This game was a little bit successful in Germany at the time it was released (I think it was even on top of the sales charts) but it remains an insiders' tip and I think I'm pretty much the only one who remembers this game.
Such a great game, awesome story, great western atmosphere, beautiful 2D graphics. It accompanied me through my whole middle school. It was so difficult, it kept me busy for years. Was such a great feeling after finally beating this game after about 3 years of playing it (with some breaks in between).
Thinking about it, there was one mission I've actually only beaten with cheats because it was so frickin' difficult (and it was not the last mission!). I tried so many different tactics and restarted the mission a dozen times, but I've never been able to successfully end the mission because the last part was really hard. So I gave up and used a "Kill all enemies" cheat. At least it was only the very ending of the mission, I honestly played 98 % of the mission without cheats so I didn't feel that bad about it.
But still, I need to revisit this game again and finally beat that mission without cheats!
Recently played the demo version again and it still holds up today. A shame that the sequel is such garbage. Can't stand the 3D engine and the freely rotatable camera, your overview is immediately lost...
Btw, if anyone is interested in a great real-time tactics game (comparable to Commandos) with a cool western atmosphere and great story, Desperados is currently on sale on GOG.com:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/desperados_wanted_dead_or_alive
OMG, I just found the US cover artwork, it's horrible :O