from rts to fps

Eidos announced yesterday the development of Commandos: Strike Force, bringing a well-known RTS/squad tactics series to the first person. This decision is most unusual when examining the reaction to last year's Commandos 3, and the media's reaction to the franchise overall. A cynic would say that they've given up the RTS route and are ready to move on to something new while carrying a recognizable brand. But I think in every RTS gamer there lies a secret desire to suit up as one of the many units at your command, instead of offhandedly ordering them to certain doom.

Regardless, this isn't the first attempt at making the jump from isometric to FPS as Command and Conquer: Renegade and the frustratingly elusive Starcraft: Ghost have shown. Even Savage, though not a pre-existing brand, allowed you choose between the two viewpoints in the same game. Whether this was gaming progress or not is still up for debate.

I always saw the Commandos series as being one of "those" games - Eidos and their flogging of standard bearers Lara Croft, Legacy of Kain and a port of FFVII in the late 90s put me off the publisher as a whole. Which of course changed quite suddenly when I played Thief. Furthermore, many reviews bemoaned the level of difficulty in Commandos, claiming most missions were incredibly hard - downright impossible in some parts - and that's not a quality I hold in high regard when looking for something to play. The concept was good, and hasn't really been attempted by anyone else, albeit the original Hidden and Dangerous did hold some similarities.

I've seen the screens, and Strike Force has been assimilated into the tedious conventions of the WW2FPS. I'm sure that stealth, a keystone of the series, will be a large component of the gameplay, but like C&C Renegade's unoriginal transition I really don't see the need for this venture. Starcraft: Ghost, on the other hand, intrigues me deeply and I am fully prepared to wait another six months for a more intimate view of the Starcraft universe.

running speed trials standing in place