Unrelated to the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie released the same year and with a not-entirely-dissimilar plot, Commando follows the incursion of soldier Super Joe (just don't call him G.I.) into battle against an entire enemy army. Developed by Capcom but released in some markets by Data East, Commando essentially defined the vertically-scrolling run-and-gun concept and inspired the entire genre. The game is synonymous with the standard "shoot in the direction you're facing" run-and-gun control scheme used in numerous other games, as differentiated from the rotating joystick aiming of Ikari Warriors and its descendants. It was followed by sequel Mercs in 1989.