Commandos 3 "will be more accessible"

Eidos has taken the time out of its undoubtedly busy schedule to entertain us with more of an insight into the forthcoming World War II strategy title Commandos 3: Destination Berlin. Way back in 2001, Tom absolutely adored the last in the Commandos series and we've got high hopes that the third in the series is going to continue the tradition of Being Good.

It seems Pyro are not keen to rest on their laurels, though, and while Commandos 3 remains faithful to its predecessors in looks and subject matter, steps have been taken to ensure it's not a complete case of 'more of the same'.

One significant change is in the pacing of the gameplay, which has been split up across many smaller, more detailed missions which form parts of each of the three main campaigns, in an attempt to send the game in a more action-oriented direction. Alongside this push towards action gaming are new gameplay situations such as ambushes, assaults and - slightly worryingly - level bosses.

Each of the main campaigns - Stalingrad, Central Europe and Normandy, can be played in any order, and will take you to the Stalingrad battlefields of the Eastern Front, the heart of the Reich in the Gestapo headquarters in Berlin and the now-ubiquitous D-Day assault at Omaha Beach. Also for the first time ever, the game is to feature an 8-player deathmatch mode playable online or across LAN.

Couple all this with the ability to zoom and rotate interiors for a better look at the action with an enhancement of the original engine, and Commandos 3 is set to be the most accessible game of the series. We'll have to wait until the summer to see whether this turns out to be a good thing or not. For now, have a look at some new screenshots.