Commandos
From Freepedia
Commandos is a real-time strategy PC game series set in the Second World War. It leans heavily (though not always accurately) on historical events during WWII to carry the plot. There are six commandos:
Contents |
Characters
"Butcher"(Green beret)
Real name: Jack O'Hara...strangely, in Commandos 2 his alias is Jerry "Tiny" McHale. Date of birth: 10 October, 1909 Place of birth: Dublin, Ireland Biography:
This heavyweight of Irish origins, army boxing champion from 1934 to 1937,was sentenced in 1938 by a military court to 14 years of forced labour after hitting an officer. His sentence was susepnded when he joined the commandos. He was promoted to sergeant after the raid on the island of Vaagsö, where, after having received a bullet in the arm, cut off from his unit and without ammunition, he penetrated a bunker and wiped out 16 enemy soldiers before returning to Allied lines.
Character: An extremely violent character, this man has serious discipline problems. A hard bone to gnaw for his superior officers... and a real nightmare for the enemy. He is the the Commando leader, but as it seems he is maintaining friendship with all of his comrades.
Duke (Sniper)
Real Name: Sir Francis T. Woolridge Date of birth: 21 March, 1909 Place of Birth: Sheffield Biography:
He descends from a noble family. In 36 he wins Gold medal in shooting in the Munich Olympics. In 1937 he enlists in the army and between 1937 and 1939, he is stationed in India, where he is marked as a great marksman. In 1940 he joins the Commandos. He is awarded a military medal when he kills the Commandant of the German garrison in Narvik with a single shot from a distance more than a kilometer.
Character: He is very stand-offish with his other companions and is expert marksman, who is extremely effective in situations of great need.
Fins (Marine)
Real name: James Blackwood Date of birth: 3 August, 1911 Place of birth: Melbourne, Australia Biography:
He is a Naval Engineer and has studied at Oxford. He has been member for three consecutive years of the team that won the world known regatta between Oxford and Cambridge. He is a fantastic swimmer and is the first person to cross the English Channel on a bet. In 1935 he enlisted in the Navi. He was promoted to Captain in 1936 and was degraded to Sergeant 2 years later, due to an "incident during a stopover in Hawaii. Further problems make the General Staff give him the option of being expelled from the Navy or enter the Commando Corps as an ordinary soldier. Which he does.
Character: Blackwood has alcohol problems which are "apparently" under control. He also loves gambling and having a good time. His skills as a sailor make him invaluable in any mission that involves naval operations.
Inferno (Sapper)
Real name: Thomas Hancock Date of birth: 14 January, 1911 Place of birth: Liverpool, England Biography:
In 1933, he started working as a a fire-fighter in the Fire Department at his hometown. In 1934, he joins the high-risk Explosive Dept. In 1939, he enlists in the army and the following year, he volunteers for the Commandos. During the assault on St. Nazaire, he was responsible for the explosions that caused a great number of casualties in the German garrison and rendered the installations useless. Captured during this operation and after 4 attempts in two months, manages to escape and return to England.
Character: Thomas has oustanding valor and daring in combat to the point that he even get to be rash. He has vast knowledge and experience with explosive. His special skill is the creation of explosives using almost any kind of material.
Tread (Driver)
Real name: Sid Perkins Date of birth: 4 April, 1910 Place of birth: Brooklyn, USA Biography:
Spooky (Spy)
Real name: Rene Duchamp Date of birth: 20 November, 1911 Place of birth: Lyon, France Biography:
In 1934 he joins the French Secret Service and between 1935 and 1938 he is Chief of Security at the French Embassy in Berlin. After the German invasion in 1940, he joins the Resistance. He is soon after that contacted by the Commando corps. He collaborates frequently with them in special operations. His information about the German troops is extremely vauluable for the British Secret Service. He had participated in numerous sabotages and is responsible for destruction of at least three trains, fourteen tanks and over fifty land vehicles.
Character: Rene is amiable character and he is great at conversation. He feels absolute hatred towards the Nazis. The skills he learned while he was in the Secret Service have made him expert in communications and techniques of infiltration and sabotage. Beside speaking French, he can speak absolutely fluently English, German, Russian and Italian.
Games
There are three games in the series. The first was called Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, the second Commandos 2: Men of Courage, and the third Commandos 3: Destination Berlin. They are all developped by Pyro Studios.
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 26 missions (20 basic locations and six variations). The view is isometric with tactical gameplay. The graphics are beautifully rendered and the missions are nostalgically reminiscent of some novels/hollywood movies: 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: The cable car revives memories of "Where Eagles Dare" 14th mission (D-Day Kickoff): Destruction of coastal batteries with a bit of rock climbing..."The Guns of Navarone" 16th mission (End of the Butcher): An assassination mission like that in "Dirty Dozen: Next Mission" 18th mission (The force of circumstance): Blowing up the bridge, a la "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
Commandos 2: Men of Courage
The sequel, released in 2001, was overhauled with a 3-d engine, interactive environments, more skills for the commandos, and some 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 predecssor, and sold well in the United States and Europe. Improvements to playable characters in the game include the ability to move bodies, handle explosives, and drive vehicles (pacing the way for the Driver's expulsion from the series in the next installment).
New characters added to the game were:
- Paul "Lupin" Toledo-A French thief who has the abilities to scale walls, and open locks
- Natasha "Lips" Nikochevski-(Even though this character appeared in Beyond the Call of Duty her last name and background were changed) A seductress and sniper
- Whiskey-A dog with the ability to sniff out mines
- Wilson-A shipwrecked sailor who claims to be part of the Light Brigade
External links
Categories: Cleanup from August 2005 | Eidos Interactive games | Stealth computer games | Windows games | Strategy game stubs
