Commandos 2: Men of Courage
Encyclopedia
Commandos 2: Men of Courage is the sequel to Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines
Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines
Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines is a single player real-time tactics computer game developed by Pyro Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. The first installment in the "Commandos" series, the game was released in 1998 and is set in wartime Europe and Africa where a group of six Allied Commandos...

and Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty
Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty
Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty is a stand-alone expansion pack for Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines. It is developed by Pyro Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. The original game is unneeded to play. The game features new skills and equipment, such as the ability to throw rocks and knock...

. The games were developed by Pyro Studios
Pyro Studios
Pyro Studios is a video game developer based in Madrid , that was founded in 1996 with the purpose of developing quality video games. A consequence of this commitment was the development of Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, which was released in 1998...

, and published by Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....

. The Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

 version of the game was released in May 2010 by Feral Interactive
Feral Interactive
Feral Interactive is a publishing company founded in 1999 that publishes games and other software that did not fit in with the release programs of the large established publishers. It publishes Macintosh games and has relationships with publishers such as Electronic Arts, Eidos Interactive,...

 along with Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
The game had relative good reviews, however, the game has also been criticized for being difficult to play on account of having fewer hotkeys than its predecessors. The player has to control the commandos using the buttons in the pop-up menu at the bottom of the screen. Also, the game is locked at...

as part of the Commandos Battle Pack.

The game places the player in command of a squad of commandos
Commandos
Commandos is a stealth-oriented real-time tactics game series, available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The game is set in the Second World War and follows the escapades of a fictional British Commandos section. It leans heavily on historical events during WWII to carry the plot...

 and various allies as he sneaks behind enemy lines to accomplish his objectives. The action stretches from 1941 to 1945 and takes place on both the Western Front against the Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 and the Pacific theatre against the Japanese.

The Commandos

At the beginning of each mission, the player is assigned a small number of commandos in order to complete the objectives. Each man has unique abilities and weapons. Jack O'Hara, (The Green Beret) is the Irish sergeant with his signature codename "Butcher". In the game, he is the toughest and the only commando strong enough to break open some locked doors, lift heavy loads like fuel barrels and boxes. He can also stab enemies with his knife and bury himself in most soft surfaces. He is loosely based on John Wayne's 'Green Beret'.
Sir Francis T. "Duke" Woolridge, (The Sniper) is a British operative under the name "Duke". In the game, he is the team's sharpshooter.
Samuel Brooklyn, (The Driver) an American operative known as "Brooklyn". He is the only commando who can drive tanks, set various traps and throw Molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...

s, stun grenades, or smoke grenades.
Thomas Hancock, (the Sapper) a British operative under the name "Fireman". He can throw hand grenade and is an expert in explosives and heavy weapons such as dynamite, time bomb, flamethrowers and bazookas. Also he is the only commando who can fire the turret of a tank.
James Blackwood, (The Marine) an Australian operative known as "Fins". He can dive underwater and stay under indefinitely using his scuba gear, and is the only one who can pilot rowing boats. He can also use a grappling hook and throw knives.
René Duchamp, (The Spy) a French operative known as "Frenchy". He can disguise himself as any enemy soldier or officer except in front of generals or SS, and can not only distract enemies, but order lower ranking ones to look a certain direction or walk to nearby places. He cannot punch out enemies, but can use a poison syringe to daze, knock-out or even kill his opponents.
Natasha Nikochevski, (The Seductress) is a Soviet operative from Kyiv who is known as "Lips". In the game, she can distract enemy soldiers and dress as enemy operatives, but only when generals or SS are not present. She can also use a sniper rifle.
Paul Toledo, (The Thief) a French operative known as "Lupin". He is the smallest, the sneakiest and fastest, and can climb certain walls and jump through windows. He can also lockpick boxes and certain doors and knock opponents out with a roundhouse kick, but he can't tie them up.

Other playable characters

  • Whiskey, a bull terrier
    Bull Terrier
    The Bull Terrier or English Bull Terrier is a breed of dog in the terrier family. They are known for their large, egg-shaped head, small triangular eyes, and "jaunty gait." Their temperament has been described as generally fun-loving, active and clownish...

     dog whose owner was a member of the French resistance shot by the Nazis. He can be used to distract enemies and pass items between commandos who use a dog whistle to call him.
  • Spike, a mouse
    Mouse
    A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...

     who belongs to Paul Toledo which - like Whiskey - can distract enemies.
  • Wilson, a former Royal Air Force
    Royal Air Force
    The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

     Pilot who was shot down by the Japanese and helps the commandos by distracting enemies with his trumpet and carrying items.

Missions

The game comprises a total of 21 missions: 2 Training Missions, 10 Main Missions and 9 Bonus missions.

Plot

May 1941, on a mission in a German submarine base
Submarine base
A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel.Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue , Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Naval Submarine Base New London, and Rybachiy Nuclear Submarine Base .The Israeli navy bases its growing submarine...

 at La Pallice in La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, commando Paul Toledo, with the help of Natasha Nikochevski, capture an Enigma machine
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...

 hidden in an officer's safe. Nikochevski then leaves him to assist the main body of commandos when they arrive in the morning to rescue a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 submarine, the E-423
Tench class submarine
Tench-class submarines were a type of submarine built for the United States Navy between 1944 and 1951. They were an evolutionary improvement over the Gato and Balao classes, only about 35 to 40 tons larger, but more strongly built and with a slightly improved internal layout...

, sheltered and under heavy guard in one of the hangars. They destroy the base's anti-aircraft guns and torpedo warehouse before escaping in the submarine together with its crew.

While in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

, the Royal Navy submarine is caught and forced to surface in the frigid waters after being depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...

d by a German destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

. The enigma machine is confiscated and the entire crew captured with the exception of James Blackwood, who hid in the bow of the submarine. He soon manages to contact Thomas Hancock, who also escaped capture. After rescuing the crew, the commandos proceed to recover the enigma machine and disable the destroyer's main guns & engine. Under orders that the enigma machine be hastily brought to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Jack O'Hara and Rene Duchamp takeoff in a Fieseler Fi 156
Fieseler Fi 156
The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch was a small German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II, and production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market...

, while the rest continue their journey in the submarine.

A year passes and the commandos are deployed to the Pacific Theatre
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

. In Burma
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...

, they rescue a spiritual leader and assassinate a Japanese tyrant
Tyrant
A tyrant was originally one who illegally seized and controlled a governmental power in a polis. Tyrants were a group of individuals who took over many Greek poleis during the uprising of the middle classes in the sixth and seventh centuries BC, ousting the aristocratic governments.Plato and...

 with the help of Gurkha
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...

s. On June 17, 1942, the commandos enter Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, where they rescue a Colonel Guinness, who in turn helps them destroy the bridge over the River Kwai
Khwae Yai River
The Khwae Yai River , also known as the Si Sawat , is a river in western Thailand. It flows for about 380 kilometres through Sangkhla Buri, Si Sawat, and Mueang Districts of Kanchanaburi Province, where it merges with the Khwae Noi to form the Mae Klong River at Pak Phraek subdistrict.The famous...

 by revealing its structural weakness. The bridge is blown up just as a train of the Japanese high command approaches it.

In July 1942, the commandos land on the strongly fortified Savo Island
Savo Island
Savo Island is a volcanic island in the Solomon Islands group in the South Pacific ocean. It is located to the northeast of the northern tip of Guadalcanal Island at . Politically, Savo Island is a part of the Solomons' Central Province. The indigenous language of Savo is the Savosavo language.The...

 to disable the large artillery guns, before Operation Watchtower can commence. While on the island, they are assisted by a castaway
Castaway
A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade their captors or the world in general. Alternatively, a person or item can be cast away, meaning rejected or discarded...

 named Wilson. After destroying the artillery and rescuing a downed American pilot, he returns the favour by piloting a Kawanishi H8K
Kawanishi H8K
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bridgeman, Leonard. "The Kawanishi H8K2 “Emily”" Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. ISBN 1-85170-493-0....

 to help them escape the island, but not before telling them of a gold monkey statue which is symbolic to the Japanese. O'Hara steals it as a souvenir.

In Spring of 1944, the commandos are sent to Haiphong
Haiphong
, also Haiphong, is the third most populous city in Vietnam. The name means, "coastal defence".-History:Hai Phong was originally founded by Lê Chân, the female general of a Vietnamese revolution against the Chinese led by the Trưng Sisters in the year 43 C.E.The area which is now known as Duong...

, Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...

, destroying the port's fuel depots and infiltrating the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano
Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano
named after the ancient Shinano Province, was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Initially laid down as the third of the battleships, Shinano′s partially complete hull was converted to an aircraft carrier in 1942, midway through construction. Over the next two...

. While out at sea, the commandos sabotage the rudder of every A6M Zero
A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...

 and report the carrier's position before taking off in two undamaged Zeroes. The Shinano is then bombed by American F4U Corsair
F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in production by Goodyear and Brewster: Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and...

s.

Following their tour of duty in the Pacific, the commandos are recalled to Europe for the Normandy invasion. They rescue a wounded Private Smith and with the help of American soldiers, successfully defend the town of Cherbourg
Battle of Cherbourg
The Battle of Cherbourg was part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II. It was fought immediately after the successful Allied landings on June 6, 1944...

 from waves of German infantry and Panzer III
Panzer III
Panzer III was the common name of a medium tank that was developed in the 1930s by Germany and was used extensively in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen III translating as "armoured battle vehicle". It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and...

 tanks. A few months later, Toledo is captured and taken to Colditz Castle
Colditz Castle
Colditz Castle is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden, and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. Used as a workhouse for the indigent and a mental institution for over 100 years, it gained international fame as a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II for...

 where he is to be executed. The commandos save him and they help the POW's housed there escape by disguising them in German uniform. After the prisoners escape, the commandos acquire top secret documents from three high ranking German officers, revealing plans to devastate Paris with planted explosives before it is liberated
Liberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of the occupying German garrison on August 25th. It could be regarded by some as the last battle in the Battle for Normandy, though that really ended with the crushing of the Wehrmacht forces between the...

.

In August 1944, the entire commando corps arrive in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and succeed in disabling the detonator, before leaving the city in an airship from top of the Eiffel Tower.

Cultural references

  • The mission "The Bridge on the River Kwai
    The Bridge on the River Kwai
    The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...

    " is based on the movie of the same name.
  • The mission "Guns of Savo Island" involves the infiltration and destruction of the giant guns on the island. Because the name and the plot are very similar, this mission may also be based on the film The Guns of Navarone
    The Guns of Navarone (film)
    The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 British-American Action/Adventure war film based on the 1957 novel of the same name about the Dodecanese Campaign of World War II by Scottish thriller writer Alistair MacLean. It stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, along with Anthony Quayle and Stanley...

    . In the same mission, the player is assisted by a "hero" character named Wilson (referencing Castaway
    Cast Away
    Cast Away is a 2000 drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks as a FedEx employee stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in the South Pacific. The film depicts his successful attempts to survive on the island using remnants of his plane's cargo, as well as his...

    ) who is based on Robinson Crusoe
    Robinson Crusoe
    Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...

    's character.
  • Saving Private Smith is loosely based on the film Saving Private Ryan
    Saving Private Ryan
    Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....

    .
  • The mission "Das Boot, Silent Killers" is very loosely based on Das Boot
    Das Boot
    Das Boot is a 1981 German epic war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann...

    .
  • The mission "Castle Colditz" (actually based on the Nazi POW prison Oflag IV-C
    Oflag IV-C
    Oflag IV-C, often referred to as Colditz Castle because of its location, was one of the most famous German Army prisoner-of-war camps for officers in World War II; Oflag is a shortening of Offizierslager, meaning "officers camp"...

    ) involves the rescue of Allied soldiers in Germany; it is loosely based on the films The Great Escape
    The Great Escape (film)
    The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough...

    and The Colditz Story
    The Colditz Story
    The Colditz Story is a 1955 prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton.It is based on the book written by P.R...

    .
  • The mission "Is Paris Burning?" is obviously related to film Is Paris Burning?
    Is Paris Burning?
    Is Paris Burning? is a 1966 film dealing with the 1944 liberation of Paris by rival branches of the French Resistance and the Free French Forces.-Plot:...

    .
  • This game was packaged with Deus Ex
    Deus Ex
    Deus Ex is an action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role-playing video games...

    , Tomb Raider Chronicles
    Tomb Raider Chronicles
    Tomb Raider Chronicles is the fifth game in the Tomb Raider series and the sequel to Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. It was developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. The game was originally released in 2000 for PC, Sega Dreamcast and PlayStation...

    , and Thief 2 in an Eidos-released "Action 4-Play" pack for the PC.

Mod

A mod
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...

 of this game called Commandos 2: Destination Paris (a reference to the title of Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
The game had relative good reviews, however, the game has also been criticized for being difficult to play on account of having fewer hotkeys than its predecessors. The player has to control the commandos using the buttons in the pop-up menu at the bottom of the screen. Also, the game is locked at...

) was created for PC in 2004, making the existing missions of Commandos 2 far more difficult to complete. In the mod, the player faces more dangerous enemies, redesigned levels and a shortage of items and ammunition. Created by Commandos 2 fans, the mod offers new challenges to seasoned players while still being accessible to newcomers.

Reception

The PC version of Commandos 2 was well received with a score of 87 out of 100 at Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

. The game was praised for the AI which was advanced for the time but criticized for the steep learning curve. The PS2 version was not so well received with a score of 67 out of 100 at Metacritic. Many reviewers found that the controls were much less intuitive and easy to use than the PC controls and that they made the game more difficult as a result. Most reviewers recommended the PC version instead.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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