Dying Light

Well, that is all. Some general observations needed at the end, as always, a general list of pros and cons of the demo. With thingies that I liked and thingies that I did not like. The demo is of course, at the very end superb.

Pros:

• Great opening cinematic intros for the missions. This time around you can actually just enjoy the graphics for a bit.
• Story driven scenario as the missions unfold.
• Bullet time. Indeed this is the very first time that you do not need to actually hold your own breath in order to do a nice killing… at a distance.
• Double the bet… double the fun! GB carries two weapons at a time on both hands, and that sounds too sweet to be true. But it is!
• Nice balance between different difficulty settings. Seems that in every level resources remain the same for different reasons. That is a good thing because in starting settings you need the med kits for the others, while in harder settings you need the med kits for yourself.
• Wet, cold and… fuzzy. Swimming is a perfect addition to a FPS. And the fuzziness of the underwater look is so real. I wish there was a mission against enemy divers, all under the sea…
• Great music, which also creates a splendid atmosphere in game.
• Strategy rules still apply. This is the best and only the best reason to actually buy this game. The memories are back and so is everything else.
• Useful memorabilia that brings tears into my eyes: The voice of the GB is the same as in the previous games. Just thanks for that, Pyro!

Cons:

• No direct control of the friendly A.I. Seems absurd, as the very mission depends on their survival.
• Not mentioning of some important hotkeys to actually enjoy the demo more.
• Lockdown of resolution, profile, extras and save/load features. Why did Pyrostudios do such an odd thing?
• Bodies disappearing. That seems ok at the start, as it would be a bit strange to move around with a body on your back, but it seems that as the bodies disappear, their equipment disappears too. In addition, if you kill someone (like an officer), then move away to do something else, and then move back, he dissolves into thin air and you cannot use his uniform anymore. There can be no second thoughts on bodies in this game.
• Some minor enemy A.I. tweaks. Enemies cannot see you although you are in front of them and they do not react behind corners, although you have just killed someone in front of them. Perhaps this is just a script thingy.
• Not a complete mission to play. Only two brief mini-missions. Hopefully the 14 full missions into the complete game will be satisfying.

Epilogue

The Commandos Strike Force demo has been a great experience, but it was too short. I really hope, if I write down a full review for the game, that the demo would have been a tiny itchy bitchy happy experience, compared to the actual full game. My hands will be tied for a while… And I find that to be a good thing… The return of the half dirty half dozen! Commandos are back and they are here to stay… Best regards to all, Iakovos:)