Review for Commandos 2 HD Remaster. Game for Linux, PC, Mac, Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 31/12/2019
We saw the Commandos series for the first time in 1998. At the time, it managed to get all players to agree thanks to its gameplay mechanics that gave the player the right weapons to face all kinds of situations, despite the decidedly high difficulty. In 2002 Commandos 2 arrived, which improved the gameplay thanks to the various playable characters, so as to represent an improved version of the first chapter.
We thus arrive at Commandos 2 HD Remaster: a remastered of the second edited by Kalypso Media, a chapter that wants us to relive the events of the Second World War, exactly at the moment when the German Blitzkrieg manages to overwhelm the Allies, forcing them to create a special team that would try to destroy, through mostly stealth missions, the foundations of the Third Reich, so as to make the Allies victorious against the Nazi machine.
The graphics change, the gameplay doesn't
Obviously, being Commandos 2 HD Remaster a graphic and not a gameplay improvement, everything we know about the playability of the title released in 2002 has remained exactly the same. We have special soldiers, divided by category and role. Each of them will deal with different things, and they will have to be deployed intelligently so that they can take advantage of their abilities.
To name a few, we have the sapper who can spot mines, the thief who moves as fast as lightning (and will be able to rummage through the pockets of the Nazis without being noticed) and the green beret, the lethal weapon par excellence. Furthermore, every single soldier will be different on the other not only for what it can (and cannot) do, but also for the inventory. There will be soldiers who already have items with them - usually they all have at least one - but it will never be a common item. In case you were to steal something with the Thief, that object will remain in his inventory: to pass it to another member of the Commando you will have to approach and pass the item in question from one inventory to another. Sweet and dear old school, don't you think?
Commandos 2 HD Remaster will challenge the player in several ways: the view is that of a strategic one, therefore fixed and isometricbut the real problem is the interface which is not that much understandable. Fortunately, all the keys are explained at Training Camp I on a screen, which can be called up at any time by pressing a key. But here, unfortunately, the first problems already arrive: the game is not at all frenetic, and this is not necessarily a bad thing being a strategic one, but input lag always hurts. We found ourselves having to press the button to perform certain actions several times before seeing the soldier perform what we wanted him to do. And that ruins the experience. The difficult and distant gameplay from modern times, along with this problem, could discourage and alienate young players.
Furthermore, to perform certain actions, you will have to wait: to stab an enemy, for example, you will have to wait for a white circle around the corresponding button to make a complete turn. This ruins the fluidity of the game, which is normally spectacular. Each action (when there is no input lag) takes place with an ease and fluidity to make other titles whiten. What makes all this possible is, of course, the lightness of the game.
So is this remastered worth the money?
Unfortunately, on the graphic side it cannot be said that Commandos 2 HD Remaster is magnificent, rather. Of course, the graphics compared to the 2002 version are much improved and defined, but only as regards the environments, which are really rendered to the best of possibilities. So, what is the problem? The polygonal models, which almost seem to have remained as we left them eighteen years ago. But not only that: the buildings, despite the excellent design and the level of “remastering”, sometimes seem to almost ruin the setting.
But what could make players (young and old) despair are bugs. Commandos 2 HD Remaster is full of problems, under this point of view. Sentences left unintelligible and incomprehensible without subtitles, in addition to crashes and background noises. But what most impressed us is what happens when you aim. When you press L2 to take aim with our weapon, it can happen that our Commando moves to the right to infinity, blocking only by hitting a wall or barbed wire. As you can imagine, this makes it impossible to aim. To solve this we saved the game and applied the first rule of computer science: "turn off and on". This procedure actually solves the problem, which has occurred all too often during the game.
So is it worth buying Commandos 2 HD Remaster? Our answer is no. Or at least, not until the numerous bugs plaguing the experience are fixed. Because otherwise it is exactly as we left it: a good product that combines stealth and strategy. So, if you are looking for an action title with adrenaline-pumping gameplay, look elsewhere, while if you love strategy you can only love the gameplay of Commandos 2.
► Commandos 2 HD Remaster is a Strategy-Tactical game developed by Pyro Studios Yippee! Entertainment and published by Kalypso Media for Linux, PC, Mac, Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 31/12/2019
