Commandos 3: HD Remaster intends to improve and revitalise the original Commandos 3: Destination Berlin, but instead offers little to no changes to the original experience.
Commandos 3: Destination Berlin originally released in 2003. At the time, the game was praised for its innovative mechanics, complicated inter-connecting systems, and more. Well, now it has been almost 20 years, and the new Commandos 3: HD Remaster from Raylight Games has come to fill the nostalgia void left for all the players that sunk so many hours into the original game.
For the Commandos uninitiated, Commandos is a series in which players take control of a specialist unit, with each member having their own unique and impressive skills. Complete various tasks across various areas of WWII as you battle against the Nazi forces to win the war.
Now the first thing I will say about Commandos 3: HD Remaster is that it is undisputedly an authentic remaster of the original game. Don’t expect this game to tear apart the original game and create something wholly new. This game is an experience that will be familiar to Commandos veterans, for better or worse.
To begin with, we will discuss the gameplay. Ultimately, when it really comes down to it, Raylight Games did not change a whole lot when it comes to the gameplay for Commandos 3. There are a few changes that do make the game more modern in an essence, with simple features that do make the game more enjoyable.
One of the features that I believe is much appreciated is a rookie mode. While the more hardcore Commandos may see this rookie mode as sacrilege, I think it was a necessary edition. This game is hard, even with the addition of a rookie mode. The AI is hyper-aware with constantly fast-moving and vast fields of view that make it near impossible to hide at times.
Not to mention that many of the AI have hyper-fast patrol patterns, and you’ve got a real tough time trying to get through to many mission objectives. Now I will say this is both a curse and a blessing. The challenge does also provide that feeling of tension throughout every aspect of the mission. Slowly watching a patrolling soldier go back and forth before pouncing still manages to be as intense as it was in 2003.
Admittedly, the character’s unique skills and abilities are still the most impressive and interesting aspect of the game. There are little to no changes in the game’s characters; they are the same as they were almost 20 years ago, which still means they are fun enough to use, but with no updates, some of the character abilities may still feel rather clunky and ultimately act as a weight over the full experience.
The game’s controls have been tweaked somewhat, alongside an expansion of map borders. But ultimately, these changes do not massively impact gameplay, and the game still feels incredibly clunky. While for the more calm and patient missions, perhaps in Central Europe or the classic Normandy missions that were a staple of the time, the missions in Stalingrad still fall short.
The more action-oriented level design in those missions requires a great deal of precision that the game is just not built for, and since the game still feels janky, that precision at pace is still as complicated as ever. There have been some attempts to adjust the controls, like the inclusion of more context-sensitive clicking; however, this ends up being as or sometimes even more frustrating than just using the shortcut keys and results in more irritating gameplay.
I will also state that the game still has bugs that plagued the game following its original release in 2003. You would think that during the development of this remaster that it may have been a thought to fix some of the more annoying bugs that haunt the title, not to mention some more bugs that are created through the new context-sensitive clicking, which can make it more cumbersome to say… Pick up an item.
One of the biggest improvements to this game is the visuals. Now while they still may not match the graphics of other remasters and remakes that have been released, they are still a vast improvement on the original. Every model has been remade with every character, building, and vehicle looking incredible.
My personal favourite environment is undoubtedly Stalingrad. Every aspect of this environment looks brilliant. The destruction combined with the snow in conjunction with the pieces of nature makes it the prettiest set of maps by far, in my humble opinion.
Also, following the controversy after the release of the Commandos 2: HD Remaster. The developers have also included options on whether or not players can see certain images in their games, particularly referencing how in the previous HD Remaster that much of the Nazi symbols and such were removed from the game for being considered offensive, I believe providing this option ensures that both sides of the argument should remain content.
Overall, Commandos 3: HD Remaster is more of an authentic re-release than a true remaster. The gameplay, while still as fun as first released, still suffers from a clunky controls whilst similarly requiring a massive amount of precision during gameplay. Particularly in certain missions. The rookie mode is a welcome addition but ultimately doesn’t make the game that much easier and still has it suffering from a difficulty to ‘get into’ the game.
While the updated visuals do improve the game’s quality, the fact that there are still bugs that were present in the game when it was first released in 2003 means this title has not lived up to its potential. Commandos 3 has some phenomenal missions, unique characters, and objectives. It is brimming with potential, which makes it even more sad that the game did not and has not reached those heights both in its original release and its brand new remaster. Sadly, the Commandos 3: HD Remaster serves as more of a re-release than a true remaster.
Commandos 3: HD Remaster is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Here at GamesCreed, we cover everything gaming. From the latest news to stellar reviews, GamesCreed has you covered.
