Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
Our Rating
7.4
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Your Rating
N/A
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Screenshot Galleries
The advent of digital distribution has led to the release and success of quite a few games that would have otherwise stood no chance on the shelves of the game store. From art school games like Flow to the upcoming Super Street Fighter remake there are tons of cheap high quality titles available that would have never been seen last generation. If any genre has established itself as the king of digital distribution it has to be the shoot 'em up (shmup) genre though. Ever since Geometry Wars performed so successfully on the 360 we have seen everything from art school shooters like Everyday Shooter on the PS3, previously import only shoot 'em ups on Nintendo’s virtual console, and even the recent release of big name shooters (in Japan at least) Ikaruga and Trigger Heart Exelica on the 360. Capcom is one of the kings of old-school gaming so it came as no surprise when they entered the current shoot 'em up race with Rocketman not long ago, but the title left a lot to be desired. Now Capcom is trying again this time with a sequel one of their oldest series: Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3.
Like Rocketman before it Commando follows the control set up of most shooters of this era. You move with the left stick and shot with the right, while throwing grenades with the triggers. You begin the game by choosing one of three characters who each play a little bit differently from each other and proceed to move through a handful of stages while raining down mass destruction and defeating each stage’s boss. There are power ups available by blowing up boxes and trees and things throughout the stages and a few prisoners to save here and there for extra points. It is a very simple game, which makes it fit well with its predecessors and really harkens back to simpler times. One issue the old-school gaming crowd the game targets may find with it though is that it really isn’t very difficult by shoot 'em up standards. Playing on easy mode versus playing on hard mode I didn’t really see much difference, and while I see the importance in a game being accessible to all players I in no way think a game should be accessible to all players on all difficulty levels. Especially considering its small amount of stages Commando 3 really needs a visceral difficulty mode to keep its replayability high and it simply doesn’t have it. Sure there’s an online coop mode, but competition is what adds replay value to online play and of course there’s no way to make commando competitive other than the online scoreboard so it grows stale fast. Also the few vehicle sections featured in the game control horribly, but luckily they can be avoided altogether by simply not boarding the vehicles.
Despite its low difficulty issues and vehicle control problems though, Commando 3 is an incredibly solid and fun shooter. The presentation is really awesome, with stylish comic book style artwork that blends well with the explosive special effects and powerful sound effects. Even the menu’s are well designed with slick animation and music. The graphics are far from the powerhouses that define this console generation, but they are colorful, smooth, and textured enough that they don’t have the flat bland feel that plagued Rocketman.
At the end of the day Commando 3 is a really well made title that is only going to appeal to a small demographic. It is essentially an NES game with an HD coat of paint and dual analogue control. Its short explosive fun, yet its not engaging enough that you will want to sit in front of it for hours, which is good considering the game doesn’t last that long anyhow. The lack of difficulty does hurt the replay value a bit for the serious player, but at the same time its fun to just pick it up from time to time and take out your frustrations in a blaze of glory for 15 minutes or so. If you still find yourself dragging out that NES for a quick round of Gun.Smoke then you definitely couldn’t go wrong with Commando 3, just don’t go in expecting a long engaging adventure.
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Our Score - Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
7.4
overall
- Gameplay
- 7.3
- Visuals
- 7.0
- Audio
- 7.0
- Fun Factor
- 7.3
The Good: Solid old-school gameplay
The Bad: Too easy, bad vehicle controls
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