Name of game:

Commandos: Beyond the call of duty

Version:

Demo

Company:

Eidos

Date reviewed:

May 21, 1999

Date updated:

N/A

Playability:

65% (39/60)

Fun:

10/20

This could be a really fun game but frustration settles in right from the start.

Beginner:

8/10

There is an in game help file with pictures, not very easy.

Presentation:

7/10

We get to see what a green berret can do.

Average play time:

2/5

I liked it at the beginning but then I realized that only one of my soldiers could kill silently so it made the game less fun to play.

Pace:

12/15

I like the pace of the game mainly because you can choose your own pace

Comments:

This game is fun to play if you can deal with the fact that you mainly have to use 1 or 2 soldiers. The demo only lets you have 3 soldiers out of which only one can kill silently. They should all have knifes and be able to dispose of their enemies silently. Also, they seem more like rookies than trained troops when using the pistol.

Graphics:

75% (30/40)

3dfx:

0/0

N/A

Resolution:

6/8

Uses high resolution but it pixelates especially when using the zoom feature.

Speed:

9/10

I didn't experience any slow downs while playing the game.

Colors:

3/5

Average

Details:

6/7

I like that the enemy stops on top of their dead comrades and then look around and sound the alarm.

Interface:

6/10

Sometimes I have no idea who I'm controlling, the camera option works horrible.

Comments:

Graphics are nice to look at, the interface should be improved. It would be nice if you could right click to go through the different options each soldier has because it would save time and at certain junctures this would be an especially welcome addition.

Options:

77% (23/30)

Save:

2/3

Saving a game takes a while.

Load:

6/7

Loading times are fast enough.

Play options:

7/10

There is one mission that can be played either on the easy or hard level. The easy level was almost impossible for me so I wonder who the hard level is for. It would be nice if we got to control some of the other types of units as well.

Features:

8/10

Most features are represented in the demo.

Details:

0/0

Average

Comments:

Most of the features of the game are here.

Sound:

60% (18/30)

Voice:

6/7

I liked the voice acting of the game

Ambient:

5/8

Soldiers move around, you can hear birds chirp and an occasional alarm signaling that it's time to reload the game.

Music:

0/5

Didn't hear any

Effects:

7/10

When soldiers die, they don't seem too concerned.

Comments:

The sound is good during the introduction, somewhat inappropriate during the game.

Longevity:

75% (20/30)

Now:

8/10

Trying different routes to be as silent as possible makes the game last quite a while

Later:

12/20

I get too frustrated and it seems impossible after a while.

Long time:

0/0

N/A

Comments:

This game is fun to play for a day or two.

Overall:

50% (5/10)

Highs:

7/10

Good graphics, immersive gameplay (at least at first), well presented missions.

Lows:

-3/5

Bad interface, some annoying design features.

Others:

1/0

This type of game is really fun to play

Comments:

Little things that could be improved (like the interface and the ability to silently kill an enemy for all soldiers) would make this game very fun to play.

Score:

68% (135/200) Grade: C+

Overall

Comments:

Fun to play the first few times. The interface could be improved as well as some other things such as being able to kill an enemy silently, making it easier to kill with the pistol (these are trained veterans not rookies). A nice addition would be having a pistol silencer, which would make the missions much more manageable.