[Acclaim's WWII Isometric Adventure with more than 40 immersive missions]

This game presents itself as a more combat heavy cousin of the Medal of Honor series with an isometric view. Getting past the generic name may be difficult but it’s easy to see that Acclaim is trying to bring back a game type that has been forgotten in this world of 3D adventures. The top down view that didn’t quite work in the latest installment of the Commandos series will hopefully make game players look right past the lack of effort put into the title.

Yes, of course there are Nazis, and many of them. You play as one of 17,000 Allied troops dropped by parachute behind enemy lines in Nazi occupied France. The Allies eat away at the Nazi war machine within but their main goal is to prevent the Germans from developing the A-bomb and tipping the scales of the war. We’ve heard it before many times but with 40 missions recreating some decisive and historic battles like Operation Market Garden and Battle of the Bulge, this game should swell well beyond the limits of the average WWII game.

The developers promise, as always, a certain amount of historical accuracy when it comes to the weapons and equipment and there will be promotions and customization options to level up your characters and configure abilities. With many of the development team members having worked on games like Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, we should know what to expect graphically and control wise which is a good thing. Ultimately, with such a wealth of WWII games out there already, Combat Elite WWII Paratroopers is seriously going to have to do something new to warrant another jaunt through Nazi occupied Europe. Otherwise, this one might end up lost somewhere behind enemy lines.

Posted: April 4, 2003