Game of the Day 2/19/2016: Commando: Steel Disaster

[celerystalker]

Commando: Steel Disaster for Nintendo DS is hard.

Commando is a run 'n gun very heavily inspired by Metal Slug, and it came out right around the same time as Metal Slug 7. The backgrounds are detailed, varied, and highly destructible, the character sprites are cartoony and well-animated, you can't shoot diagoally unless you have a machine gun, you occasionally drive vehicles... it's not even thinly veiled; it's practically a fan game, and it's difficult.

There are a few positive wrinkles the design team threw in on this one. First, you can carry and switch between two powerups at once, much like Contra III, which is cool and allows for some good strategic play. Secondly, you have a roll move during which you are invincible, which can be a real god-send, and the control is good enough that you won't do it on accident. You also automatically have rapid fire like the 16-bit Contras, and there's also a scavenger hunt for discs, which you must collect and use to find all of the items and unlock the last two secret stages.

Speaking of (hard) stages, there are five standard levels and the aforementioned two unlockables, and once one is completed, you are allowed to save your data. You can then pick up on your most current stage or replay an old one in search of more discs and items, like the gas mask and VIP Card. The levels are very long, though, and you only get a single life, although you do have both health and body armor you can find to keep you on your feet longer. This is where the real difficulty lies, is that you must complete each stage on a single life, no checkpoints, no keeping items you found before dying... you start from scratch or your last save. It's tough and demanding, and most people probably won't have the patience for its ruthlessness.

Still, if you are a glutton for punishment or a Metal Slug badass who needs a challenge, Commando controls like a dream, looks great, and has some good replay value in hunting down those discs. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but if you enjoyed the satisfaction of beating the hell out of Contra 4 and go after the arcade Slugs on one credit, this is a neat game with really strong production values... but had there been a more accessible easy mode, it might have been a classic. I like it, for whatever that's worth?

Played this one? About threw your DS through a wall? Actually taken it down?

[Emperor Megas]

I own this one. I've never played it yet. I remember buying it because it was extremely cheap and looked like a Metal Slug or Contra inspired title.

[celerystalker]

I own this one. I've never played it yet. I remember buying it because it was extremely cheap and looked like a Metal Slug or Contra inspired title.

I'd say you bought it for the right reasons. Tough as it is, the control, scrolling, and animation are all top shelf, and from what you've posted in the past, you aren't scared of having one credit.