When the title of this opinion is applied to Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia, most of us would probably wish to be anywhere but there. However, in Autumn of 1993, several detachments of the United States Army were there – engaged in ‘Operation Restore Hope’. This game takes you there, and plants you right in the middle of the conflict. Many of us will be aware of what transpired that Autumn in 1993; mostly, I would think, because of the film of the same name as this PC game. In particular, many of us will be aware of the events that transpired on 3rd October 1993 – namely “Irene”. Whilst this latest iteration in the ‘Delta Force’ series of games, from software house ‘Novalogic’, is and makes no attempt to be historically accurate, it certainly isn’t your average PC game. Read on to find out why…
FIRST IMPRESSIONS *******************
The game comes in a DVD-style case, with a vivid combat scene comprising the front cover. Turning the case over, we begin to get an idea of the premise of the game – we’ll be assuming the role of a Special Forces soldier during the ten-month campaign in 1993 in Somalia. Great stuff. Technical requirements are clearly printed on the back – I know exactly what sort of game I’m purchasing, and the pertinent information about the game is displayed in a clear and concise way. Inside the case, we find a single CD-ROM, a handy keyboard overlay, and the game manual – which, with its crimson border and ‘pencil effect’ graphic on the front, looks more like a collector’s booklet or some sort of news pamphlet than it does an instruction manual! Upon opening the booklet, I find I’m not assailed straight away with technical information – instead, there is a quote from one of the soldiers who served in Somalia as part of ‘Task Force Ranger’ in 1993. Reading on, sure enough, we are given the installation instructions, and – something which I found peculiar at first - a history lesson detailing events leading up to the United Nations effort in Somalia, the arrival of ‘Task Force Ranger’ and so on. There is even a reasonably detailed map of Somalia in there. Now this might seem like an odd insertion into a game manual – but this is the story; the background of
the game in which you’ll be playing, and its purpose is, I believe, to immerse you in the story, and to give you an idea that the game you’re playing was certainly not a game in 1993 – it was all too real. In addition, we are given details of the various weapons available for use, together with some of their strengths and weaknesses – again, historically and technically accurate. So now we delve into the game proper….
GAMEPLAY ***********
The opening credits are impressive -: a full-motion video sequence, with audio commentary, of the salient points leading up to the deployment of Task Force Ranger. Then we lead into the main menu – we have the option to set up controls, initiate multiplayer or dive into single player. I’m going to be concentrating on the Single Player ‘Campaign’ mode in this opinion, with only a brief nod to the multiplayer aspect. Initially, there are no ‘Single Mission’ options available – these are added when you complete the mission in the ‘Campaign’ mode. The missions are listed in a chronological order; initially you can choose the order in which you play them. The game is a First-Person Shooter – or ‘FPS’, as they’re known. This means that the player ‘sees’ the game world through the eyes of the character he/she is in control of. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the features of the game…
Whilst this is not a tactical shooter in the vein of ‘Rainbow Six’ et al, it does have some simple squad-based elements – these add a new dimension to the game, although it feels like these elements have been added for novelty value only at times. Whilst Novalogic have tried hard to immerse the player in the historical events surrounding the conflict, the game plays more like an arcade-shooter than it does anything else. Not that Novalogic have tried to steer this in any other direction – by the game’s own admission, several of the missions are purely fictitious. This only serves to keep the pace of the game just right, whist staying true to the ethos of the ‘Delta Force’ game series.
Veterans of the series will be aware of several major flaws that the previous games have suffered from – in particular, poor Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence, when referred to here, refers to the in-game programming which controls the behaviour of your enemies / squadmates, how they react to certain situations and to the player). I’m pleased to say that this has been addressed in ‘Black Hawk Down’.
Well, sort of.
Whilst the enemies do react in a manner more suitable than they have done in previous games, you still find the occasional character who can’t seem to hit the broad side of a barn door with his weapon. This can result in some Johnny Rambo ‘stylee’ rampages on the player’s part, not exactly in keeping with the game and to be honest, breaking up the atmosphere of tension that the game tries to create. Fortunately, thought, these are few and far between. On the whole, the enemies behave with reasonable intelligence. Alas the same cannot be said for your squadmates, who will often, after following you in formation, suddenly decide to push you out from cover where you’re hiding, straight into a hail of fire from the enemy. At times, I was sorely tempted to shoot my own men!
That aside, the gaming experience is actually very good. We are suitably drawn into the game world, and ‘Black Hawk Down’ succeeds at creating an excellent atmosphere. There is enough variety, in terms of the missions and their objectives, as well as terrain, weapons and other detail, to keep the player entertained. The player is given relative freedom in how to complete the mission; so you can choose a direct assault, for example, or a more stealthy approach. Thankfully, though, and unlike previous ‘Delta Force’ games, you cannot simply take the sniper rifle and sit on the highest hill, picking off the enemy.
Make no mistake, this is no ‘run and gun’ game – but in terms of gameplay, ‘Rainbow Six’ it ain’t.
GRAPHICS **********
The visuals are excellent – and so they should be, given the high system specification required to play the game. Still, we are rewarded with crisp detailing, and some very nice touches including dust-swirls from low-flying helicopters. Weapon models look good, and the ‘scope view’ – where you can look down the sights of your weapon for better accuracy – adds a nifty new dimension to the game. Explosions look suitably meaty, with burning tyres flying away from destroyed vehicles, and the thrill of watching a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) narrowly miss your head – these touches take the experience one step beyond. Gone too, are the amateur dramatic style deaths that plagued the others in the ‘Delta Force’ series – it appears that the enemies will die in a certain way (!) depending on where they have been shot. The game environment is excellent; there is sufficient variety to keep the player amused – ranging from green fields and small villages, to bombed-out towns and narrow back-streets. All this is great eye-candy, and makes for an even more complete gaming experience.
SOUND *******
Surprisingly, the sound in the game isn’t bad at all. Firearms chatter and sound suitably beefy; indeed, when creeping through towns, you can sometimes hear the din of gunfire and shouting. The enemy voices are a little limited; and as for your squadmates voices….well, let’s just say that they sound like rejects from some sort of ‘John Wayne’ western! The music accompanying the opening menu is suitably African, with those eerie, chanting sounds lilting through your speakers. In-game music isn’t too bad – it can irritate at times, especially when it tries to keep up with the action. For example, when going into a combat situation, the tempo of the music goes up a gear – although sometimes before any action has begun, giving you somewhat of a clue that there may be bad guys round the corner!
SUMMARY **********
We all know (or probably realise) that gameplay is a key aspect when deciding whether or not to part with your hard-earned cash for a computer game. I’m pleased to say that I wasn’t disappointed with ‘Delta Force – Black Hawk Down’ in terms of how it looks, plays, sounds, and how all these different aspects form a whole. If you have been at all swayed by my opinion, then there’s one key aspect you should know – the single player campaign will take all of about 90 minutes to complete.
Yes, 90 minutes.
In fairness, there is the multiplayer, and you can replay the missions and explore different scenarios – for example, you can alter your weapon loadout or the method in which you execute the mission. But even so, with an RRP of Ģ29.99, is it really worth it…?
My personal opinion – yes it is.
FINAL THOUGHTS *****************
Inevitably, comparisons will be drawn between the 2001 movie ‘Black Hawk Down’ and this game. There is no doubt that watching the movie will ‘fire you up’ to play the game, and Novalogic did the sensible thing, allowing the player to participate in key elements of ‘Irene’ – the operation the movie was based on. But this game can stand alone as being an excellent form of entertainment, and that’s the way it should be, and to be honest, it was my biggest fear that this game would try and ride off the back of the movie. This game is 90% great fun, and 10% frustration – there are points in the game where sheer luck seems to be the only effective strategy. Some missions involve simply memorising the locations of snipers whilst progressing from A to B (although not in the same realms of frustration as ‘Medal of Honor – Allied Assault’ and the infamous ‘Sniper’s Last Stand’ level). There is also a bizarre mission which attempts to imitate the Omaha beach landing level in ‘Medal of Honor’ – for me, this didn’t work well; I found it spoiled much of the effect. Novalogic say that this game is a tribute to those soldiers who died between February and October 1993 in Somalia – tribute or not, to be honest, this is a step in the right direction for Novalogic and their ‘Delta Force’ games.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
i gave it a "helpful" rating, why?
Well, you rated the gameplay and graphics etc good, but you mentioned multiplayer...once? If a game has multiplayer, then rate it.
Upon reading this review, you told me how the game was, which was informative. BUT.
I also wanted to know about the multiplayer such as,
Servers - Do they lag? How many people can play on 1 server?
Hacks - Have you seen anyone hack/cheat in the game?
Modes - Deathmatch? team deathmatch?
Other then that, good review.
gaifboy 20.02.2006 22:09
I donīt know what you are talking about. This game is not that good and it has very low graphics!
Advantages: A blast to play and the included level editor offers quite a bit of replay value; good graphics and great use of sound effects; provides the feel of the "you are there" aspect well. Disadvantages: Too short; instances of poor framerates; aggravatingly difficult at times; AI.
Advantages: Extremely realistic, excelent graphics and gameplay, single player provides endless fun, let alone the multiplayer- online experience! Disadvantages: For best gameplay you need a high spec PC and at least a DSL internet connection for multiplayer
Aug 27th, 2003
very helpful by (94%):
helpful by (6%):
