This is one of those sequels where they, presumably in response to complaints that the original was overly difficult, made it less so(others include Hit-man, where the 2nd and 3rd were considerably easier than the first). This is one of the cases where they largely got away with it. There are a ton of new additions: Weapons and equipment to use, such as Molotov cocktails, a flamethrower, and sleeping-gas grenades. More Commandos, and since next to nothing was missing, only a few. Natasha, a Russian similar to The Spy(except using feminine charm instead of the officer of a superior) who acts as a contact, as well. Whisky, a dog who can attract attention without any risk to himself, though he can only go so far away from his, uh, people. Finally, we get The Thief(who might as well be "The Acrobat"), an unbelievably awesome French kid who moves faster than everyone else, can "steal" loose-hanging items(like keys, cigarette packs, etc.) from foes without being noticed from behind them, is slim enough to hide a multitude of places, and can climb poles and scale walls, entering and leaving locked buildings by slipping in through the window. Oh, and he's got a lock-pick. There are rope-ladders, a hook that can be thrown from underneath where you want to go, and you can tie together ten bedsheets to, well, we all know of that trick. They applied about as much real life stuff and the like as they could. And sadly, it may actually be a tad excessive. Some of them are barely used at all, and frankly, you tend to be able to take care of the soldiers in a couple of different ways. Freedom in games is not a bad thing; not in the least. And a lot of what there is of it in this is excellent. But it shouldn't be quite this simple to operate *behind enemy lines*. This does allow the execution of a high amount of guerrilla methods, and no matter what, you can't deny that this brings countless magnificent things to the series(and it was incredible already), and stays true to the tone and intent. You can't carry everything you might want, and that's where the countless opportunities offered by the various items comes into play; We get an inventory system, and you can now search cabinets and take items from troops(and give, to Allied ones; namely, arming them). That is one of the two biggest things this introduces. The other is that you can now truly go inside structures(as well as under water, and up and down by elevator, stairs and ladders), which means that we now also get beautifully detailed recreations of interiors from around the world of the time, and they're as memorable as the outside. The design is amazing, not only that of the levels. This takes you to the Arctic, France, Burma and other places, during night, day, rain, snow, etc. The graphics are improved, and you can turn the view 360 degrees. Meanwhile, at times, things get in the way of your cursor, and there is even the frustrating occurrence that *there is no angle that isn't blocked*. Many things are activated too similarly, and you have to be careful, since exact precision is invaluable. Stuff like the laser-like sight-line is an immense help, letting you know when someone can see at least one of your men. Most of the cut-scenes are in-engine, and they are well-scripted. Beyond that, there are a few gorgeously done, if not necessarily that powerful and effective, full CGI ones, and the intro and ending are well-edited documentary-style ones, put together from all real, live-action footage from the time, with the briefing guy doing VO's. Voice acting is pretty good, if the accents are overdone. The audio is impeccable, everything sounds exactly right. Music is marvelous, the instrumental score always fits, and can be somber, bombastic or subtle, depending on the situation. There is a hint of overarching story, and just about everything is based upon fact. This contains 10 missions(after two training ones, that aid you in getting accustomed with what is in this, both what's been there from BEL and BtCoD, and what this holds) with varied objectives, and 9 bonus ones(all of them challenging and entertaining, and completion begets a medal), each accessed by collecting all the puzzle pieces. You rise through the ranks as an officer by how high your merit ratings are. To complicate matters, knocking out the opponents is preferable, and killing is frowned upon. The AI is better, if there are bugs and glitches where they act oddly. There are types of behavior in them not seen before, making it less monotone. The experts under your control start sharing their know-how with one another, meaning everyone can do things they couldn't before(many of them ones that belonged solely to , and honestly, The Driver nearly loses his identity, and as of this, he really ought to be called "that dude who sets traps and throws stuff", or perhaps something catchier. His chauffeuring isn't that unique anymore, at least. Everyone can use guns, whether or not those belong to the Axis forces. As with all early versions, this can use a tiny bit of smoothing out(same as how this gives that to the concept of the franchise). You get a great overview, with clues and a map, though only for the exteriors. You can set hot-keys(and the side-bar lets you immediately use what you have on you, of what that person can utilize), you cannot instantly tell anyone to do anything by pressing only one button, thus, timing several team members simultaneously gets tricky. You can't do way-points, in spite of that being in several RTS titles released around this time. This has combat, with you setting up an ambush/defense against a rush of invaders. Very cool. This comes close to perfecting a strategy game that left little to be desired. I recommend this to any fan of these. 8/10
