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 Hidden
and Dangerous
DEVELOPER
: Illusion Softworks
PUBLISHER : Talonsoft
Requirements:
Pent. 233MHz 32 megs RAM, 3d card
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Recommend:
Pentium II 300, 64 meg RAM, 2nd gen 3d card
(TNT, Voodoo2) |
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Ratings
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| Code
Issues
Graphics: 8
- Good
looking, with truly excellent texture work.
Audio: 10
- Fantastic use of ambient sounds, sound cues, and
dynamic music
Interface: 5
- Functional FPS/TPS interface with some clumsy
features.
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Play
Issues
Solo
play gameplay quality: 9
- Excellent; mission design is exceptional and
devious, enemies are credible if a bit TOO skilled.
Length of play/replay
value: 8
- High marks for length of play, missions take a lot
of work to complete, but lack of editor a big minus.
Multiplay quality:
7 - TCP/IP,IPX,modem - cooperative play
returns with a vengeance. Missions are none too easy for
4 humans to complete! Co-op
only, though.
Learning curve:
5 - The basics (movement, firing, etc) are
simple but the missions (even at easiest level) are really,
really hard. Ultra-realism in weapons effects will
be off-putting to FPS gamers
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| Other/Notes
Manual/documentation
quality: 6
- functional and
complete.
Stability: 5
- played with patch
1.02, didn't have any real code problems beyond H&D
apparently messing with my V2 drivers
Other comments
(Reviewer's bias) +1.0 just because I really, really enjoyed
the game.
Overall
Rating: 8.4
"The mix of atmosphere, tension, and mission design
definitely raise the bar for all FPS games - especially the
yet-unseen TF2. Cooperative play is a delightful feature
lacking in many other top-tier FPS games."
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Hidden and Dangerous is
a shooter-style game that simulates the activities of Britain's SAS
(Special Air Service) commandos behind German lines during World War
2. I use the word simulated advisedly and with great pleasure
- this is NOT a "Quake in army uniforms" or "Tribes
WWII" mod. This is a great game, designed from the ground
up to simulate as realistically as possible the activities and
situations that would confront such commandos. Some players,
picking it up in the hopes of simply getting a "WWII
Quake" are going to be definitely overwhelmed. Rainbow 6
players will be a little more prepared, but H&D is still another
beast entirely.
(One aside: throughout this review
I'm going to constantly compare and contrast it to other
first-person shooters, which are the majority of my analogous
experiences. This should not be misunderstood - H&D is NOT
simply an FPS game - it supports (and in a sense, requires)
third-person oblique view as well. In fact, if you aren't
constantly switching views, you probably aren't succeeding.)
The premise of H&D is ostensibly
simple: you have 40 soldiers of varying skills and abilities, of
which 4 can be selected for any given mission. Once selected,
you arm and equip them for their tasks. You enter the mission,
complete one to five "stages" in the mission (individual
scenarios), and then move to the next mission. Simple, right?
Well, maybe not. When you consider the cliche "no plan
survives contact with the enemy" - the results can be very
exciting, to say the least.
But, let's not get ahead of
ourselves. Is H&D a wargame or what? Commonly,
serious wargamers will do a double take at the suggestion of a FPS-wargame-simulation.
Technologically, they're absolutely right. Even after playing
H&D I would agree that the machines are still simply not fast or
powerful enough to simulate realistically (in real-time) the
multitude of figures, vehicles, and events in even a simple
skirmish. But H&D proves that - within certain limits - it
is now possible to put players on a realistic battlefield, with
realistic opponents and make it work. It works very well, in
fact.
Graphically, the game is the clear
result of a great deal of hard work. The models of humans and
vehicles are detailed and accurate, and the textures throughout are
of extraordinarily high quality. Everything - from the signs
in a train station, to the transformers on the power poles, the
license plates on Kubelwagens - shows the attention to detail that
is important in making a reality-based simulation like this.
Apparently the engine is a custom written one, which begs the
question if such was needed? There are the occasional severe
clipping problems here & there, which would suggest that a
mature F/TPS engine (ala Half Life, etc) might have been a
preferable choice. As it is, you know Illusion spent a great
deal of time creating the engine that might have been better spent
elsewhere (although I shudder to think what they could have come up
with given MORE time to think about scenarios....). Of
course, granted that Illusion probably didn't have the initial cash
to outlay for licensing, then it becomes a little more
understandable, and hopefully to be fixed now that they've proved
their talent.
The 3d engine question
notwithstanding, Illusion has included a number of novel graphic
features that make the look "right". First,
trees - a notorious framerate-killer in all such games - are given a
novel treatment that allows them to look pretty realistic, yet play
speed isn't hit badly at all. This seemingly minor innovation
is disproportionately important: the sterile landscapes of most FPS
games are either unrealistically barren or players are forced to
fight always in canyons, grottoes, and buildings. In H&D
you will find yourself in actual forests. (And, you'll find
yourself hating them.) Secondly, the playing space is quite
large. The illusion of infinity is helped by vision haze, fog,
mist, rain and snowfall, all subtly preventing you from noticing the
finite environment. The benefit is that such a gradual
vision-limiting device makes it more realistic, not less. As I
inched forward with my sniper scope at max magnification, many were
the times that I'd see a vaguely human sized/shaped figure in the
gloom. Centering the crosshairs on the head, I'd be
rewarded with the slumping body of a sentry I wouldn't have to fight
later.
Ably assisting in this illusion of
reality, the audio for H&D is unparalleled. In the
demo/1st mission, you start in the midst of a downpour - it looks
and SOUNDS like a downpour, muting your footsteps and even gunshots
(thankfully, as the AI responds to audio cues as well as visual).
Vehicles sound like their real-life counterparts, weapons can be
identified (after some experience) by the sounds of their shots, and
you can even tell you're next to a power pole by the faint
electronic "humm." Truly, they have done an
exceptional job in their placing/planning ambient sounds.
Combine this with an orchestral soundtrack strongly reminiscent of
most WWII action movies and a dynamically applied score that changes
as action and danger-level rise and fall - without immediately
'giving away' that you are about to be ambushed, for example - and
you'll want to leave the headphones on your head for this one.
It's not just esthetics, either -
sound cues are critical to the play of the game. Make sure
your sound balance control is set correctly, as finding the location
of of a sniper can require the adept use of hearing as well as good
observational skills.
The interface for H&D is a weaker
point, pointing again to a crafted-from-scratch product that lacks a
lot of what have become "FPS interface" standards.
Certainly, the fundamentals are there and it's functional in its own
way, but some of the nuances are lacking or hidden by a clumsy
structure. For example, each mission allows you one (1)
saved game, so don't screw it up! Key configs can be
changed, but only from the opening menu screen - it's not accessible
from in the missions, so don't forget how you've re-mapped them.
The soldier selection screen forces you to go to a separate screen
to see the brief stats on each character, so you have to remember
"this guy's got the shooting skill, so I give the sniper weapon
to him." There is an "auto-equip" feature but I
strongly recommend against using it as it's priorities aren't very
clear. To restore a saved game - something you'll do A LOT
when learning to play - you'll find that it's not a simple matter:
you have to OUT to the opening menu, select the correct mission, the
correct scenario, and THEN select "load game." Whew.
I imagine that this sort of thing will be straightened out pretty
easily for the certain-to-follow H&D2, but it's tedious
nonetheless.
That said, there are distinct efforts
to make gameplay easier. First, the mission briefings (with
one distinct exception that I'm not going to spoil here) are
thorough, accurate, and helpful. Be warned, however - the
briefings are realistically based on intelligence which may be days
old. Always be prepared for variations from what you are told.
Second, as the mission commander, you are provided with a top-down
map of the mission area, allowing you to pre-plot movements and
activities for your troopers. (It's possible some people use
this effectively - as far as I'm concerned, the AI is far too
skilled to allow your troopers to move under their own steam...)
In the game, limited orders can be issued "Follow Me!, Stop!,
Fire!" and so forth. Typically, I ended up moving my team
members myself when playing alone, as their AI just didn't seem up
to snuff for the critical consequences of a wrong turn - invariably
a dead good guy and alerted enemies.
Beneath the surface there is also a
powerful AI engine managing your allies' actions. There is no
scripting here (or minimal scripting) - if you give a team member
the order to cross an open area, his responses are truly open-ended.
If he sees an enemy, he may engage them, take cover, or try to find
another route around him. Unfortunately, the enemy AI is just
as good or better. An errant shot will cause enemy
troops to go from "bored sentries walking routes" to
"alert defenders who will shoot first, ask questions
later". The enemy soldiers will, if shot at, even
frequently take cover and work their way to set up a clear
shot at you. Scary when you first encounter it (and, honestly,
subsequent times) this is much more robust and flexible behavior
from enemies than I've ever seen in any similar game.
And, when they shoot at you, you'd
better duck - because injuries are as realistically modeled as
possible. Neither your soldier nor the enemy's are iron-man
Rambo-types. Get shot in the arm or leg, and you'll gasp and
possibly fall prone. Shoot the enemy in the head, and it looks
(especially through the well-implemented sniper scope) like the
Zapruder film. Unfortunately, this is where the AI response
could be improved - it's common that long range sniper shots will be
fired from beyond a clear-hearing range. So you could sniper a
sentry, and his buddy 5 feet away would go to an "at
ready" pose, but otherwise not take any cover or action -
leading quickly to a second dead sentry. (Honestly, though, it
was rare that you had enough unmolested time to accomplish this
without some risk from patrols or other enemy snipers.)
Further, the AI seems reluctant to use grenades (despite every enemy
I've looted having at least a few) but this could be more a function
of difficulty level.
But any holes in the AI are made up
for by skilled scenario design. The scenarios here
significantly raise the acceptable standard for single player/co-op
multiplay. The variety of missions, situations, and goals are
equaled only by the magnificent implementation. Enemy soldiers
patrol realistic routes, and the settings are entirely credible.
Credible. That's a great word to describe H&D's missions.
They are entirely believable. It's neither laughably easy
(egad, not even nearly that!) nor insanely difficult.
Reinforcements don't "magically" appear to thwart your
well-thought plan. But it's not uncommon for your careful
approach to be revealed prematurely by a one- or two-man patrol.
It always pays to keep an eye out behind you as well as before.
Unfortunately Illusion are the only
ones who are going to be producing scenarios for this, as there is
no "level editor" nor "map/scenario editor"
included or planned. In my opinion, this is a huge mistake.
It is sad that while both the wargame/simulation community and the
FPS community have both recognized the necessity of editor
inclusion, the genre-busting crossover product omitted this key
feature. Clearly, the internet fans of games such as Railroad
Tycoon2, West Front, Half Life, and Quake have shown what a robust
and massive following will do to prolong and support a game.
How much 1999 revenue came from Doom, Quake1, Quake2 and their
derivatives (justifiably including Half-Life and TF2 in that...)?
Quake 2 is nearly 2 years old - ancient by computer game standards.
And RRT2, and WF are both still going very strong due to the easy
availability of fan-produced expansions, making the game nearly
infinitely replayable. I can't say it clearly enough - there
SHOULD have been an editor for H&D.
As I've said many times before, I
really like multiplayer best. I've lamented the gaming
industry's apparent departure from co-operative multiplay and am
very pleased to find it returning in H&D. Illusion
provides support for all basic multiplay methods (TCP/IP, IPX,
Modem) and I really enjoyed this. Cooperative multiplay
with other humans is amazing. Interestingly, I was trying to
describe for a new player that was joining us what exactly we
intended to do. After going into great detail about how
we'd planned to go about the mission, he stopped me and said
"You sound like we're going to do this in real life. I
mean, everything you've said sounds like a textbook on SWAT or
commando tactics, with no 'gamey' tactics like 'rocket jumping' or
'taking a few shots' here and there. This sounds like
reality." Which is about the best compliment I can
imagine a game receiving.
"Deathmatch" (a
free-for-all with guns) is NOT available, which I don't miss.
Team competitive play - for which this would be a natural candidate
with the Axis vs. Allies - I do miss. I think and hope that
they will include support for this (as well as logical scenarios
therefor) in expansions or H&D2.
The scenarios are none too easy, even
for 4 humans. While this increases the playability later
on for skilled players, there is not a great deal of difference
between "easy" and "hard". This makes
Hidden and Dangerous an extremely tough game to learn to play.
If you are a wargamer and used to having the time to contemplate
what you are doing, you will be overwhelmed. There's no
speed control, although you can pause the game. If you are an
FPS player, your habit of accepting a shot here & there in
pursuit of your goal WILL get you killed. Learning H&D
takes a good deal of patience. The first mission (available on
the demo) is a good learning experience, but I think the game would
have benefited by a "training course". Having the
opportunity to fire a bazooka and see how it behaves BEFORE your
life depends on it - would have been extremely valuable.
Accept the fact that you are going to be doing a lot of
save/restoring in the first few missions and you will be much
happier with your experience. If you need more help, there are
cheats
and several walkthroughs on the net.
Most importantly remember, if you can
kill them with one shot, they can do the same to you.
Finally, even the best game has a few
warts. For completeness sake, I should point out that it irked
me that:
- You can't turn your head and look
around on the ladder. H&D employs a good set of
controls for moving and firing, but once you're on the ladder,
you are locked into forward view only. Anyone who's played
the game will agree with me that there are a number of points
where this would have been REALLY useful.
- The inventory control - especially
considering rifling dead enemies - could be far better than the
linear system currently employed. For example, if you are
using an enemy MP44 submachine gun, you can't really take the
ammo from a dead enemy - you can only take the weapon AND ammo,
which you don't always have room for.
- I like the feature that severely
wounded teammates will sometimes succumb to their injuries at
the end of a mission. I DON'T like the fact that none of
these commandos knows any first aid at all, and that when your
buddy decides to expire he also disappears with whatever he's
carrying - which stinks when he happens to be carrying the last
remaining bazooka. Can't take it with you, indeed!
These are pretty minor quibbles in
the face of what is an extraordinarily good game. Hidden and
Dangerous is a fantastic game that blends the careful strategic
thought of a wargame, the realism of a simulation, and the intense
excitement of a first-person shooter and wraps it all with an
entertaining, intriguing, and enjoyable storyline. Always
remember: if you can kill them with one shot, they can do the same
to you.
If
you like to comment on this review, please post a message at the forum.
Reviewed by Steve
Lieb
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