Previous Next

Armed with only an automatic rifle and twelve grenades, you must fight your way through eight fields of battle in this Atari conversion of Alligata's version of the arcade hit, Commando. Got that!

Accompanied by the theme tune to The Great Escape, you battle your way through the hordes of enemy troops that come at you from all angles.

You begin your assault surrounded by trees and flanked by two crumpled buildings. These hide the first wave of enemy soldiers that rush out at you. You can take these out in a variety of ways, by blowing them away with your gun or by hurling one of your grenades; this will kill anyone in the general vicinity.

Later, you'll be faced with missile-firing mortars, machine gun blasting helicopters, tanks and planes as well as natural hazards such as swamps. But when you reach the first garrison, you can release your men who the enemy has previously captured.

When you begin the next battlefield the enemy gets even tougher, but you should be perfecting your tactics by then. I found that fortune favoured the brave and by charging at the enemy I soon got them to scatter and run away.

It's good to see that Tynesoft is prepared to support the Atari with game conversions. However, this one is disappointing as the game stops every few seconds to wait for the screen to scroll. This can also cost you one of your four lives as you can't see beyond the end of the screen and may find yourself ambushed. The screens are also remarkably bland considering the Atari's incredible colour facilities. Although these are shown off on the title screen, the action features dark brown figures against a green and brown background which is brightened up only by the odd purple grenade explosion.