Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines

Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines
Developer(s)	Pyro Studios
Publisher(s)	Eidos Interactive
Designer(s)	Gonzalo Suárez Ignacio Pérez Dolset
Series	Commandos series
Version	1.0
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Sega Mega Drive (unlicensed)
Release date(s)	NA 31 July 1998
Genre(s)	Real-time tactics
Mode(s)	Single player Multiplayer (Co-op)
Rating(s)	ESRB: T OFLC: M
Media/distribution	CD-ROM
System requirements Intel Pentium 120MHz or equivalent, 135MB of uncompressed hard drive space, 16MB RAM (32MB RAM recommended), 1MB SVGA card, 4X CD Rom (8X recommended), 16bit sound card, Windows 95/98, DirectX 5.0

Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines is a single player real-time tactics computer game developed by Pyro Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. The first installment in the "Commandos" series, the game was released in 1998^[1] and is set in wartime Europe and Africa where a group of six Allied Commandos performs missions using small unit tactics. Each Commando has a unique set of skills and tools determined by his class which forces the player to establish cooperation among them so that further progress can be made. The objectives varies from sabotages to rescuing allied informants and assassinations.

Commandos employs an isometric view with a whole map visible, thus allowing player to think out a strategy and its execution in advance. The same system was later used in the expansion pack Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty released in 1999 as well as in two installments Commandos 2: Men of Courage and Commandos 3: Destination Berlin released in 2001 and 2003 respectively.

Historical background

...no routine, no bureaucracy... only pure operations, whose success depends basically on oneself and on the men that have been chosen to carry out the task. This is revolutionary.

Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke^[2]

Main article: British Commandos

After the evacuation of most of the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk, Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke (Royal Artillery) put forward the idea of small units capable of penetrating the enemy's line and sabotaging communication, industrial and military targets. The proposal was approved by Winston Churchill.

In 1940 volunteers were called from Territorial Army Divisions who had been serving in Norway. Later, soldiers from Royal Marines Division and recruits from British Police Force were also accepted for the training. The name "Commando" was proposed by Dudley Clarke after the raiding and assault style of Boer Commando units of the Second Boer War.

Commandos were trained in physical fitness, survival, orienteering, close quarter combat, silent killing, signalling, amphibious and cliff assault, vehicle operation, weapons (including the use of captured enemy small arms) and demolition. The Commando Training Centre was located at Achnacarry near Spean Bridge in Scotland.

The area of activity were primarily Northwest Europe, Norway, Middle East, Italy and Burma. At first the missions were carried out on a smaller scale, inflicting little damage to the enemy but greatly boosting up the morale of allied forces. Later, as a result of many successful operations, for example Collar, Ambassador, Claymore, Archery, Anklet, Chariot or Longcloth, Adolf Hitler issued a secret order called Kommandobefehl stating that all commandos found in Europe and Africa should be killed immediately, even if in uniform or if they attempted to surrender.

The British Army Commandos were never regimented and were disbanded at the end of the war.

Commandos

In the game, the player represents the role of an officer who has been entrusted with the command of a group of six Commandos.

Jack "Tiny" O'Hara (Green Beret)

An Army boxing champion from 1934 to 1937, O'Hara was sentenced by a military court to 14 years of forced labour after hitting an officer. When he joined Commandos, his sentence was commuted. Promoted to Sergeant after wiping out 16 enemy soldiers without ammunition during the raid on the island of Vågsøy.

• Equipment: Knife, Pistol, Climbing axe, Acoustic decoy, Shovel.
• Skills: Moving explosive barrels, hiding bodies, climbing walls.

Samuel "Brooklyn" Brooklyn (Driver)

Joined the British Army in 1937 after a long criminal career in United States. Samuel accepted the offer of joining the Commandos mainly because of his being sought by American authorities. During the raid on the airfield in Tamet he managed to destroy eight German fighters using his jeep's machinegun and another four when he crashed the vehicle against the remaining aircraft full of fuel.

• Equipment: Pistol, Submachine gun, First aid kit.
• Skills: Driving tanks and vehicles, capturing heavy machinegun and artillery posts.

James "Fins" Blackwood (Marine)

Educated in Oxford, this naval engineer swum across the English Channel on a bet. Because of his problems with alcohol, Blackwood was demoted from the rank of Captain to Sergeant after a fight in a private club. He joined Commandos as a simple soldier. Decorated with a Military Cross for rescuing 45 stranded British soldiers about to be captured at Dunkirk.

• Equipment: Knife, Pistol, Inflatable launch, Harpoon.
• Skills: Diving.

Thomas "Fireman" Hancock (Sapper)

Born in Liverpool, Hancock became a specialist in the High Risk Explosives department and volunteered for the Commandos in 1940. During the raid on Saint-Nazaire, he was responsible for the explosions that crippled the port facilities for months. In this operation Hancock was captured, but after eight weeks he escaped, crossed the Pyrenees and returned to England.

• Equipment: Pistol, Bear Trap, Time bomb, Remote control bomb, Grenades, Pliers.
• Skills: Cutting wires, setting up traps, using explosives.

Sir Francis T. "Duke" Woolridge (Sniper)

An aristocrat from Sheffield famous for being cool, quiet, and distinguished. Received a Military Medal during the invasion of Narvik where he killed the Commander of the German garrison with a single shot from a distance of more than one mile while the officer was inspecting the placement of his troops.

• Equipment: Pistol, Sniper Rifle, First aid kit.
• Skills: Sniping.

Rene "Spooky" Duchamp (Spy)

A former Chief of Security in the French embassy in Berlin where he obtained valuable knowledge regarding the members of Hitler's General Staff, Duchamp joined the Resistance when the embassy was closed. At least three trains, fourteen tanks and more than thirty vehicles have been knocked out thanks to his skills of information, infiltration, and sabotage.

• Equipment: Pistol, Poison Syringe, First aid kit.
• Skills: Stealing uniforms from clotheslines, distracting enemy soldiers, hiding bodies.

References

1. ^ "Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines at IGN". IGN. http://pc.ign.com/articles/153/153853p1.html. Retrieved January 24, 2008. 
2. ^ Adams, Eric. Wilkinson, Lee: "Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines Manual", page 2. 1998

External links

• Official Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines website