I myself was unable to play the demo due to some gfx problems which I still haven't sorted and I am not that eager anymore to do so, judging from the info I get and the opinions I have read.
When reading the review I get the idea that Iakovos has been paid by Pyros or Eidos (this is of course sarcastic).
First of all, an FPS with tactical or strategic elements isn't new at all, although I. keeps going on about it on page 1 of the review and on page 2 hails the demo for the way how you can use the knife. Does the Hidden and Dangerous series ring a bell? HD2 (and expansion) gives you an FPS (you can also play the game through a 3d person view) with 32 missions (BIG missions) with 100% freedom how to tackle your objectives, a Tactical Map to plan your attacks if you wish, a huge armoury from which to pick the guns you think necessary after your briefing, a lot of RPG elements... and this without compromising on the tactical/strategic side of the game. CSF looks and telling from the info and opinions I gathered plays like COD/MOH with only some strategic elements.
The second thing I wanted to mention (to keep it general) is the lack of realism which doesn't seem to bother I. I have no idea how other commandos fans think about this, but realism is for me a must. You could say Commandos was never really about realism and I could only agree to a degree. In Commandos you could never go gun's blazing, you had to use some tactics, set up ambushes, had to be deadly precise on your timetable etc. The realism was however hampered imo because of the design of the game. Going 3D opens up huge possibilities, also on realism aspect, which afaic haven't been used. Furthermore if you want to distinguish CSF from the brainless lineair shooters like COD and MOH realism was the way to go. The thing I can't understand is how I. doesn't seem to bother about this:
What is difficult or wrong about holding your breath, you want the sniper to auto aim for you? You can't shoot decent without something as silly as bullet time?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.
Is this the green beret, the one with his knife and decoy we knew, or is it Rambo? Judging from the trailers I've seen you don't seem to get much recoil when dual wielding and shooting even if you run at the same time! Come on! I know they are MP40's but that is just ridiculous. If I want something as stupid as dual wielding I'll buy some crap like UT.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!
So they didn't even bother to get a new voice actor when they changed the look of every commando and said that they were totally new commandos?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!
How can it ever seem OK? What is the bloody point in sneaking around if the corpses dissapear. You kill a man, drag his body in a dark corner, behind a crate, inside a shed, whatever, but the body shouldn't dissapear!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.
Minor? MINOR?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.
Some other things I picked up here and there:
The ingame interface:
Why is half the screen covered with stupid compasses, caracter info, etc. When you compare a screenshot of COD2 with a CSF screenshot you'll have to conclude that even COD2 isn't as littered with stupid info as CSF.
Crosshairs going red when aiming at an enemy:
Is this a game for retarded people?
Healing on the run:
LOL
In short: Imo they fucked up bad again. C3 was huge dissapointment and unfinished game. With CSF they had the possibility to set things straight again and give the commandos fans a good game. They choose a new public though, selling out to games like COD and MOH. The result is a mix between HD and COD/MOH which, I think, won't appeal to many people (At least I hope it won't, Pyro shouldn't get away with such crap (again!)).
How Iakovos just accepts this and is even enthousiastic about it is beyond my comprehension.
Regards