Joystiq hands-on: Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 (XBLA/PSN)

by Zack Stern { Mar 13th 2008 at 2:00PM }

Call it another old-school remake/update; Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 will be out on XBLA and PSN this Spring. The angled, overhead shooter draws on its MERCS origins, bringing three-player destruction to those systems for $10 or 800 Microsoft Points.

At a recent demo, I played the 360 version of the game. Controls felt good, with walking assigned to the left stick and shooting to the right. I lobbed grenades and launched super attacks with other buttons; the arsenal held my interest. Vehicles should be a big part of the game, too. In my demo, we drove in an armored truck, shooting from our different seats, and floated down a river raft. Hopefully the full game will feature lots of these breaks, since on-foot battles could grow monotonous.

Gallery: Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3

The graphics followed a slightly stylized, animated look, with crisply defined edges on characters and objects. Other visuals looked good, showing subtle depth-of-field blur and heat effects. The jungle setting was polished.

Commando 3 seems like a sharp -- although not-unique -- scrolling, multiplayer shooter. Fans of this genre will likely find a strong title, but it might not stand out in a crowded market. Still, Street Fighter fans could do worse for their golden ticket.

Tags: backbone-entertainment, capcom, commando, commando-3, mercs, psn, remake, smash-tv, wolf-of-the-battlefield, wolf-of-the-battlefield-commando-3, xbla

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

MARKTW @ Mar 13th 2008 2:10PM

It looks to be a cool game, but it seems odd to have it be a three player game and not four!

Princess Skittles @ Mar 13th 2008 2:46PM

Well, Mercs (Commando 2) was a three-player co-op game. They're probably just biting off of that.

Thr3e2wenty8 @ Mar 13th 2008 2:16PM

I actually can not wait to get this. I was an addict of the original commando game and when it was on the NES that is where I was. the little round bullets, sandbag bunkers, ah, simple yet fun. I just hope 3 has enough of the feel of the original but with the updated graphics.