Commandos 2: Beyond the Call of
Duty
Beyond the Call of Duty ends up feeling like a shadow of its
former self, being both shorter and more frustrating than the original.
Just about every good
game gets an expansion pack or a sequel, not just because it's profitable, but
because it's easy. The good idea's already there, and the existing technology
can be recycled to make a game that feels comfortably familiar but with new and
exciting content. Recent expansion packs like Starcraft: Brood War, as well as
sequels like Myth II and Fallout 2, all bettered their predecessors. But
Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty, a standalone expansion to Behind Enemy
Lines, ends up feeling like a shadow of its former self, being both shorter and
more frustrating than the original.
The original Commandos was a surprise hit. It cleverly
combined strategy, puzzle, and action elements with great graphics and an all-too-apt
subject matter, and while there was some debate over just what kind of game it
was trying to be, most found its demand for planning and precision to be both
unusual and exciting.
At a glance, Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty is more of
the same, with a few new bells and whistles. But the fact is, you can have too
much of a good thing. The original Commandos was a great game because each
member of the squad was highly specialized. A couple of them, the Green Beret
and the spy, ended up doing most of the work, but that was OK, because the
others like the marine and the sapper got their moments in the spotlight. In
Beyond the Call of Duty, though, each character gains the ability to throw a
stone or toss a pack of cigarettes as a means of distracting the unassuming
enemy. Likewise, every commando can now force a captured nazi to do his bidding,
so long as the hostage remains within the range of the commando's sidearm. The
hostage can be used to distract his comrades, so that one of your squad can
sneak past or sneak in for the kill. These new abilities are fairly interesting,
but the fact that every commando has them clouds the sense that your soldiers
are working as unique and complementary components of some perfectly tuned
machine. The commandos' roles become less clear, and with that, some of the
game's appeal slips away.
It also doesn't help that the game is even more difficult
than the first. It's tempting to justify the excessive difficulty by the fact
that the game contains only eight missions (the original had more than twice as
many), but that would be a solution to the wrong problem. Besides, nobody
complained that the original Commandos was too easy - all of its missions were
difficult, though some were far more difficult than others. Nevertheless, all
its missions could eventually be completed so long as you were patient, and the
game didn't get too frustrating because each mission could be reduced to a
series of smaller situations, and you'd rarely get stuck at any one point for
too long. On the other hand, Beyond the Call of Duty starts out frustrating and
just stays there. These missions don't just seem difficult, but downright
unfair. In the first mission, if you don't save a sniper rifle round until the
very last point, you probably won't be able to clear the minefield and escape; and
there's no real way to anticipate this eventuality, so if somebody didn't warn
you, you'd end up having to restart.
At other times, there are so many enemy troops patrolling an
area that it doesn't seem like there's an appropriate way of resolving the
situation. You'll wonder what would happen if maybe you threw the cigarettes, the
stone, and used the decoy all at the same time, while a hostage distracted
everybody.... But unfortunately, much like the first game, Beyond the Call of
Duty's interface doesn't easily lend itself to multitasking, since the
commandos are slow to respond and need to be micromanaged. You absolutely must
coordinate your troops in this game, but it isn't any easier than before, no
thanks to the fact that all the keyboard hotkeys were shifted around. (While
the new layout is a little more logical than the original's, it's inexplicable
why the designers didn't just let you customize the keyboard layout.) So the
control feels more cumbersome than before, since you need especially impeccable
timing and coordination, but the interface won't allow it. And even when you
finally get through a mission, you won't feel very good about it since you won't
be able to shake the feeling that you've figured out something the designers
didn't expect you to. The original Commandos was satisfying because its puzzle-like
situations had specific solutions. These missions feel clumsier by comparison, requiring
at least as much luck as finesse, although the maps themselves all look
distinctly beautiful.
On the other hand, maybe the problem is the awful new voice-acting.
The original Commandos had a problem with repetitive speech, and that problem
lingers in Beyond the Call of Duty. Only now, not only does every one of your
troops say the same thing over and over, but every last one of them sounds
ridiculous. At least there's good musical accompaniment during each mission, of
the appropriate symphonic military variety. Meanwhile, the game's packaging
gives top billing to a new female commando "seductress," whose
inclusion raises numerous concerns, not the least of which is the fact that she
is touted as a key feature yet doesn't even play a significant role in the game.
In spite of everything, it's inaccurate to say that Beyond
the Call of Duty is far worse than the original. If anything, the two games are
difficult to distinguish, so fans of the original will enjoy Beyond the Call of
Duty because of its inherent similarity to its predecessor. And to be fair, there
are certain subtle new twists to this game that add strategic depth, such as
the spy's ability to wear several types of uniforms. But at the same time, most
of the subtle changes have adverse effects and make Beyond the Call of Duty
feel like more of the same in the worst kind of way.
Codes
During Gameplay type gonzoopera then enter the following
code:
CHEAT Effect
Ctrl + F9 Debug Info
Ctrl + Shift + X Destroy Everything
Shift + E Edit Mission
Ctrl + L Invincibility
Ctrl + I Invisibility
Alt + I Picte Interface
Shift + X Pointer on Selected
Commandos
Ctrl + Shift + N
Skip Current Mission
F9 Terrain Info
Shift + V User Traces
Shift + F1 View Video Mode 1
Shift + F2 View Video Mode 2
Shift + F3 View Video Mode 3
Shift + F4 View Video Mode 4
Alt + Shift + L
Write Info in "memlin.dat"
Mission Passwords
PASSWORD Effect
H239Z 01
- The Ashphalt Jungle
IR291
02 - Dropped Out of The Sky
NGAY7 03
- Thor's Hammer
6S5TL 04
- Guess Who's Coming Tonight
VND2R 05
- Eagles Nest
BUK2L 06
- The Great Escape
LL42X 07
- Dangerous Friendships
Processor= 733MHz
RAM= 128MB
Graphics= 32MB
Note:
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is Torrent Download file. You must be Install µTorrent in your System.
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