Commando: Steel Disaster is a run and gun video game game for the Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

 developed by Mana Computer Software. The game played similarly to Metal Slug

Metal Slug

is a run and gun video game for the Neo-Geo console/arcade platform developed by Nazca Corporation and published by SNK. It was originally released in 1996 for the MVS arcade platform. The game is widely known for its sense of humor, fluid hand-drawn animation, and fast paced two-player action...

 as players controlled an operative to stop a militant organization through five stages of merciless gun play and bullet dodging in a 2D, hand-drawn style.

Story

Various sectors of a military group report being attacked by some of their own war machines and that a terrorist organization led by a man named Rattlesnake is at the center of each attack. A commando and vehicle specialist code-named Storm is assigned to enter each affected area and progressively stop Rattlesnake’s ambitions.

Gameplay

Players controlled Storm through five long missions; the object was to go through each level collecting weapons and ammunition to survive long enough to defeat the end-level boss. The story progressed at the beginning of each stage as Storm’s communications officer, Jessica, informed him of where to go next. Players could hold up to and could switch between two firearms and could hold a certain amount of hand grenades; the player could also collect armor which was necessary as Storm was very weak (A single combat knife wound would take off twenty points of Storm’s health).

The players had no Score or Extend/Extra life bonuses. A Game Over would occur if Storm lost all his health during the mission and the player would need to restart the mission from the beginning. Players could start and save their own profiles, but it was necessary to beat the first level before the player could save any progress. Occasionally, Storm would commandeer a vehicle section, though this mostly happened at the beginning of and at the game's climax.

Weapons and Items

Sub-Machine Gun: This was Storm’s default weapon. While not strong, it had unlimited ammunition and was fully automatic.

Canister: A grenade launcher-type weapon that fires arching explosives at short distances.

Cocktail: A slow-firing, but powerful flame weapon that fires a large ball of fire that explodes upon impact.

Shockwave: Similar to the Canister, this fires similar grenade shots that explode along the ground in a wall of fire.

Electric: An extremely powerful electric short-range weapon.

Rocket: The most powerful and most useful weapon in the game, this enabled Storm to fire straight firing rockets that dealt immense damage.

Aside from the standard grenades, there were two alternate types Storm could equip.

Cluster: Grenades that would explode into explosive shrapnel that could clear crowded areas.

Hertizan: Electric grenades that would explode into a ball of electric shock that would stay on-screen for awhile, allowing enemies to walk into it or get affected by the blast.

In order to survive, Storm had to replenish his health and armor with the following:

Health: Represented as first-aid kit, this would completely restore Storm's health if injured.

Armor: Represented as a vest, this would increase Storm's armor, allowing him to take more damage.