The sneaky, stabby, thinky Commandos series has delivered some of the most tactically interesting PC games around. Using the abilities of a small group of men to overcome all kinds of complex World War II scenarios has been a consistent delight, even if many of the isometric challenges have been 'a bit tricky' to master. However, that mild trickiness is as nothing when compared to the task of converting this real-time strategic opus into an FPS.
This 3D incarnation of the squad-based strategy presents us with three character archetypes that are recognisable from the original series. There's the sniper, the spy and the Green Beret. Each of these chaps can now be controlled in FPS style and each has a forte all his own. Needless to say, their personal abilities must be used appropriately by you to overcome the various obstacles which Strike Force delivers.
The spy is the stealthy one. He is also the most fun to play, since his challenges are the most esoteric. Of course he ends up gunning down some Nazis now and then, but his key weapon is disguise. The spy can nab a Nazi uniform and use it to infiltrate the enemy bases. The higher rank uniform you manage to obtain, the safer your disguise is likely to be.
Meanwhile the cheery cockney sniper also relies on stealth to a greater degree, and he is equipped with throwing knives for the purposes of the silent kill. Of course this partly means that he can get around in safety while he's finding somewhere good to snipe from, although much of the script means that you don't have to do this manually, and simply find yourself sniping for your life at a high vantage point.
Meanwhile the Green Beret is on the ground and killing like the American hero. He's the toughest cookie of the three, and will regularly deploy multiple side-arms, happily using two weapons at once to square his kill-rate. There are numerous moments in Strike Force where you simply need to put a lot of bodies on the floor, and the Green Beret will see to that. being best placed to lob grenades into the midst of hapless infantry. His is the most familiar FPS challenge, and the occasional bursts of firefight are genuinely engaging.
Anyway, Strike Force's real trick is integrating these three characters in a single level. While you're initially faced with solo escapades, you can soon flip between the three, sorting out problems on the fly. Their abilities don't necessarily complement each other, and solutions aren't always obvious: you just have to find the best way of putting them together so that objectives are defeated. Clearly the sniper can provide cover for the other two, but it's not always so clear-cut with the 'stealth or action' decisions. As a result of this the quality of the missions is variable, with some chuckle-inducing situations offset by those that make you want to chew through your knuckles with frustration. Strike Force's finest moments are where things go slightly wrong, but you manage to bodge it anyway.
Commandos does entertain, especially as it becomes more ambitious, and more recognisable as a Commandos game. Each of the three commandos has his moments of heart-stopping heroism and extreme tension.