It features traditional RTS elements though: some units fare better than others in certain match-ups and positioning on the map does have an impact. And a unit in Praetorians can be up to 20 soldiers marching at once. You can destroy enemy garrisons and take over villages, however.

Unlike in Age of Empires, Praetorians’ main aspect is on the combat, with very little civilisation building. The missions will take you through Egypt, Italy and Gaul (an area more commonly separated into France, Switzerland, Germany and North-West Europe). If you were ever interested in the ongoing politics happening in the background of Assassin’s Creed Origins, the story in Praetorians helps expand on that somewhat. What you do get though is a campaign from an interesting time period where the Roman Empire begins to assert its dominance and the Ancient Egyptians start to fade away. Compare that with the Age of Empires II re-release from last year, and that included four brand-new civilisations with four campaigns on top of everything from the original release. The main campaign features three armies – being the Romans, Gauls and Egyptians. Part of that is the aforementioned problems of an RTS game on a console and poor animations, but another part is because it feels very dated in the lack of content and variation. In comparison, Praetorians feels archaic.

You have the ability to save at any point and it is recommended to make use of that system after almost every action you take. Enemy and object placements were such that if I didn’t do one specific action at a specific moment, I would be caught and shot dead with very little time to correct myself.Īs a result, Commandos 2 can be a tricky beast. However, this was not the experience I felt I was getting. At the start of each level you are given a select few commandos and objectives, with the intention being you are free to undertake them as you so please. Missions are supposed to be taken on via any means necessary. You also have a dog accompany you on certain missions to bark at enemy soldiers and distract them because, well, who doesn’t love dogs? Or how about a female commando who can seduce enemy soldiers, providing a useful distraction? The Green Beret unit for example can bury themselves into the ground to avoid detection, whilst the agile Thief can climb walls and telephone lines. Each one has unique abilities and traits, meaning some are better suited in certain situations than others.

Here you are introduced to a few of the elite units you will be commanding. Praetorians had a chance to give it a good attempt considering this is the first time it has launched on a home console, but the control system is awful.Ĭommandos 2 starts off with a couple of training missions. Commandos isn’t too bad as you control individual units from the isometric point of view. Of course, the glaring issue for both still remains: RTS games simply aren’t suited for a controller.

Commandos 2 walkthrough