Commander keen is an overall good game with a good story line. You are dropped on a small planet when your ship breaks down, and you must go about fixing it. Unfortunately this means you will have to get down and dirty.
The levels start off fairly simple with a platforming genre. You have a single shot weapon, and use it for the majority of the game. As you progress you are led to collect items from various levels, such as a scuba suit, in order to reach other places on the world map.
The world map has a Final Fantasy (the original) feel. You go about the main map in order to reach larger levels. These levels usually have some "mission" to complete. You are often times required to move through certain levels in order to reach new areas of gameplay. The game over all has a medium difficulty, although you will find yourself on some incredibly easy and some incredibly hard ones. Keen progressing through the levels is highly addicting.
Unlike most Dos based games Commander Keen can be saved, so you can progress over time. The game is very fun. I have enjoyed it immensely over the years. It ranks among the best Dos based games. The hardest levels are those after you get the scuba gear,
even though it is right next to the starting point, it contains some of the most difficult platforming in the game.
You eventually do fix your ship and make your way back home, but on arrival you just get ported away again, thus making playing Commander Keen 5 a necessity. It is amazing how the companies get us that way. I mean there you are going about your Keen 4 playing, and BAM!, you now have to buy another game, but I digress. The game is definitely worth getting and the levels with the caves are the best. Make sure you have some creepy techno music in the background, it makes the whole thing so much cooler. But don't overdo it, those bats are evil.
On a side note, from the menu you can play Pong against the computer. Always a plus =D Bewared the computer and remember to hit the space bar when you hit the ball, makes it go faster and is overall a much better time. But he's tricky. Don't let him fool you with his "I only have artificial intelligence". He's a tricky bastard who will smash you over the head when you least expect it.
