705th played so far
Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up
Platform: Arcade
Year of Release: 1985
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
For my own amusement and occasional help in picking games, I have a list of games, constantly updated, that I am looking forward to playing and those that I really don’t, and I’d rather just be done with. Commando is on the latter list, with you playing as a commando dropped in to do something and kill loads of soldiers in the process. It’s one that I just want to get over with.
Our Thoughts
No twin stick shooter today – Commando has you shoot in the direction you move in, which might be easier to keep track of, but also makes it quite difficult to pull off any sort of slightly more impressive moves to avoid any enemies. It’s awkward and feels like it’s done for simplicity rather than to add a challenge, a part of the original design. Now, considering the era we’re at that’s not too surprising – twin sticks require more money and work to implement and, to be fair, when you’re running around a field you’re best off shooting in the direction you’re walking in.
What puts me off is what I said before. It is one of those shooters where you walk around, shoot soldiers and move on. The graphics are okay for the era, nothing to write home about, and there doesn’t seem to be much more here that’s on offer. It does the job, but doesn’t bring it for me.