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Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 Review for Xbox 360 (X360)

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 Review for Xbox 360 (X360)

Short-lived Shooter

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 has blasted its way on to XBLA and PSN. Following in the rather large footsteps of Commando and Mercs, Commando 3 is a mindless shoot’em-up with crisp visuals and solid co-op play.

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 screenshot

Unfortunately, serious arcade players will probably beat the game on the first try (even on Suicide difficulty). In fact, after leaving a trail of carnage through a measly five levels in just a couple of hours, I couldn’t help but expect more content. If you’re looking for something masterful from this simplistic shooter, you’ll be disappointed. However, the highly stylized world, various secrets, and familiar controls make this a title worth picking up for fans of analog stick, top-down, arcade shooters.

In Commando 3 you’ll choose from one of three special ops mercenaries. These elite fighters are codenamed Wolf, Coyote, and Fox. These commandoes are not only distinct-looking, they also have varying abilities such as speed, health, and grenades. Sadly, the differing ability levels don’t do enough to differentiate one character from another. In fact, other than the amount of grenades each can carry, I couldn’t find a whole lot of difference between them. Nevertheless, any member of the Jackals can kick a lot of butt.

Your goal in Commando 3 is to muscle your way through the levels by destroying everything and everyone in your path and finding hidden medals and free caged POWs along the way. Making life impossible for your pursuers is enjoyable, though it does get extremely repetitive, not to mention very easy. This is especially so when playing with three players. If you’ve each powered-up your weapons a couple of times, you’ll be spitting out so much lead that the enemy will never have a chance. Add to this the ability to destroy everything on-screen with the M-Crash special attack, and you’ll rarely find yourself in a sticky spot.

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 screenshot

Most of the time you’ll be marching through levels on foot. However, Commando 3 mixes things up a bit by including occasional vehicles to ride around in. Vehicles are powerful in that they can plow through the enemy onslaught and protect the characters, but the mounted weapons are either very weak or too slow. When all is said and done, a character with a powered up rifle is far more effective. To make matters worse, controlling vehicles is very awkward, and there isn’t enough room on the screen to truly let them rip, as you’ll constantly run up against the edge of the screen. Thankfully, vehicles aren’t particularly necessary; your arsenal is more than adequate to get the job done.

Weapon selection includes a machine gun, a green plasma rifle, laser-like projectiles, and a flamethrower. All of the weapons work well, but there’s no real substitute for a powered-up machine gun. The only other one that comes close is the flamethrower, which is worth toting around simply because it is so comically employed; setting enemy minions alight never really gets old. Inexplicably, the flamethrower is more effective against vehicles and buildings than it is against troops. I guess you have to suspend disbelief. As fun as the weapons are, I would have liked to see more variety.

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 screenshot

The analog controls handle very well for both shooting and movement. It is very easy to evade the slow-moving projectiles, strafe around cover, and blast through enemies with keen precision. I also enjoyed lobbing grenades with the right trigger button (RT, R2) and quickly activating my M-Crash technique via the left trigger (LT, L2). Again, the only control issue I came across was while driving vehicles. I never could get the hang of the steering and velocity. I ended up bashing into objects left and right like The Hulk in city traffic.

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 screenshot

Visually, the game is very appealing. The terrain and environments vary greatly, and the overall impression is crisp and engaging. Also, the familiar, angled, top-down perspective is perfect for observing the battlefield. I liked the animations of both the enemies and the heroes, but the explosions, felling of bullet-laden trees, and collapsing of buildings are all underwhelming. Additionally, the solid color scheme is very similar to the one used in Rocketmen: Axis of Evil, which is charming but not particularly gritty (fortunately, gameplay is far better than it was in that shooter). Furthermore, I was unimpressed with the character design. I especially hated having Fox as a teammate. She is the token female of the bunch and her diminutive stature made it very easy to mistake her for bad guys and vice versa. Finally, the M-Crash special attack is useful, but every time you use it all players are subject to a corny art still that flashes across the screen. This becomes very annoying when battling bosses, as gameplay is constantly being interrupted by players activating their M-Crash. To make matters worse, after the power is used, there is a two to three second delay before the other members can commence shooting again.

The sounds in this title are silly. The effects sound fine, but they are super annoying after just a little bit. That’s because the rapport of your weapons will constantly fill the room without any break whatsoever. It’s literally an incessant noise that will grate on your nervous system. Because Commando 3 is an irreverent spin on action cinema, I would have loved a little exaggerated voiceover work mocking the Governator, like that of Rainier Wolfcastle from The Simpsons.

Last, but not least, is the solid online and local co-op play. Even though the game gets even easier with friends, it’s still the best way to enjoy it. Connecting online is a breeze and there’s no lag whatsoever. I was kicked out of two of the three games I played, but the overall quality of the experience was a good one. Furthermore, jawing with people over voice chat is hilarious, especially after torching several goons with the flamethrower.

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 is a decent shooter that anyone could enjoy. As long as you realize you’ll be getting only a few hours of dumb fun out of the deal, blasting away at home and online is a riot. However, if you’ve only got limited download dollars, know that there are far superior offerings for both the PS3 and 360. As such, I can’t give this game a full seal of approval, but I can say those initially intrigued by the title will probably find it’s worth the money.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.5 Graphics
The environments are crisp, but the character design and some animations aren’t great. 5.0 Control
The dual-analog scheme is tough to beat. 2.5 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The repetitive blasting sounds will drive you crazy. 3.5 Play Value
Co-op play is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the game is very short and the difficulty level is pretty low. 3.2 Overall Rating – Fair
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Exhilarating visuals: Experience the classic and immersive arcade-style gameplay blasting onto your TV in 1080p high-definition graphics!
  • Multiplayer action: Fight solo, or recruit your friends on a mission in three-player, online or local cooperative play.
  • Weapons and vehicles: Unleash an advanced arsenal with power-up capabilities, with co-op armed vehicle control at your disposal.
  • Bonus content: Purchase the full game to receive an exclusive beta version of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

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