"Commandos – Origins" played: Real-time tactics for connoisseurs
The German Claymore Game Studios are entering the real-time tactics niche with "Commandos: Origins", aiming to make a mark in this challenging genre.
The real-time tactics game "Commandos: Origins"
(Image: Kalypso / Claymore)
The computer game series "Commandos" is something like the mother of all real-time tactics games. The pattern was always the same: a bunch of "Inglourious Basterds" on a secret mission behind enemy lines. Every move has to be carefully considered and every skill of the team members has to harmonize perfectly. With "Commandos: Origins", German publisher Kalypso and development studio Claymore have succeeded in creating a challenging new beginning.
Classically good
No story, just one mission after another: In "Origins", we send our team of elite soldiers to various World War II locations. They free resistance fighters in Norway, sabotage satellite installations on the Channel Islands or steal secret documents from the desert. In a total of 14 single-player missions, old and new fans can hone their tactics in order to survive the mission as unscathed as possible.
„Commandos – Origins“ angespielt (5 Bilder)
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)As is usual in the genre, players and their soldiers land at a specific location and slowly fight their way through the enemy ranks. They must skillfully avoid the guards' line of sight, observe their movement patterns and outwit their opponents from ambush. Those who simply run through the area will quickly end up in a hail of bullets. Typical: F5 is your friend. Players should save after almost every step. Try&Error is not a bug, but a feature of this game genre.
Tricky missions
Claymore does without role-playing elements such as leveling up or upgrades, but each of the six soldiers has special abilities. The Green Beret can climb walls, the Pioneer can lay traps and the Sniper can take out enemies from a distance. With a spy, players can blend in with the enemy, and the marine uses a throwing knife and harpoon. The driver is an expert with the machine gun.
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"Origins" does not offer any complex game mechanics, but the interplay between the soldiers and their abilities must be learned. A stone throw distracts the enemies or the sniper takes them out while the Green Beret crawls through the fortress. This is exciting and exhausting at the same time. Especially because the guards punish every mistake, even on the medium difficulty level.
Clever: The enemies notice when a guard suddenly disappears and sound the alarm. If the team acts too conspicuously, reinforcements will even arrive for the enemies. However, they are severely restricted to their radius of vision. It's unintentionally funny when our team stabs a colleague right in the back of an enemy and he doesn't notice.
It's a game for patient, frustration-resistant tinkerers. The mission areas are huge compared to competing games such as "Desperados 3". Each mission has a primary objective, but side tasks pop up along the way. Just stealing a few documents doesn't work. Players should easily plan an hour or more for each mission.
Lots of playful freedom
Claymore gives players a lot of freedom. There are many routes to the objective, some of which are covered by vehicles. The team can split up or use secret paths. The Beret climbs over pylons to switch off the power for the electric fence, and the Marine sneaks through the villa to get to the same place. Players can often plan their actions in advance. In doing so, they stop time and assign the order of their orders to their soldiers.
Want an example? The team has to cross a square and the guards cover every centimeter with their glowing green radius of vision. The pioneer lures an enemy into a bear trap behind a wall with a whistle, the marine distracts a guard with a stone throw and the Beret takes out the third guard from an ambush. Before the last enemy can react, he is shot dead by the sniper. It's a thieving delight when the plan works.
Nevertheless, there is a little criticism. The soldiers' pathfinding was not always accurate in our play sessions. Sometimes the collision detection got stuck and we got our escape ship stuck on the coast, for example. Beginners don't have it easy either. Especially at the beginning, there is a lack of guidance. However, these are only minor criticisms of this successful new edition, which are unlikely to bother genre connoisseurs.
A small note: The game allows the display of contemporary Nazi symbols. We disabled them when creating the screenshots.
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Interim conclusion
Colonel Hannibal would be delighted with this A-Team. True to the motto "I love it when a plan works", players sneak and fight their way through huge mission areas with plenty of freedom to play. It doesn't matter that Claymore doesn't reinvent the genre. "Origins" does not offer a good story or sprawling skill trees. Only tactical skill and, not least, patience and a little frustration tolerance determine victory or defeat. This is particularly appealing to genre connoisseurs. "Commandos: Origins" is a game by professionals for professionals. Tricky, big and old-fashioned.
"Commandos: Origins" will be released on April 9 for Windows, PS5 and Xbox Series. It is included in the Game Pass. It costs around 60 euros. USK 16+. We played the Windows version for a few hours for our hands-on.
(wpl)
