+ Realistic / myriad of difficulty options / open world / excellent coop mode
- Needs more varied landscapes / missions tends to repeat itself over a period of time / M4 overpowered by a long shot
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), or better known as Delta Force, is a Special Operation Force that was assembled in 1977. Specialised in, but not limited to, hostage rescues, raids and counter-terrorism, this group is highly classified in its size and members, can form a great premise for a computer game. Developers and publishes NovaLogic took this on board and released Delta Force. Famed for its proprietary Voxel Space engine, the game certainly made an impact as the battle grounds were vast, the game play intense and because it was advertised as game play over graphics, they certainly done exactly that. And to top things off, it even has a terrific online / coop mode which boost the replayability for this brilliant game. All of these set itself apart from the myriad of other FPS games that made it memorable and enjoyable.
To start things off, there are five tour of duties all involving either capturing, destroying or even saving fellow Delta Force members from the clutches of fanatics. The five locations are Peru, Chad, Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Novaya Zemlya. Depending upon the location, it can range from six to ten missions to complete that country. Also each one can be done in any order so giving the player total flexibility. In addition to this, you can choose a portrait and even allows female characters. All keyboard controls are fully customised and you can play either first / third person view and even, if you wish, allow to see your weapon and target crosshair. So, as you can see, the game already distance itself from other FPS by having many options to choose from.
Using its famed Voxel Engine, visually it does look like a pixelated mess. Yet it’s not too bad as all the items, locales are recognisable however it does have some flaws like, if you get close to, say a wall, the wall seems to bend, almost like a wave effect. Yet I usually view this as ‘intense heat’ however playing through Novaya Zemlya doesn’t seem to foot the bill. Also all the weapons seems to look like a jpeg image planted on the screen with absolutely no movement, not even the hand. Yet the weapons does have a reload feature which was rare during its time as most allows you carrying an extraordinary amount of ammo with zero reload. All the landscapes are pretty bland to look at save for Indonesia as it has water (yes it’s a wonderful sight to see) and all uses the same textures yet the colours are different to indicate the locale (e.g. Novaya Zemlya is mainly white and Peru brown).
Yet the game’s advertisement did say game play over graphics and thankfully, it stayed true to their word. Coming back to graphics, some features that added realism was the clouds do move across the sky and the battle ground is open world – meaning you can take on whatever approach your heart desires. This is where the game truly shines as it forces you to be more tactical as your character is no barbarian – meaning it only can take a couple of shots before keeling. I have played this on hard (as there are four level of difficulty) and I know that my guy can only take two bullet shots before dying. Now imagine being fired by a semi-automatic, that’s a very quick death so other words, you cannot afford to get shot – period.
And to add further to this realism, there is no save option during any missions so you are forced to think ahead before firing as this will alert the entire pack. Yet, because of this open world notation, terrain will be your best friend. Flat lands is your worst enemy as you cannot hide however lying prone can assist somewhat. I remember that if I see a ditch, it’s like heaven on a stick and I keep on imagining it as my only safe haven as hearing a flail of bullets overhead, you really don’t want to leave it. Also running to one has to be one of the most heart pounding moments, especially when dodging through a hail of bullets. Only one issue here is that you can fall from any heights without taking any damage.
Before any mission, you will be greeted with a detailed explanation for the selected mission and recommended load out. The recommended load out gives you a good feel of what’s to come however I don’t usually select it. Why that is is because, even though there are five primary weapons to choose from ranging from submachine gun to the saw and sniper rifle, I always opt for the M4 as it has a decent scope (4x), grenade launcher and most importantly, a large ammo count. Note you can only choose one primary and one sidearm. The secondary weapons will range from charges to LAW (light antitank weapon) to double ammo load. Of course I take the double ammo load as, even though some missions requires destroying something, the M4 grenade launcher does the trick.
The AI is not exactly the clever bunch however it’s pretty rare you do have great AI during its time. Coming to think of it, only Half Life has decent AI so I cannot argue too much against it. Starting with the enemies, they are a sorry bunch as they normally stay put however the patrols will run about but in a set pattern. Some you even see the patrols run past you literally so it’s an easy kill. However the game plays on strength-in-numbers and there’s plenty of enemy AI about. Remember that you can only take two shots (on hard) before starting all over again so it’s not easy as it seems. In addition, if you select the default GPS, you only see the stationary enemy AI so the patrols are ‘invisible’ to the GPS, even when spotted by you.
Your AI team mates are nothing more than kamikaze freaks and will rush in the moment it triggers the event. What triggers any event is by the waypoints described during your mission brief. Don’t pass the waypoint equal stationary friendly AI, even though the enemy is only ten meters away from them. Your fellow team mates will just sit there admiring the scenery. Also being an open-world, meaning you can take on whatever path you choose, there’s a very good chance that your team mates will never move period. However not to fret as they do die pretty quickly regardless. Other words, don’t rely on them, period. If they kill one or two, good on them however go solo fox and scan for height / ditches as they are your best friend.
If you are getting tired of single player, there’s a myriad of multiplayer options to choose from. Ranging from ye ole death match to capture the flag, others like King of the Hill where you need to hold a certain point for a period of time adds a little more variety than the norm. However my favourite is the coop mode as you can team up with your friends to play any single player map. So finally your fellow AI Delta Force mates are not triggered by waypoints…well that’s debatable. In all seriousness, its awesome fun as adjusting your GPS to only show friendlies, turn on friendly fire and pump the difficulty to realism, you got one hell of an intense ride. This, my friend is how Delta Force should be played as it requires superior team work, regardless how incompetent the enemy AI is.
NovaLogic’s Delta Force broke the FPS boundary in so many ways that made this game gain a foothold in the ever so crowded FPS genre. Starting with completing missions anyway you like to the delightful coop mode, gone is the lone warrior that can carry a truck load of guns / ammo and in comes tactics and patience. Granted this game is not for everyone, especially to those trigger happy chaps however NovaLogic advertised this game as ‘gameplay over graphics’ and not only they achieved that, it also excels it in many other areas as explained above. Intense and tactical, it’s a must play and even better if you tag along with friends.
8.5 / 10