Commando is a vertical run and gun Capcom released in 1985, in which a soldier advances on foot against entire armies of infantry, tanks, and fortifications, picking up grenades and rapid-fire power-ups along the way. It was an enormous success at the time and laid the foundation for an entire subgenre: SNK, Konami, and Toaplan produced direct variations on its formula shortly after. It remains extremely playable today: the constant forward pace, grenade management, and the rain of enemies generate a tension that has aged much better than other titles of its era. A mandatory starting point for understanding the run and gun as we know it.
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