The game begins with an intensive training mode that takes around two hours to complete. Then you are thrown right into the heat of battle, and believe me when I tell you these levels are tough. This is not a game for the undedicated. Due to the high difficulty level, a confusing adaptation of the PC control scheme, and the overall slow pace of the “action” you’ll need a whole lot of patience to even make it past the training. Action junkies need not apply, this game is all about strategy.

You control a group of nine commandos - although all are not available for every mission - of varying rank. Each member of your party has different strengths and weaknesses, whether it’s setting combat, stealth, or using explosives. There is even a dog to use for scouting purposes. Each level gives you several goals that you must complete, while keeping all of your team members alive. This is a very important point. Everyone must live through the battle, or it’s time to restart the mission. Believe me, you’ll be doing it quite often.

The outdoor sections of missions take place on large 2D maps that are drawn in exquisite detail from a three-quarter top-down perspective. You can zoom in and out to get a better view of your surroundings; although zooming in too far turns the map into a blurry, pixelated mess. You can also rotate your view in 90-degree increments in order to see what the landscape is blocking. Unfortunately, this is not a smooth transition and often leaves you frantically trying to figure out where you are on the map. You’re going to have to get used to it though, because seeing what’s on the other side of a nearby building is key to planning a successful strategy. As it is, it’s frustratingly difficult to even get a good idea of what’s around you much less plan a successful strategy. A fully 3D engine would have made this game much less frustrating and, rather ironically, indoor environments do employ a 3D engine. When inside you can freely rotate the camera, allowing yourself to always have an optimum view. It’s too bad that this technology was not put to use when you are outdoors. I understand that some detail would be lost, but that’s a tradeoff I’d gladly accept.

All characters are somewhat blocky 3D models that animate rather impressively. Problem is they simply aren’t big enough to stick out in the outdoors environments. The fact that they are usually dressed in camouflage doesn’t help in finding them either. When you select one of your characters they will glow for a brief time, which is sometimes the only way you can even find them. When several characters are standing close to one another it’s nearly impossible to distinguish them apart. This just adds another layer of frustration to an already frustrating engine.

After all of that, we finally get to the core of this game’s true problems. In fact, the real problem with this version of Commandos 2 is the same one that has always plagued PC-to-console ports. The complex control scheme of the PC original simply does not translate well to the Xbox pad. The result is a confusing series of icons and mode changes that will overwhelm many gamers before they even get started. Simply changing your character requires multiple button presses and directional movements. Add to this the fact that the processing of button presses is very sluggish and you have a confusing and frustrating mess. It’s not unplayable, but it requires a whole lot of practice to figure out how to carry out simple tasks let alone organize assault. Just wait until you try to command allied troops you meet in battle. Can anyone say “hand cramp”?

While I’ve certainly said a lot of bad things about this game, I want to make it very clear that’s it’s not all bad. If you have the patience to stick with it, there is a very good game hiding here. The strategies required for success require thought and cunning. Levels are challenging and well-designed. You can set trip wires, use enemy uniforms to blend in with the crowd, peek into or out of windows to assess you surroundings, or even bury yourself in order to ambush the enemy. In fact, just about everything you want to do in a wartime situation can be done in this game, if you can figure out and remember how to do it.

Unfortunately, I really feel the bad outweighs the good in this console port. Some games just don’t transfer well when they lose the ability to use a keyboard and mouse. This version of Commandos 2 is recommended for only the most serious of strategy fans and even then only if you don’t own a PC.

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· · · PBMax