Hidden and Dangerous Hands-On

What impressed me most about this Hidden and Dangerous build was the amount of micromanagement that went into the construction of the combat unit. Though the unit was a bit daunting (given the fact that I felt guilty about letting the machine do it for me), I managed to drive much satisfaction from piecing together what I perceived to be a tight, flawless killing machine.

I managed to assemble a group of soldiers that excelled in the characteristics relevant to the mission and outfitted them with the essential gear, which took up a good 30 minutes' worth of my evening. The interface used to actually equip the individual soldiers, though, seemed a bit clunky, but as mentioned, the whole process can be designated to the computer, so your amount of association with it depends on your level of masochism.

Once the action begins, however, things seem a bit sketchy. Foremost, the game moves fairly choppy at this stage, especially when you're in a non-static environment (on a boat or in a field where it's snowing). The models and environments are satisfying enough, though an increased frame rate would greatly help.

The act of issuing orders to your squad is something, at best, that takes some getting used to. Complicated button/controller combos are required for most actions (except for moving, strafing, crouching, and shooting), which leaves me with the impression that the DC's pad is far from the ideal mode of controlling such a game. While I appreciate the depth of tactical combat simulators, they're best reserved for platforms with keyboards. Only if Talsonsoft implements keyboard support could Hidden and Dangerous be truly realized on the Dreamcast. There are just too many contortions required to make the experience worthwhile with a control pad.

At its core, though, there seems to be a complex, detailed game rife with the tight tension you'd expect. Budding tacticians take notice: If more enlightened modes of control are provided, the micromanagement and use of the tactical map will definitely warrant your attention.