Commandos

Commandos is a stealth-oriented, real-time tactics game series, available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The game is set in the Second World War. It leans heavily (though not always accurately) on historical events during WWII to carry the plot. The series was developed by the Spanish company Pyro Studios and published by Eidos Interactive.

The original idea comes from Gonzalo Suárez and Ignacio Pérez Dolset. It started a specific strategy sub-genre which is sometimes called Commandos-likes or stealth strategies.

Characters[]

Commandos:[]

Sergeant Jack O'Hara (The Green Beret)
Francis T. Woolridge (The Sniper)
Sergeant James Blackwood (The Marine)
Sergeant Thomas Hancock (The Sapper)
Samuel Brooklyn (The Driver)
Rene Duchamp (The Spy)
Paul Toledo (The Thief)
Natasha Nikochevski (The Seductress)
Whiskey (The Dog)

Commando Strike Force Unit:[]

Colonel George Brown (The Spy)
Captain Francis O'Brien (The Green Beret)
Lieutenant William Hawkins (The Sniper)

Other Characters in Commandos[]

These are allies that appear in missions and aid the Commandos:

Colonel Montague Smith[]

Is a high-ranking Allied officer in charge of the Commandos team who always gives brief instructions before missions. His full name was mentioned in the first mission.

Captain Gregor McRae (The Pilot)[]

The Pilot's name is Gregor McRae. He appears in Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines in Mission 10. McRae was a pilot that crashed in Africa and was captured by the Germans. The Commandos saved McRae at the end and McRae was never shown again. He is just a pilot without any equipment. In the game installation splash screen of Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, McRae appears along with the Commandos, although he is not a member.

Claude Gilbert[]

Gilbert was a French Resistance leader in Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines. He was caught and scheduled for execution along with four members of the French Resistance on Mission 17. And was finally saved. He was never seen again. His face was also used for a Tunisian informer who was caught in a sweep and saved by the Commandos on Mission 12.

Major Dragisa Skopje[]

The Yugoslav officer who was to be executed on Mission 2 in Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty. He was saved well before the execution could begin and was never seen again. He joined the Royal Yugoslav Army, at the service of King Peter II, in 1934. In early 1941, a group of Yugoslav officers overthrew the King to prevent their country from joining the Tripartite Pact with Germany. He then joined the partisan army.

McQueen[]

Was a POW in Stalag 13 on Mission 7 in Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty. He escaped with the rest of the prisoners as the Commandos completed their task. This character's name is a nod to Steve McQueen's character in the film "The Great Escape".

Royal Navy Submarine Crew[]

Are the group of British sailors and their captain of the Royal Navy that was captured by the Germans for attempting to escape with the U-Boat in the mission Das Boot, Silent Killers. They were saved by the Commandos and boarded the submarine. Then they were captured again in White Death along with the other Commandos except for James Blackwood who ensured everyone was saved and boarded into the submarine again, but Jack O'Hara and René Duchamp escaped on their own.

Spiritual Leader[]

Is a Burmese spiritual leader and monk who guides the Commandos in the mission Target: Burma. He escapes with his own barge along with the Commandos after the ambush and never seen again after the mission.

Gurkhas[]

Are the indigenous people from South Asia who served to the British Empire and Allies with the Commandos in order to help them liberate a Burmese town from Japanese control. They only appear in the mission Target: Burma.

Colonel Guinness[]

Is a British colonel who aids the Commandos in destroying a railroad bridge. He only appears in Commandos 2 Mission 5: The Bridge of the River Kwai. The name is a nod to actor Alec Guinness who starred in the movie "The Bridge over the River Kwai".

Wilson[]

A castaway on Savo Island helping the Commandos by distracting enemies with his trumpet and carrying items. He is a madman and claims to be a sergeant of the Light Brigade, lancers division under Queen Victoria, despite also mentioning to be there for 20 years. The Japanese (demons in his mind) think he is harmless, and ignore him. He only appears in Commandos 2 Mission 6: The Guns of Savo Island.

Allied Pilot[]

An unnamed US Air Force pilot who was captured by the Japanese but later was freed by the Commandos in order to escape the island. He only appears in the mission The Guns of Savo Island.

Private Smith[]

Is a wounded US Army soldier that the Commandos rescued in Commandos 2: Men of Courage. After being saved, he operated a radio in German headquarters and received a report on the incoming German attack. His character is modeled on Matt Damon's role in "Saving Private Ryan".

US Army Infantry Battalion[]

Are the soldiers of the US Army who aided Private Smith and the Commandos. They first appeared as a playable units in Commandos 2: Men of Courage in the second training mission and Saving Private Smith. They later appeared again in Commandos 3: Destination Berlin.

Sergeant Petrov[]

Is a lead sergeant of the Red Army that appears in Commandos: Strike Force mission Defend our Mother Russia. He is one of the allies who aided the Commando strike force unit.

Antagonists[]

Not many enemies have a proper name or are more than common guards.

SS-Grupenführer Helmut Schleper[]

Fled from Paris to Compiègne on Mission 15 in Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines. He had a list of the members of the German Resistance and was prepared to take it to Berlin. He was eliminated by the Commandos before he had a chance to escape.

German Sappers[]

Were 4 sappers in charge of blowing up the Liege bridge over the Maas in case there was anything suspicious happening. Appeared on Mission 16 of Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines. They were all eliminated by the Commandos before they had a chance to destroy the bridge.

Guard at the Zoo[]

Is a zookeeper who was employed by the Germans in order to guard the zoo where Skopje's execution was to be carried out. He only appears in Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty mission The Asphalt Jungle. The Commandos had to knock him down and take his clothes in order to bypass the zoo.

SS-Standartenführer Wilhelm von Below[]

Was chief of security of the complex Wolfsschanze at Rastenburg. He was about to unmask the conspirators that planned to assassinate Hitler. He was captured by the Commandos on Mission 5 in Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty.

Luftwaffe Pilot[]

Was a German Air Force pilot that was in Mission 6 of Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty. He was captured in order to fly the Heinkel He-162 jet-powered aircraft that was used as an escape plane for the Commandos after they had completed their mission. Unlike the pilot from Operation Icarus, he is armed with a pistol if you get closer.

The Snitch[]

Was a POW in Stalag 13 . He was British, and a Royal Air Force pilot based on his accent and blue jacket. He appeared on Mission 7 in Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty. He was killed by the Commandos before he had a chance to tell the German guards of the plot to escape. In the movie "Stalag 17", the snitch was a German spy.

Lieutenant General Hanz Rauter[]

A General of the German Army that had the plans for the next offensive of the Battle of the Bulge. In Mission 8 of Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty, the Dutch contact met up with him and stole the documents from him. He escaped as the Commandos completed their task.

The Tyrant[]

Is a cruel tyrant of Burma who defected to the Imperial Japanese Army. However, he was eliminated by the Commandos along with Japanese soldiers. He is the only Asian antagonist in the game since there is no other named villains in Asian missions.

Lieutenant General Heinz[]

Is a German general that appears in Commandos 2: Men of Courage mission Castle Colditz. He kept and hid the code template then was eliminated by the Commandos.

Field Marshal Desfell[]

Is a German field marshal who kept the code book in the mission Castle Colditz. He was eliminated by the Commandos.

Major General Rudolf[]

Is one of the High-ranking German officers who kept the encrypted plan in the mission Castle Colditz. He is eliminated by the Commandos.

Major General Franklin O'Donnell[]

Is an Allied general who met with the Soviet personnel in Stalingrad. In the in-game ending cutscene of mission Protect General O'Donnell, Franklin and the Commandos are boarded in the Junkers Ju 52, suddenly he betrayed them and defects to the Nazis. In the mission Kill the Traitor, the Commandos have to eliminate him before he meets with the Germans.

Commisar Salenkov[]

Is a Soviet leader of the Red Army who defects to the Nazis in Commandos: Strike Force. He is the second Allied leader who turns traitor in Commandos video games.

Games[]

There are five games in the series, which are listed here in the order they were released:

Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines[]

Main article: Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines

Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (CBEL) was released on July 1, 1998. It was published by Eidos Interactive, and developed by Pyro Studios. It features 20 missions. The view is isometric with tactical gameplay. Several of the missions are reminiscent of novels or Hollywood movies, for example:

3rd mission (Reverse Engineering): The dam-busting climax is similar to "Force 10 from Navarone".
4th mission (Restore Pride): Taking down the German villa (to cause confusion in the Wehrmacht's middle-level command) is akin to "The Dirty Dozen".
5th mission (Blind Justice): The cable car revives memories of "Where Eagles Dare".
14th mission (D-Day Kickoff): Destruction of coastal batteries, the plot for "The Guns of Navarone".
15th mission (End of the Butcher): An assassination mission as in "Dirty Dozen: Next Mission".
18th mission (The Force of Circumstance): Blowing up the bridge, a la "The Bridge on the River Kwai".

A Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version of Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, with the first 5 missions, was also made by Russian homebrew programmers.

Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty[]

Main article: Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty

Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty, a set of new Commandos missions issued as a standalone game, was released on March 31, 1999. Despite it being much shorter than Behind Enemy Lines, it is much more difficult game containing levels on a far greater scale to the extent of being comparable to those that were to be seen in Commandos 2. It has 8 missions, with locations including Yugoslavia and Crete.

File:Commandos2.jpg

The interface for Commandos 2: Men of Courage. The commandos are displayed in the top left, the game commands and map are in the top right and the actions that can be performed by the selected commando are in the bottom right. This screenshot shows the "Target: Burma" mission, which involves the commandos rescuing a spiritual leader and a battalion of Ghurkas.

Commandos 2: Men of Courage[]

Main article: Commandos 2: Men of Courage

A full sequel, released in 2001, was rebuilt with a 3D engine, more interactive environments, more skills for the commandos, and new characters. Like its predecessor, it drew heavily from war films, as shown in titles of levels such as "Bridge Over the River Kwai" and "Saving Private Smith". The game received even greater praise than its predecessor, and sold well in the United States and Europe. Improvements to playable characters in the game included the ability to move bodies, handle explosives, and allowing all characters to drive vehicles (paving the way for the Driver's expulsion from the series in the next instalment).

Several new characters were added to the series in this sequel: a thief called Paul "Lupin" Toledo, a dog called Whiskey and a seductress called Natasha "Lips" Nikochevski, inspired by the last mission of the previous installment.

A remastered version of the game, called Commandos 2 - HD Remaster, was released in 2020.

Commandos 3: Destination Berlin[]

Main article: Commandos 3: Destination Berlin

This is the third sequel in the series and was released in October, 2003. In this game the mouse wheel can be used to rotate the player's vantage point. It was the first in the series to use a true 3D engine. However, the game has been criticised for its short missions and lack of hotkeys.

A remastered version of the game, called Commandos 3 - HD Remaster, was released in 2022.

Commandos: Strike Force[]

Main article: Commandos: Strike Force

Released during the first months of 2006, this game makes a departure from the first three games. Although the missions are set-up in a similar fashion (several different objectives, some to be achieved through stealth, others through use of force) and in most occasions the player is allowed to change between different characters, this is the first game in the series to apply a first-person perspective, like many other World War II inspired games, in contrast to the overhead view of the earlier games. Hence, the game is far more similar to the Medal of Honor or Call of Duty games than to earlier entries of the series.

The game attracted an overwhelmingly negative reaction, especially from those coming from fans of the earlier games in the series who see this a massive departure mainly due to the trademark difficulty instead giving way to a game that is much less so. Similarly, it was promoted as mixing elements of strategy from the past games with traditional first-person shooter gameplay but instead only hinted them and whilst being predominantly action orientated. As a result, both critics and fans felt it did little to distance itself from the recent flood of similar games.

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Commandos (series). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Commandos Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.