Elite's Commando is the licensed version of the
classic Capcom arcade game which has captivated thousands
of arcade gamers all over Britain.
The
game places you in the role of a super crack commando
with a mission to penetrate deep behind enemy lines
and destroy their well-guarded fortress. This mission
takes place over a vertically scrolling landscape and
you, armed with a few grenades and a sub machine gun,
have to take on the entire enemy army single handed.
There
are boxes of grenades lying around the battlefield which
you can pick up to replenish your stocks, but otherwise
you just have to use skill, reflexes and sub machine
gun to survive.
To
reach the fortress you first have to pass through two
areas, each with its own mini fortress at the end. When
you take a mini fortress you are transported to the
second area, and after that it's the final run up to
the main fortress. If you take and destroy that then
you start the second mission, which takes place over
the same landscape and has to be completed in similar
style, although the soldiers are far more hostile.
Super
Commando takes out a threatening
tree -- you can't trust em . . .
When
you approach a fortress its doors open and loads of
soldiers pour out, spewing bullets from their guns and
lobbing grenades all over the shop. To take the fortress
you have to destroy every soldier -- not a trivial task
by any means. When you've killed all the soldiers, your
man automatically runs through the fortress gates, a
message of congratulations is printed up on screen,
and you are taken to the next area.
Each
area has its own features and hazards. Level one is
comparatively easy, but by the time you reach level
three the going gets really tough, with lots of obstacles
to thwart swift forward progress. Naturally, there are
loads of enemy soldiers swarming all over the place,
but luckily they're only armed with single shot rifles
and grenades. Even so, their sheer numbers often becomes
totally overpowering.
There
are two specialist weapons used by enemy soldiers: bazookas
and mortars. Mortar bombers don't pose too much of a
threat, since they can only fire one pretty inaccurate
shot at a time. Bazooka carriers, on the other hand,
are deadly and fire round after round of lethal shells
which explode in a large cloud of deadly flak.
Vehicles
trundle about the landscape. They come in various shapes
and sizes and include trucks, jeeps and motorbikes.
They've all got to be avoided, but can be destroyed
with a well-aimed hand grenade. Jeeps can cause problems,
as they carry a gunner armed with a sub machine gun
and spell doom if you're not busy pegging it in the
opposite direction. Lorries, too, are deadly and carry
many soldiers who pile out when their transport stops.
The
landscape is very barren -- well, what do you expect
for a desert? Dotted around are trees, little hills
(usually the enemy come belting down their slopes) and
rivers (there are always bridges to cross them -- you
might be a commando, but you can't swim)!
Area
one is pretty deserted, with only a few trees and hills,
although there is a bridge under which you have to go.
The bridge is narrow and there's usually plenty of enemy
soldiers just waiting to pounce on you on the other
side. After the bridge there are rocks which the enemy
use for cover and after these, the first mini fortress.
Area
two is where things start getting tough. Foxholes filled
with soldiers block your path, and the only way to kill
the soldiers is by lobbing grenades on them. While you're
trying to do that, they're busily trying to machine
gun you down, just to make your life a misery. There
are also another two bridges, one to go under and one
to go over (it gets you across a river). Buildings and
bunkers start to make an appearance too. Yet more soldiers
pour from the buildings, while a fusillade of bullets
comes from the bunkers.
The
final run, area three, has all the hazards found in
the earlier sections, only in far greater numbers. On
this rush you're forced to cross an airport which has
lookout towers, complete with machine gun wielding soldiers
at the top. Great gangs of bazooka carriers make the
going really tough -- they emerge from each side of
the screen and fire their shells diagonally, making
them very difficult to dodge.
Points
are awarded for disposing of enemy soldiers and vehicles
and a hefty bonus can be earned by killing two guards
who hold a colleague of yours prisoner. However, once
you liberate your ally, he disappears, rather than helping
you fight your battle.
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