Comparison

Kick Ass Commandos vs 1942 Classic Arcade

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Kick Ass Commandos

Lead a commando unit in a top-down shooter to destroy an enemy's drug production and rescue captured soldiers. Utilize a variety of weapons and unlockable commandos with customizable upgrades across diverse, destructible environments. Face off against numerous enemy vehicles and challenging bosses.

Highlights
  • Top-down bullet hell shooting
  • Unlockable commandos
  • Commando upgrades and customization
  • Destructible environments
  • Variety of enemy vehicles
  • Badass boss battles
Features
Read full description

Lock and Load! It's time to Kick Ass. Grab your machine-gun, flamethrower, rocket launcher and grenades. Assault the enemy bases and free commandos to join your team while you destroy everything in sight. The enemy has grown bold in spreading their highly-addictive Krystal Yayo across the global, which is turning everyone into mindless, zombie like hordes. If the enemy is not stopped soon and all the Krystal Yayo destroyed, the world as we know it will be no more. You have been chosen to lead the ultimate mission across the global to rescue your comrades, wipe out all of the enemy's production of Krystal Yayo, and kill everyone else you encounter! Good luck commando! Not ready to join the Kick Ass Commandos yet? Checkout what these frontline reporters had to say: TOUCH ARCADE "GAME OF THE WEEK" "Kick Ass Commandos definitely has that 'just one more go' special sauce, and with its near constant action, explosions, and gore it's a wild ride that's definitely worth taking." - TouchArcade APP SPY "THURSDAY FIND" "If you're looking for a sharp-edged blaster that almost begs to be picked up and played, then you're going to love everything that Kick Ass Commandos has to offer." - AppSpy APP ADVICE - 9.1 "Kick Ass Commandos is an intense and insanely fun dual-stick shooter packed with explosions for days." - AppAdvice APP REVIEW TODAY - 9.1 "Kick Ass Commandos is a dual-stick action shooter that makes you feel like "Rambo." If you enjoyed games like Soul Knight and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, then you will love what Kick Ass Commandos has to offer." - App Review Today POCKET GAMER - 8/10 "When it comes to thick and juicy shooting, you'd be hard pressed to find anything better that's hit the App Store this year" and "You're unlikely to find a better retro arcade blaster anywhere. And that's high praise indeed." - Pocket Gamer Still need convincing private? Checkout these kick ass features! UNIQUE MISSION PACKS Each mission pack has a unique theme including deadly jungles, frozen arctic tundra, and scorching desert wastelands. UNLOCK COMMANDOS Rescue special commandos to add them to your unit which you can use on future missions. UPGRADE AND CUSTOMIZE COMMANDOS Send your commandos out on missions to earn upgrade points which you can use to customize your commandos to your liking. DESTRUCTIBLE LEVELS Do you love explosions? Awesome, so do we! You can blow up all sorts of stuff on the missions. Want to see what a rocket launcher does to a palm tree or a grenade to tank? The power is in your hands, or should we say weapon? TONS OF ENEMY VEHICLES TO DESTROY Tanks, sniper towers, gunboats, snowmobiles, and attack helicopters to name a few. If you can dream it, you can destroy it! BADASS BOSSES GALORE The game is full of tough, badass bosses including: * The Rocket Brothers who are big ballin’ twin brothers who both wield multi-shot rocket launchers! * Killer Yeti Warriors who will stop at nothing to eat your heart while it is still beating in your chest. * Giant, genetically engineered Alligators - need we say more? * Corpus Natas an evil cult leader who is on a quest for immortality by luring innocents with the addictive Krystal Yayo.

About

1942 Classic Arcade

Engage in classic aerial combat as a fighter pilot during World War II. Navigate through 20 challenging levels, battling enemy fleets and powerful bosses. Collect power-ups to enhance your aircraft's firepower and survival capabilities.

Highlights
  • 20 challenging levels
  • End Level Bosses
  • Multiple game modes
  • Various enemy types
  • Aircraft upgrades and power-ups
  • Retro arcade style
Features
Read full description

It is World War II, the story takes place in 1942 and you take on the role of "Super Ace", a brave fighter pilot. There are 20 levels to go through and the goal is to reach Tokyo and destroy the entire Japanese air fleet. And before you reach the main city, you will travel through Midway, Marshall, Attu, Rabaul, Leyte, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. At each level, you start and end on an aircraft carrier. Then on your plane, you fly to struggle against enemies over sea and land and shoot them all down. You get some different power-ups to increase your firepower and chances of survival after destroying certain plane formations. There are such power-ups as two machine guns, two side planes, extra loops, and so on. HOW TO PLAY * Screen slide: moves the airship - combat plane. * Choose the plane for your liking and become the flying ace! * Touch the "lighting" button to make special lightning attacks. * Select boosters to start easier. * Defeat enemies and become the War Hero! FEATURES * Discover 20 challenging levels of aerial combat with huge End Level Bosses and 3 modes to play: Normal, Hard, Crazy * Many different Enemy types * Numerous Upgrades and special gameplay * 5 different aircraft and more. * Arcade retro style feeling. * Easy control. Enjoy awesome air battles anytime, anywhere with Air Strike: Pacific Warfare WW II Completely free to play on mobile!

Screenshots

Kick Ass Commandos4 screens
1942 Classic Arcade4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: 1942 Classic Arcade at Free against Kick Ass Commandos's $1.99. 1942 Classic Arcade also leads on ratings volume (6K vs 119). Kick Ass Commandos's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

1942 Classic Arcade is free to download; Kick Ass Commandos costs $1.99 up front. 1942 Classic Arcade sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. Kick Ass Commandos asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Kick Ass Commandos against 4.7 for 1942 Classic Arcade. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 1942 Classic Arcade has 6K ratings behind it against 119, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 66% of Kick Ass Commandos's written reviews are positive against 43% of 1942 Classic Arcade's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kick Ass Commandos ships an update every 10 days, 1942 Classic Arcade fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 22, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Kick Ass Commandos versus 1942 Classic Arcade: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKick Ass Commandos1942 Classic Arcade
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (119 ratings)4.7 (6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.1% of reviews — better43.2% of reviews
Number of ratings1196K — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS7.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size449 MB345 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperAnarchy EnterprisesFALCON GAMES

Customer experience

Kick Ass Commandos

All ratings119 ratings
Positive89.1%
Neutral3.4%
Negative7.6%
Written reviews62 reviews
Positive66.1%
Neutral14.5%
Negative19.4%

1942 Classic Arcade

All ratings5,999 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral2.4%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews412 reviews
Positive43.2%
Neutral10.2%
Negative46.6%

User reviews

Kick Ass Commandos

From 119 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Addicting gameplay
  • 👍 Classic retro shooter feel
  • 👍 Visceral and gory action
  • 👍 No in-app purchases
  • 👍 Solid controls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unresponsive knife controls
  • 🐛 Inconsistent knife damage
  • 🐛 Poor controls in knife levels
  • 🐛 Missing health/status bars on iPad
  • 🐛 Game not optimized for iPhone X

1942 Classic Arcade

From 6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Classic arcade feel
  • 🕹️ Nostalgic gameplay
  • 💥 Challenging levels
  • 🚀 Smooth performance

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Progression gated by in-app purchases
  • 💰 Excessive ads and monetization
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Bugs and requests

Kick Ass Commandos

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Knife not working in levels
  • Health and status bars disappeared after update
  • Knife levels are broken
  • Knife damage is inconsistent
  • Game not optimized for iPhone X (black borders)
Show 2 more
  • Sound is a mess (crackling and distortion)
  • Knife levels are impossible

Requested features

7 requests
  • Fix health/status bars on iPad
  • Optimize for iPhone X
  • Add cloud saves (iPhone/iPad)
  • Add appearance/name change on rank up
  • Add MFi controller support
Show 2 more
  • Update for XS Max (menu cutoff)
  • Make a sequel

1942 Classic Arcade

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Levels getting stuck or unbeatable
  • Ads not registering properly
  • Progression and upgrades not tracking correctly

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels and content
  • Controller support
  • Improved reward system
  • Better communication from developers

In-app purchases

None

Kick Ass Commandos

No in-app purchases

11 purchases

1942 Classic Arcade

One-time11
  • Sale off buy 220 gems$0.99
  • Buy 500gems$1.99
  • Sale off buy 600 gems$2.99
Show 8 more
  • Buy 600 gems$4.99
  • Sale off buy 1300 gems$4.99
  • Buy super power starter pack$7.99
  • Buy 1500 gems$9.99
  • Sale off buy 2800 gems$9.99
  • Buy 3500 gems$19.99
  • Sale off buy 7500 gems$24.99
  • Buy 10000 gems$49.99

Questions

Is Kick Ass Commandos free?
Kick Ass Commandos costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is 1942 Classic Arcade free?
1942 Classic Arcade is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Kick Ass Commandos or 1942 Classic Arcade?
1942 Classic Arcade is rated higher. Kick Ass Commandos averages 4.5 out of 5 from 119 ratings, while 1942 Classic Arcade averages 4.7 from 6K ratings.
Do Kick Ass Commandos or 1942 Classic Arcade have ads?
1942 Classic Arcade shows ads; Kick Ass Commandos does not.
Which is updated more often, Kick Ass Commandos or 1942 Classic Arcade?
Kick Ass Commandos ships an update every 10 days, and 1942 Classic Arcade fortnightly. Most recently, Kick Ass Commandos was updated on October 22, 2026 and 1942 Classic Arcade on October 22, 2026.

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