Commando

Commando for the Commodore 64 is Elite Systems' 1985 home-computer conversion of Capcom's arcade run-and-gun hit. Based on the arcade game released in the same year, it puts the player in the role of Super Joe, a lone soldier advancing through hostile territory from a high, angled overhead viewpoint. The C64 version condenses the coin-op's fast military action into a single-player game built around constant forward pressure, enemy ambushes, and careful use of limited explosives.

Super Joe can move freely across the scrolling battlefield while firing his machine gun in the direction he faces. Ordinary gunfire is unlimited, so staying mobile and lining up shots is essential as troops approach from above and enter from the sides of the screen. His supply of hand grenades is much more precious. Grenades travel up the playfield and can clear obstacles or groups that are difficult to reach with gunfire, creating a useful distinction between routine defense and a well-timed escape from a crowded position.

The journey moves through jungle and military installations populated by foot soldiers and attackers positioned behind terrain. Enemy fire, thrown explosives, and contact all make the route dangerous, while positions such as walls and fortifications can force the player to change approach or spend a grenade. Captive prisoners appear during the advance, giving the lone-soldier assault a rescue element alongside its score-driven shooting. At the end of a section, Commando shifts into a concentrated stand-off at a gate or fortress, where surviving an incoming rush is required before the campaign can continue.

Elite's Commodore 64 edition is a distinct home-computer adaptation rather than a direct reproduction of every arcade detail. It was released by Elite in Europe during 1985, with a North American C64/C128 release later handled by Data East. The conversion was programmed for the C64 by Chris Butler, Rory Green, and Chris Harvey, and its vertical scrolling, sprite-heavy action was tailored to the machine's keyboard and joystick-friendly controls. Its campaign is shorter than the arcade game's broader set of stage designs, emphasizing repeated mastery of its compact battlefields.

One of the version's most enduring features is its music. Rob Hubbard created the Commodore 64 theme from elements of the arcade score, taking advantage of the computer's SID sound chip for a longer, more elaborate arrangement. That energetic title music became closely associated with the C64 release and helps give the conversion an identity beyond its source material. In Germany, Elite also issued an altered version called Space Invasion, replacing the soldiers with robot-like figures while retaining the underlying game structure.

Commando arrived at a time when arcade-style action games were becoming a major part of the home-computer market. The original Capcom game helped establish the template for the top-down military run-and-gun shooter, and Elite's C64 conversion brought that format to a large 8-bit audience. Its mix of directional shooting, screen-scrolling assaults, grenades, rescues, and checkpoint-like fortress battles makes Commando a concise example of the immediate, demanding action design associated with Commodore 64 games of the mid-1980s.