Posted this elsewhere, but I thought my RO comrades wouldn't mind a read
Hidden and Dangerous 2 is a 'stealth action squad based' game. You can control up to 4 squad members at a time during a mission. Each squad member has their own stats such as Strength (ability to carry more) First aid (Depends on how well the soldier can heal himself and others) and Lockpicking, plus more.
I tried the title's predecessor Hidden and Dangerous : Deluxe which is free to download now, and I can honestly say I thought it was a bit overwhelming and unfriendly to newbs. I though i'd try the H&D2 demo just for the sake of it, and lo and behold I was amazingly surprised by the demo level which was a brilliant urban level set in Normandy.
Being a Brit it's refreshing to see a WWII game with British soldiers being the main stars rather than their American allies. Creating a squad reminded me of worms, You can choose a soldier (with unique stats) and name them to anything, so you can create a squad of friends, famous soldiers, celebrities, anything, which is quite fun in game.
Before a mission, you can select load outs, how much ammo, what gun, what equipment, uniforms and headwear. This adds interesting depth and effects you depending on how much weight you are carrying, you can be a Strong soldier donning a BAR with lots of ammo, or a quick stealthy sniper who slips away into the night.
Mission wise I thought they were quite varied. I'm not usually a fan of stealth games (Apart from MGS), (Why is the game over if I trip an alarm?), but H&D2 was a good solid game. Missions vary from sneaking into a complex to take pictures, urban war-fare, long distance operations. You even have a bootcamp before the main campaign, which features great British slang by your drill instructors, I'll av your guts for garters. When ever I finish the firing round I always laugh at the conversation the two Drill instructors have when you complete it, "This wuns pritty gud Craig", It just reeks of class .
Soldier movement is very polished,
You have 4 'movement modes'
Sneak: Very slow movement
Walk: Standard walk
Run: A light jog
Sprint:A burst sprint
You can change modes by simply rolling the mousewheel which feels very fluent while ingame. You can also scale small objects, rather like Mafia, or San Andreas. It's hard to explain in words, but It just feels very fluent, flowing and....good!
Weapon variation throughout the game is nice, you've got all your standard WWII weapons, plus less common ones like The De Lisle carbine which is like a silenced rifle, or the Czech ZB machine gun which you can salvage on the field.
Gameplay wise, this game is quite realistic for a commercial release, most shots are one, two, or three hits to kill, depending on calibre also. Wall penentration is also featured, which surprised me too. If the enemy gets a shot in before you, it could be your end, or at least a big chunk of health, so having good situational awareness is key. Enemies aren't just cannon fodder and stand out, They'll usually be posted somewhere strategic, or come out of nowhere because you didn't see them patrolling and they've got you by surprise. Be on your guard, or one of your men might be killed
Game environments are quite interactive too, which is another nice touch for once. Fences can be cut with wire cutters, alarms can be sounded/turned off to confuse the enemy, helmets can be shot off , You can access the enemies inventory once killed and take their stuff (Take back a German helmet for your son), you can even make some enemies surrender usually by shooting their weapon out of their hand, they'll cower and you can tie them up and they'll be captured. You could even steal their uniform and weapon and pose as them!
Graphically the game is good, The game was released in October 2003 so it's quite old. The engine is the LS3D engine, so the game looks similar to Vietcong and MAFIA. I like the LS3D engine, the textures aren't high res per se, but they just look good, I can't quite put my finger on it. Ragdolls are in, explosions and some nice player and NPC models.
Audio is really neat, voice acting is great, with some classy sounding Brits which is always a standard in WWII games, "Youuuuuu blooody fooool".
Guns sound distinctive, not sure if they're realistic, but definately not poor weapon sounds thats for sure. Overall very very nice.
Multiplayer is also very solid which is yet another surprise. The realism factors of the game carry over into Multiplayer, so no stupid cone of fires or low damage. MP modes are Deathmatch, 'Objective' (Kind of like a single player re-creation, one team has to do such and such, while the over team prevents them) 'Occupation' which is basically Flag based gameplay, and with the games Expansion pack Sabre Squadron the introduction of COOP GAMEPLAY is included, which is a god send. Again character creation and weapon loadouts are in force, so you can create your ideal soldier and manage your gear, I'm usually a medic. I choose the guy with the highest first aid course, load myself up with med kits and nothing more (less weight = faster running. I'll be unarmed which sounds stupid, but sometimes I don't get shot by the enemy which is surprising. I go around healing team mates and being a team player.
That's all I'll say for now, I made this because each time I re-install it hits me how great the game is, it's really dissapointing to see how under-rated this game is, and maybe I can give the gift of H&D2 to other people who haven't heard of it.
As I said at the beginning , I didn't like H&D: Deluxe because it just felt like you were dumped in game, without knowing what to do. Something about a bridge , and germans shooting at you.
But I was blown away by the Demo of H&D2, and went out and bought the game. And i'm still impressed by it today. I think it's one of the best WWII shooters out there, and still not many people have played it, or even HEARD of the game, which is a real real shame, beacause it is a true treasure to the WWII fan!
Gameplay [9/10]
Audio [8.5/10]
Graphics [8/10]
Features + Interactivity [9/10]
Multiplayer Aspect [8.5/10]
Replayability [9/10] (For some reason I don't get bored replaying the missions)
Overall [9/10]
Useful Links
H&D2 SP Demo:
http://www.gamershell.com/download_5073.shtml
(Should be the Normandy level. Ace mission!)
H&D2 Site
http://www.globalstarsoftware.com/hd2/indexFlash.html
Hidden and Dangerous 2 is a 'stealth action squad based' game. You can control up to 4 squad members at a time during a mission. Each squad member has their own stats such as Strength (ability to carry more) First aid (Depends on how well the soldier can heal himself and others) and Lockpicking, plus more.
I tried the title's predecessor Hidden and Dangerous : Deluxe which is free to download now, and I can honestly say I thought it was a bit overwhelming and unfriendly to newbs. I though i'd try the H&D2 demo just for the sake of it, and lo and behold I was amazingly surprised by the demo level which was a brilliant urban level set in Normandy.
Being a Brit it's refreshing to see a WWII game with British soldiers being the main stars rather than their American allies. Creating a squad reminded me of worms, You can choose a soldier (with unique stats) and name them to anything, so you can create a squad of friends, famous soldiers, celebrities, anything, which is quite fun in game.
Before a mission, you can select load outs, how much ammo, what gun, what equipment, uniforms and headwear. This adds interesting depth and effects you depending on how much weight you are carrying, you can be a Strong soldier donning a BAR with lots of ammo, or a quick stealthy sniper who slips away into the night.
Mission wise I thought they were quite varied. I'm not usually a fan of stealth games (Apart from MGS), (Why is the game over if I trip an alarm?), but H&D2 was a good solid game. Missions vary from sneaking into a complex to take pictures, urban war-fare, long distance operations. You even have a bootcamp before the main campaign, which features great British slang by your drill instructors, I'll av your guts for garters. When ever I finish the firing round I always laugh at the conversation the two Drill instructors have when you complete it, "This wuns pritty gud Craig", It just reeks of class .
Soldier movement is very polished,
You have 4 'movement modes'
Sneak: Very slow movement
Walk: Standard walk
Run: A light jog
Sprint:A burst sprint
You can change modes by simply rolling the mousewheel which feels very fluent while ingame. You can also scale small objects, rather like Mafia, or San Andreas. It's hard to explain in words, but It just feels very fluent, flowing and....good!
Weapon variation throughout the game is nice, you've got all your standard WWII weapons, plus less common ones like The De Lisle carbine which is like a silenced rifle, or the Czech ZB machine gun which you can salvage on the field.
Gameplay wise, this game is quite realistic for a commercial release, most shots are one, two, or three hits to kill, depending on calibre also. Wall penentration is also featured, which surprised me too. If the enemy gets a shot in before you, it could be your end, or at least a big chunk of health, so having good situational awareness is key. Enemies aren't just cannon fodder and stand out, They'll usually be posted somewhere strategic, or come out of nowhere because you didn't see them patrolling and they've got you by surprise. Be on your guard, or one of your men might be killed
Game environments are quite interactive too, which is another nice touch for once. Fences can be cut with wire cutters, alarms can be sounded/turned off to confuse the enemy, helmets can be shot off , You can access the enemies inventory once killed and take their stuff (Take back a German helmet for your son), you can even make some enemies surrender usually by shooting their weapon out of their hand, they'll cower and you can tie them up and they'll be captured. You could even steal their uniform and weapon and pose as them!
Graphically the game is good, The game was released in October 2003 so it's quite old. The engine is the LS3D engine, so the game looks similar to Vietcong and MAFIA. I like the LS3D engine, the textures aren't high res per se, but they just look good, I can't quite put my finger on it. Ragdolls are in, explosions and some nice player and NPC models.
Audio is really neat, voice acting is great, with some classy sounding Brits which is always a standard in WWII games, "Youuuuuu blooody fooool".
Guns sound distinctive, not sure if they're realistic, but definately not poor weapon sounds thats for sure. Overall very very nice.
Multiplayer is also very solid which is yet another surprise. The realism factors of the game carry over into Multiplayer, so no stupid cone of fires or low damage. MP modes are Deathmatch, 'Objective' (Kind of like a single player re-creation, one team has to do such and such, while the over team prevents them) 'Occupation' which is basically Flag based gameplay, and with the games Expansion pack Sabre Squadron the introduction of COOP GAMEPLAY is included, which is a god send. Again character creation and weapon loadouts are in force, so you can create your ideal soldier and manage your gear, I'm usually a medic. I choose the guy with the highest first aid course, load myself up with med kits and nothing more (less weight = faster running. I'll be unarmed which sounds stupid, but sometimes I don't get shot by the enemy which is surprising. I go around healing team mates and being a team player.
That's all I'll say for now, I made this because each time I re-install it hits me how great the game is, it's really dissapointing to see how under-rated this game is, and maybe I can give the gift of H&D2 to other people who haven't heard of it.
As I said at the beginning , I didn't like H&D: Deluxe because it just felt like you were dumped in game, without knowing what to do. Something about a bridge , and germans shooting at you.
But I was blown away by the Demo of H&D2, and went out and bought the game. And i'm still impressed by it today. I think it's one of the best WWII shooters out there, and still not many people have played it, or even HEARD of the game, which is a real real shame, beacause it is a true treasure to the WWII fan!
Gameplay [9/10]
Audio [8.5/10]
Graphics [8/10]
Features + Interactivity [9/10]
Multiplayer Aspect [8.5/10]
Replayability [9/10] (For some reason I don't get bored replaying the missions)
Overall [9/10]
Useful Links
H&D2 SP Demo:
http://www.gamershell.com/download_5073.shtml
(Should be the Normandy level. Ace mission!)
H&D2 Site
http://www.globalstarsoftware.com/hd2/indexFlash.html