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If you think about World War II titles, a few standout titles come to mind. A lot of realistic shooter fans will endorse Medal of Honor series, while action fans might lean towards Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Multiplayers have overwhelmingly cheered Battlefield 1942. But if you’re looking for hardcore strategy, look no further than the Commandos series. Featuring Dirty Dozen-like exploits, players were tasked with winning the war effort despite overwhelming odds with the considerable skills of their specialized squad. Well, Pyro Studios and Eidos Interactive are preparing to re-enlist players in the conflict to save Europe and the rest of the world with Commandos 3: Destination Berlin.
 
Like most long-running and well-respected series, Commandos has undergone three major changes to the gameplay and the squad itself. The most immediate difference is that the squad has once again become a man’s unit: Sid the driver, Whiskey the attack dog and Natasha the seductress have been granted leave for this tour of duty. The second major change is that instead of missions, the commando squad is dispatched to three important theaters throughout the course of the war: Stalingrad, Central Europe and the beaches of Normandy. Instead of specifically succeeding at missions, the squad receives new objectives as they navigate through each map, avoiding detection and eliminating enemies. The third, and potentially most dramatic, change is the limited number of team members that you’ll control on each stage of a mission; instead of worrying about all six soldiers, you’ll usually control up to three commandos for a section, exploiting a soldier’s skills for the task at hand.  
Each one of the Commandos has received a certain boost to their abilities. Unlike some of the earlier titles, each commando can use firearms and drive vehicles, saving a lot of the frustration that players previously felt. This doesn’t provide players the option to freely discharge your weapons; there are some stages where the number of soldiers outnumbers the number of bullets available, forcing you to restrain your trigger finger. You’ll also have to be extremely careful when you choose to fire at a guard, because the noise will alert nearby soldiers (and believe me, there’s plenty of them). Things aren’t entirely unbalanced, because players will also have the opportunity to control and place other squads of soldiers in some levels. These troops can be used as decoys or as supplemental forces to repel incoming assaults as the player wishes.  
Taking some of these factors into consideration when taking on the huge campaigns in Commandos 3 will easily make you cry mommy. In fact, Commandos 3 is one of those games that you’re going to make the load screen your best friend, because of the sheer overwhelming odds of each mission. The Stalingrad mission, obviously influenced by Enemy At The Gates, requires players to eliminate a sniper who’s trying to assassinate two high-ranking military officials. The Central Europe mission, in contrast, tasks the squad with stopping a train loaded with art and other stolen treasures. Finally, the Normandy mission places a different spin on the D-Day landing, demanding the squad disable as many Nazi support camps as possible to aid the historic invasion.  
Commandos has always been a graphically solid series, and Commandos 3 is no exception, with highly detailed, incredibly realistic backgrounds. Character models and death animation move extremely life-like, giving an impressive sense of believability to each campaign. Additionally, the varying light sources and particle effects are nicely controlled for a top-down strategy game. This is going to be an impressive title that looks like it will uphold the series’ previous accolades when it sneaks its way onto store shelves today. Check back soon for a full review!
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