1 Behind Enemy Lines: Commandos
Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines spawned a franchise, but the sequels (while good) never quite captured the raw, masochistic purity of the original. Later games added interiors, rotating 3D cameras, and more action. They lost the blueprint.
Today, we see echoes of Commandos in indie darlings like Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun and Desperados III—spiritual successors made by Mimimi Games (who sadly closed their doors in 2024). Those games refined the formula, adding "Showdown Mode" (queueing actions) and better UI.
But they never replaced the feeling of the original. Why? Because Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines was a puzzle box dressed in military fatigues. It wasn't about WWII. It was about control.
In StarCraft, a single Zergling is cannon fodder. In Commandos, a single German soldier is a potential catastrophe. The game’s core thesis was radical: You are not a hero. You are a ghost.
You controlled the "Green Beret" (the muscle), the Sapper (the explosives guy), the Driver (the wheelman), the Marine (the frogman), the Sniper (the angel of death), and the Spy (the silver tongue). Each had a specific skill set. The Green Beret could stab a man with his knife, but he couldn’t pick a lock. The Spy could steal uniforms, but a single drop of blood on his suit would blow his cover. commandos 1 behind enemy lines
The genius lay in the synergy. You couldn’t just run in. You had to watch patrol routes. You had to distract guards by dropping a pack of cigarettes on the floor (a mechanic so oddly specific it became legendary). You had to time a knife throw to coincide with a thunderclap to mask the noise.
Each commando has unique skills. You can switch control between any of them at any time.
| Name (Code Name) | Special Abilities | Key Equipment | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | The Green Beret (Jack O’Hara) | Knife kills, moving bodies, punching out enemies. | Knife, handgun, grenades. | | The Marine (James "Fins" Blackburn) | Diving, underwater movement, placing mines. | Diving gear, inflatable boat, handgun. | | The Sapper (Thomas "Inferno" Hancock) | Demolitions, trap disarming. | Explosive packs, time bomb, remote bomb, wire cutters. | | The Driver (Sidney "Tread" Perkins) | Driving any vehicle, repairing engines. | Handgun, repair kit. | | The Spy (Rene "Frenchy" Duchamp) | Wearing enemy uniforms, poisoning food, using syringe (lethal or sedative). | Syringe, poison, handgun (only if uniform is removed). | | The Sniper (Sir Francis T. "Duke" Woolridge) | Long-range elimination. | Sniper rifle (limited ammo, very loud). |
In 2020, Kalypso Media released Commandos 2 - HD Remaster, but the original Behind Enemy Lines and its expansion (Beyond the Call of Duty) have not received a full 3D remake. Purists argue they shouldn't—the 2D isometric art style holds up better than early 3D games like Tomb Raider. Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines spawned a franchise, but
When Gonzo Suárez and the team at Pyro Studios began developing Commandos, the real-time strategy market was dominated by Age of Empires and StarCraft. These were games of macro-management: build bases, harvest resources, and zerg rush your opponent.
Commandos took the opposite approach. There are no bases. There are no reinforcements. There is only you, six highly specialized operatives, and a map full of German soldiers who will kill you in one or two shots.
The original game, Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (often abbreviated as Commandos 1), was distributed by Eidos Interactive. It introduced the world to the Green Beret (Jack O’Hara), the Sniper (Francis T. Woolridge), the Driver (Samuel "Brooklyn" Blackwood), the Marine (James "Fins" Blackwood), the Engineer (Thomas Hancock), and the Spy (Rene Duchamp).
Together, these six men had to sabotage German U-boats, steal Enigma machines, and assassinate high-ranking officers across 20 historically fictionalized missions set during WWII. When Gonzo Suárez and the team at Pyro
This is the filter. The first mission was a tutorial. Mission 2 is where you learn that this game hates you.
Contemporary reception praised:
Critics noted: