few commandos to use, but can gain control of others through either contacting them somewhere in the mission's location, or rescuing them from imprisonment.

Along with these six, the players also gets control over three new members to use, including: the Thief, who is the most agile of the group, can climb in and out of windows and through small holes, hide in tight spaces, climb and traverse telephone poles and cables like the Green Beret, and unlock metal containers and some doors with his lockpicks; the Seductress, who acts like both the Spy and the Sniper, in that when disguised she can use her lipstick to distract enemy soldiers, but can't fool officers, and when not disguised, she can use a sniper rifle to take out enemies; and Whiskey, a dog who the commandos can use to trade items between them, as well as bark near enemies to distract them.

In addition to the commandos, players also gain control of allied units, most of whom can be equipped with weapons and placed in four different combat stances, including firing out of windows and crouching down, and thus be used to combat enemies when needed. Other new features include the player being able to explore interior locations and underwater locations, facing additional threats such as wild animals and Gestapo soldiers, the ability to salvage enemy weapons from their bodies to use when needed, such as rifles and sub-machine guns, the ability to use multiple cameras to survey a mission's location, the ability to hide bodies in bodies of water or amongst certain objects such as reeds, and the inclusion of new equipment - binoculars, flamethrowers, molotov cocktails, smoke grenades, rope ladders, gas grenades, canned food and first aid kits.

They destroy the base's anti-aircraft guns and torpedo warehouse before escaping in the submarine. While in the North Sea, the Royal Navy submarine is caught and forced to surface in the frigid waters after being depth charged by a German destroyer.

The enigma machine is confiscated and the entire crew captured with the exception of Blackwood and Hancock, both of whom evaded capture. After rescuing the crew, the commandos proceed to recover the Enigma and disable the destroyer's main guns and boiler room. Under orders that the Enigma be hastily brought to England, O'Hara and Duchamp takeoff in a Fieseler Fi , while the rest escape in the submarine. A year passes and the commandos are deployed to the Pacific Theatre.

In Burma, they rescue a spiritual leader and assassinate a Japanese tyrant with the help of Gurkhas. On 17 June , the commandos are sent to northern Thailand, where they rescue a Colonel Guinness, who in turn helps them destroy the bridge over the River Kwai by revealing its structural weakness. The bridge is blown up just as a train of the Imperial Japanese Army high command crosses it, plummeting into the river. In July , the commandos land on the strongly fortified Savo Island to disable the large artillery guns, before Operation Watchtower can commence.

While on the island, they are assisted by a castaway named Wilson. After destroying the artillery and rescuing a downed American pilot, he returns the favour by piloting a Kawanishi H8K to help them escape the island, but not before telling them of a gold monkey statue which is symbolic to the Japanese.

O'Hara steals it as a souvenir. In Spring of , the commandos are sent to Haiphong, Indochina, destroying the port's fuel depots and infiltrating the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano. While out at sea, the commandos sabotage the rudder of every A6M Zero and report the carrier's position before escaping in two intact Zeroes.