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E3'2003: Commandos 3: Destination Berlin - First Look Preview

Stephen Leyton

20/05/2003

We bring you an in-depth play test of the latest Commandos title: Destination Berlin on PC.

E3 2003: Commandos 3 First Look

Following on from the hugely successful Commandos 2 Men of Courage, comes a new adventure set deeper into enemy territory in the upcoming Commandos 3: Destination Berlin.

Weâve always been big fans of the Commandos franchise here at TVG, so when we got the chance to play the latest game in development we could hardly compose ourselves. Locked behind closed doors at E3 this year, Pyro Studios were demonstrating the latest build of the game currently scheduled for a Summer 2003 release. The game features a new interior engine that enables you to fully rotate the detailed rooms and zoom in and out; the environments are still rendered in the admittedly beautiful 2D landscapes, enabling you to switch between four different isometric views.

Whilst the game hasnât changed that much in the technical department, the gameplay has been vastly modified in Destination Berlin. The maps are much smaller and condensed from previous versions, providing more precise action and ultimately tying closer together to form one overall campaign of which there is three â“ Stalingrad, Central Europe and Normandy. Each of these campaigns encompasses many different tactical situations and they can be played in any order. A new addition is destructible landscapes that feature in numerous areas throughout each location, although Pyro Studios have yet to work out how to identify which areas can be destroyed to the player. One example saw a level where you were protecting a general; the city had several gates leading to the centre, using a bomb you could blow up the gate thus reducing the amount of threat from entrances.

The control system in Commandos 2 was somewhat cumbersome at times, one of the few gripes that could be levelled at the title. Thankfully the new control system has been streamlined to make it simpler than ever, giving you instant access to the weapons and items in your inventory allowing for faster and more accurate gameplay. In a move similar to Command & Conquer Generals, the interface has been moved to the bottom of the screen rather than the right as before allowing you to see more of the battle scene at any one time.

Although the game still remains primarily in 2D Commandos 3 looks stunning, every map is highly detailed, filled with realistic objects and environments. Every building can be entered and explored in full 3D, unlike before the characters are made up of 3D polygons, so you can easily spin the camera and zoom in and out to help you find hidden weapons and treasure. Thankfully the developers havenât converted the full game to 3D, the 2D maps are so fitting and coupled with a strong storyline Commandos fans are in for a really big treat.

Gameplay Elements

â¢ Omaha Beach Landing
This level started with a large number of landing boats jam packed with allied soldiers. After a few secondsâ disaster outbreaks seeing several boats destroyed by bombs and attacks. Just as we thought we wouldnât make it, the boat with the Commandos team lands and they ran out for protection. During the dialogue at the start, several allied soldiers run onto the beach, some make it but most of them die trying to progress further upwards. This demonstration showed us how the intensity of action has been drastically increased; although the level itself was small there was so much going on in the background that you couldnât take your eyes of for more than a few seconds.
â¢ Plan Highjack
The start of this level saw a city area with a large number of allied soldiers inside, you and the computer controlled characters need to kill an enemy Sniper who is trying to kill your general. When we killed the Sniper, hell breaks out as the enemy launched a bombing raid which destroyed most of the city, soon after a large number of German Parachutes land and try to take over the city, the action then comes back to the player, and unfortunately the demo ended here.

For the first time ever in the series, there will be a death match multiplayer mode for up to eight players, where you can use tactical skills to play online or across LAN. Whilst the multiplayer features were not present at the E3 build, we were told that as well as death match, capture the flag will also be included amongst the many options available to the gamer.