Commando Xenidis

Commando Xenidis is a 2006 shareware action shooter set in the year 2525 AD. The game takes place in the Xenidis galaxy where aliens have destroyed human outposts. You play as Commando Xenidis, tasked with reconquering the planets. Gameplay alternates between space missions, where you clear the orbit by shooting enemies and collecting resources to upgrade your ship, and ground missions where you battle aliens as a soldier. Supports up to four-player same-screen multiplayer.

Commando Xenidis: A Galaxy Reclaimed, or a World Forgotten?

Few games fade into the mists of time with as little fanfare as Magic Storm’s 2006 shareware title, Commando Xenidis. Released for Windows during the twilight years of independent shareware development, Commando Xenidis promised a blend of classic top-down shooting action, both in space and on planetary surfaces, with upgrade mechanics and even same-screen multiplayer. While the game dared to aim for the stars, its execution seems to have left it adrift in the vast gaming cosmos. This review aims to exhume this forgotten gem (or lump of space rock) and examine whether Commando Xenidis holds any merit worthy of rediscovery.

Development History & Context

Commando Xenidis was the brainchild of Magic Storm, a developer team whose influence on gaming history seems largely… nonexistent, at least based on readily available information. The core team was comprised of individuals like Eric Behme (Coding, Level Design), Oliver Müller (Graphics, Animation), Jürgen Oppermann (BGM, SFX & VFX), and Nicole Alonso (Mission- & Flightcontroller). David J. Clarke contributed to the Intro-story. Nine individuals developed the game and one additional tester, Ronny, gave what scant assistance was provided beyond the original team.

The team responsible for this game appears to have been relatively obscure and difficult to find much information about on other video games, other than the few credits shared among Martin Weusten, Andreas Sauer and Jürgen Oppermann in other games. The game landed in a transitional period for independent game development. The rise of digital distribution platforms like Steam was still in its relative infancy, and the shareware model, once a viable route for indie developers, was facing increasing challenges.

The DirectX 9.0c requirement suggests a game attempting to leverage some modern graphical capabilities, but the game was also competing with a rapidly evolving landscape. The market at the time was filled with a mix of AAA releases pushing graphical boundaries and a growing indie scene finding its footing.

Technological Constraints & Market Landscape

In 2006, PC gaming was undergoing significant shifts. High-speed internet was becoming more prevalent, impacting distribution methods. DirectX 9 was a relatively mature API, allowing for increasingly visually impressive games. The rise of accessible game engines like Game Maker and Flash also empowered many independent developers to create content, resulting in a crowded marketplace.

Given its shareware model and graphical fidelity based on available screenshots, Commando Xenidis likely targeted a budget-conscious audience, banking on the appeal of its classic arcade gameplay loop and cooperative multiplayer functionality to gain traction.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

The narrative premise of Commando Xenidis is classic sci-fi pulp. The player is thrust into the role of “Commando Xenidis” (which is, confusingly, also the name of the galaxy to be reconquered) in the year 2525 AD. Humanity has spread throughout this galaxy, exploiting its abundant raw materials. Naturally, this expansion has angered the locals, an alien species who responded by obliterating human outposts. The player’s mission, should they choose to accept it, is to reclaim Xenidis and defend Earth from complete annihilation.

The story, as presented, is serviceable, but lacks depth. The lack of character development and exposition leaves the story feeling derivative and paper-thin. It’s difficult to glean any deeper themes from the provided information, leading one to believe the narrative served primarily as a thin framework to justify the core gameplay.

Analysis of Narrative Elements

The narrative setup is a standard “humans vs. aliens” conflict, lacking originality. The destruction of human outposts provides a sense of urgency, but the narrative is otherwise bereft of deeper exploration of themes such as colonialism, conflict, or cultural clashes.
– Characters are presented without depth or personality, offering little investment to players.
– Dialogue is non-existent, leading to total reliance on the opening blurb to understand the story.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Commando Xenidis appears to be divided into two distinct gameplay sections. The first phase involves top-down spaceship shooting, where the goal is to clear the orbit of planets by destroying enemy spacecraft. This takes the form of a standard shmup, as the player is tasked with clearing out a map of enemy ships. The blurb describing the game states that destroying everything is “not necessary” for passage, “but some enemy ships leave goodies”.
After fighting a boss, gameplay transitions to a ground-based section, where the player controls a lone soldier tasked with eliminating all enemies and destroying alien facilities. Here the gameplay style shifts to something closer to the original Commando arcade game.

The game also apparently included an upgrade system, with currency earned during missions used to purchase better weapons and upgrades for the player’s ship and ground-based character.

The shared/split-screen multiplayer experience, supporting up to four players, is a notable feature. In the space shooter portion of the game, this lends itself naturally to friendly competition, while the ground-based area is a traditional co-op experience.

Key Gameplay Components

• Two Distinct Gameplay Phases: Shmup-style space combat is interspersed with run-and-gun ground missions.
• Upgrade System: Players can enhance their ship and character with earned currency.
• Same-Screen Multiplayer: Supports up to four players for cooperative or competitive gameplay.
• Arcade-Style Difficulty: Designed to be tough, in the vein of classic arcade games.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Commando Xenidis seems to lean into a retro, arcade-inspired aesthetic. The visual style is likely functional, prioritizing clarity and readability over high-fidelity graphics, given the technical limitations and the nature of the top-down perspective. Based on the team credits, Oliver Muller was responsible for the graphics and animation in the game.

Jürgen Oppermann worked on the BGM, SFX, and VFX. It’s reasonable to assume that the soundtrack features synthesized music reminiscent of older arcade titles, and sound effects would be similarly stylized.

The planet-hopping structure and the mention of “alien facilities” hint at some degree of environmental variety.

World-Building & Sensory Experience

• Retro Aesthetic: Likely features pixelated graphics and synthesized sound.
• Functional Visuals: Prioritizes readability over graphical complexity.
• Environmental Variety: Different planets and alien facilities add visual interest.
• BGM and SFX: Sound design is presumably reminiscent of classic arcade games.

Reception & Legacy

Commando Xenidis appears to not be fondly remembered. Holding an average player score of just 1.8 out of 5 on MobyGames, based on a single rating and zero written reviews, the title has evidently not captivated its audience. The game’s profile on Giant Bomb resulted in, “Something went wrong. Try again later.” The other sites that mention the game, such as Kotaku, simply regurgitate information from MobyGames, as can be seen by the matching wording of the summary of the game. In general, few reviews appear to exist for this game, if any at all. This lack of prominent reviews speaks volumes about its visibility at launch, and its legacy.

Without critical acclaim or commercial success, Commando Xenidis failed to make significant ripples. The game likely faded into obscurity shortly after its release, struggling to compete against the larger market’s AAA releases and the emerging indie scene.

Legacy & Influence

• Poor Reception: Low player ratings suggest a disappointing gaming experience.
• Limited Impact: Failed to gain traction in a competitive market.
• Lack of Influence: Commando Xenidis likely did not inspire or influence subsequent games in any meaningful way.

Conclusion

Commando Xenidis is a time capsule of mid-2000s shareware game development. It attempted to blend classic arcade shooting with a modern upgrade system and co-op multiplayer, on DirectX 9. However, a lack of polish, originality, and a failure to resonate with players resulted in its near-total obscurity. Commando Xenidis serves as a reminder that good intentions and genre nostalgia don’t always guarantee a successful game. Its most significant contribution to gaming history may be its existence as an obscure, forgettable blip on radar of PC gaming.