A simple yet entertaining game, the goal of Commando is fairly simple. Based upon the arcade game of the same name (and the movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger), this is a basic vertical scrolling shooter.
Shoot enemy soldiers, use a grenade occasionally, and fight through levels of enemies to move forward in the game. While this game is not one of the better titles for this type of game on the C64, this game is adequate. The music is well done, and is very catchy but is somewhat repetitive at times.
The other sound is lacking, however, consisting of weak grunt like sounds and sounds unlike anything resembling combat. The game is fast paced, and you will lose quickly if you do not pay attention. However the game does suffer from some very stupid AI in places (once you have been through a level a few times, you can figure out the spawn points as well as the patterns of the computer enemies) and the level design does become tiring after playing the game for a while.
Data East did this game, and Capcom released it; much of their signature is throughout the game (if you have played other games from Data East such as Bruce Lee you will see their “signature”
here as well). A few hints: Watch out for the pill boxes throughout the game, as they will trip you up, and keep an eye on the corners of the screen (as many of the sneaky opponents will spawn from here). Watch out for the rocket launcher soldiers on the bridges – they are hard to beat. In addition, clear areas before moving on, and don’t miss the boxes of ammo that appear as you will often run short when it is least convenient. Once you figure out the little tricks of this game, it will become monotonous and quickly become very easy. Some of the bridges can become difficult to pass, however, so proceed with caution here. The best approach is to wipe out the enemy as much as possible, throw a grenade in the entrance, and run through following the grenade’s fragments.
As I stated above, while this game is worth playing a few times. Good luck and happy hunting!
