The Aeropan commando, also known as a soldier, is an enemy in The Lost Frontier. It is one of the final results of Aeropa's Dark Warrior Program, but is only the basic unit in Aeropa's legion of dark warriors, which also includes gladiators, ethereal sub-commanders, and armored armadillos.
History[]
Every commando is a former Aeropan civilian who underwent similar treatment to that of Jak when he was imprisoned in Haven City. This time, however, they were successfully mutated into soldiers capable of being mass produced, and are equipped with the same uniform and armor.
Aeropan commandos were first encountered in the Aeropan barracks during the mission "Search the barracks for seeker piece". They are fought en mass throughout the whole barracks, and were also seen in incubation tanks along the barracks walls. They were lastly encountered as pawns used by the ethereal sub-commander there, and could be brought back to life by it after lying there as purple ghosts for a length of time.
They are next encountered in the mission "Repel the Aeropan boarders", launching from the belly of the ACS Behemoth and onto the upper deck of the Phantom Blade with the goal of pillaging it. These commandos, specifically referred to as "boarders", were equipped with special jet packs that allowed them to make the jump.
Commandos were next part of the siege on Far Drop, during the mission "Fight off the Aeropan shock troops". They were encountered in several areas, but mostly commanded hovering platforms around the area, often accompanied by turrets. They were also again used as pawns by the several ethereal sub-commanders stationed there, and could again be recalled to life periodically.
These soldiers are lastly encountered in the consecutive missions "Smash the barracks" and "Disable weapons control system". In the former mission, they are fought by Dark Daxter and used to gain access to restricted areas in the Aeropan barracks. In the latter mission, they are Aeropa's primary line of defense, and were again used as pawns by the ethereal sub-commander which would remain capable of bringing them back to action.
Characteristics[]
The commandos are clad primarily in purple clothing, with metallic gloves, knee caps, boots, shoulder plates, and face masks. The shoulder plates, vest, groin cup, gloves, and boots are also trimmed with a gold color. The face mask encapsulates the entire head, including the ears, and only has three vent slots near the mouth and two holes for their glowing red eyes (it is unknown if the red color comes from the lens or their actual eyes).
Commandos are fairly strong and thus somewhat of a nuisance, though hardly a threat if you use appropriate tactics. Their two attacks are a charged dark eco blast (which is the most common) and a delayed dark eco bomb that emits a dangerous shockwave along the ground (which can easily be avoided with timed jumps).
The fact that they charge their blast gives you ample warning to avoid their line of attack, though they are fairly adept at tracking your movements before firing. Thus you should primarily rely on quickly closing the distance with a punch attack, as well as nimble movements around and behind objects. Aerial wastelander combos with the Blaster or barrages of fire from the Vulcan Fury are effective when returning to action after evading, while the Scatter Gun should be used to take multiple commandos out at a close distance. The eco amplifier, in combination with any gun mod, is also effective in certain situations.