Published by Eidos, the game is in fact the work of a Spanish studio by the name of Pyro. And hats off to 'em. It's pretty good.

Commandos 2, funnily enough, is a sequel. Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines kicked off the series back in 1998. Pyro followed with a stand-alone expansion/mini-sequel the following year called Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty. What we have in Commandos 2 is fully-fledged sequel - new features, some new characters, new engine, new missions ...

Fans of the earlier two versions will be pleased to know that it's not all new though. All your favourite Commandos (like the Green Beret, Spy and Sapper) are back for more and the basic gameplay style is still the same.

Commandos 2, like its predecessors, puts you in control of a handful of specialist commandos working deep behind enemy lines during World War 2. Each of your commandos has a number of unique skills: the Green Beret can sneak up behind guards and kill them silently with a knife. The Sapper can plant explosives. The Diver can use scuba gear to stay underwater. The Thief (a new character) can climb walls and pick locks. It's a unique take on the squad idea - each soldier has a specific role, which the others can't perform. The Commandos series is about knowing when and how to use the skills that you have at your disposal.

This should give the uninitiated a clue as to how this game plays; It's not an action game. It's not a real-time strategy game (in the Command and Conquer RTS sense - although it does involve strategy and it is certainly real-time). In terms of pacing, game-play style and presentation, it's a little of the two with a pinch of role-playing (think: Baldur's Gate). In terms of feel, think of a ripping good war comic: like the old Commando and Battle comics that were big until the early '80s, where all the Allies had names like Spud and Breaker, grew up in coal-mining villages in Yorkshire and knew how to give Jerry what-for.

Each mission begins with a voice over describing the situation the Allies are facing in the war. There is then a cut scene where your commandos will describe the tasks they need to accomplish and drop hints as to how they think they could do it. You will then be dropped into the mission, with a pre-selected group of commando characters. While there are 9 characters in all - including the new dog - you may only have access to as few as one or two of them at any given time. You will need to use the specialist skills available to you to complete the mission.

The action takes place on a pre-rendered map. It is viewed in top-down isometric perspective. The maps and characters look great, highly detailed and intricately modelled - they are comparable to Baldur's Gate 2, except that everything is 3D modelled. The main maps can't be freely rotated, but they can be turned in jumps of 90 degrees, giving four possible perspectives on the action. This is vital in order to keep track of your troops and scope for danger.

The terrain is highly interactive with numerous doors, ladders, and boxes to open, climb, or look through. There is also plenty of water which you can swim in or dive under, drivable vehicles, windows you can look or throw grenades through, climb through, leap out of and so on. Exploring the possibilities of each of the large maps and their many-roomed and multi-levelled structures (submarines, destroyers, Buddhist temples to name a few) is one of the most fun things about this game.