Day Four
Hidden and Dangerous (264Mb)
Just check out the images from the link below to see how fantastic this single player first person shooter is; especially for free:
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=hidden+%25+dangerous+deluxe&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
You can download the game from:
http://www.gamershell.com/download_3644.shtml
You can also get update patches as well as modifications and other miscellaneous files for this game from
http://www.hidden-and-dangerous.net/hd/files.php
There’s a site dedicated to the hidden and dangerous game, which also includes hidden and dangerous 2 an even better version of today’s free game, though you’ll have to pay around $10 from the bargain bins of computer games shops to get Hidden & Dangerous 2. You can download patches for today’s free game by following the third link above.
Both games are dated by today’s standards, but Hidden and Dangerous Deluxe remains an excellent First Person Shooter, which is worth downloading, especially if you don’t have any from this genre. It was actually one of the first FPS games I ever bought when it was first released in 1999, though it was the original version. This abandon ware version was an updated version from the original release, which has improved graphics. Just look at the screenshots via the first link above to see how cool this game is, especially for the size of the download. It was made abandon ware a few years ago shortly after Hidden and Dangerous 2 was released. Both games rely a lot on strategy, unlike many of today’s FPS games which are basically run and gun games, so I hope you’ll enjoy this game. As it is more graphic intensive than most game I’ll be posting here I thought I’d add the required specifications, though it’s unlikely anyone will have problems running it:
Minimum specifications:
Win 95 or 98 (You may have to play the game in compatibility mode, though last time I installed it I can’t remember having problems running it on XP.
CPU 133MHz
Graphics Memory 4Mb (All computers built in the last 10 years should have a 4Mb graphics chip onboard the motherboard.
If you get stuck at any point in the game a good place to go is the H&D forums which can be reached by following the link below. The game also includes an editor for making new missions; so hopefully if you peruse the forums you may find new missions to download for free (though I’ve not bothered checking out the forums fully as I’ve never had problems playing the game and as I have most FPS games released these days, I’m not bothered about custom missions).
http://www.hidden-and-dangerous.net/board/index.php?PHPSESSID=671528c2a47da5fa7e05b58d1e66345f&board=28.0
Reviews:
Hidden & Dangerous for those that don't know is about the beginning of the SAS during world war 2, you control a four-man squad of soldiers. It is a 3rd person/1st person, tactical action game. The mix of both tactical action and strategy is a must use in Hidden & Dangerous, you can't just pop out and start shooting anything and everything in your way. Some missions you must use 100% strategy and some but very few you can just force your way through by spraying bullets all over the place.
The game has 23 missions in total spread over 6 campaigns set throughout Italy, Germany, Norway and many other countries. Mission objectives vary from rescuing hostages, to capturing german officers and from blowing up bridges, to stealing an enigma coding machine.
Once you start playing Hidden & Dangerous you are hooked straight away. This amazing game sucks you in and doesn't let go. When I first played Hidden & Dangerous I was use to 1st person shooters not 3rd/1st person tactical action games. So I tried to run out thinking I was the man shooter my gun only to suddenly realise I could only take 4 hits, not 104. There was also no extra health just laying around the place waiting to be picked up. You have to study the levels, guard patrol points and the general surroundings before you make your move to kill.
Detailed briefings before each mission as well as a in-game strategy map really make Hidden & Dangerous shine. The mission briefings show you what you have to do and give you tips on how to do it then in game you can use the strategic map to get the job done.
One of the most outstanding points about Hidden & Dangerous is the amazing level environments. The weather effects, the lighting and the sounds all work extremely well together to bring you an animated yet very realistic feel to the game. Hidden & Dangerous has one of the best gaming atmospheres I have ever played in. This is the main reason people get hooked by this game and continue to play it.
The AI in Hidden & Dangerous is a little dated compared to games today but is still very good. Some enemies when they spot you will stay in their current position and fire at you. Others will chase you down and make sure they get you good. When you fire at an enemy he will most probably duck down and try to avoid your fire then return with his own. Different soldiers have different weapons as well as different skills, so watch out!
The graphics in Hidden & Dangerous seem to have a style of their own. It's the most realistic looking game but that's a good thing because after all it's just a game. The game has a animated but realistic feel to it, I used the same definition before under gameplay. What I mean by 'animated but realistic feel' is that you can tell its of course a game but everything is done well that you know what it's suppose to be. Sure some of the levels and objects are a little bit blocky and maybe a bit basic in design but it all works well together.
From the classic start menu music to the Germans screaming "englander" at you. Hidden & Dangerous has by far some of the best sound effects I have heard. The best effects are the weather sound effects. Although some of the weapon sounds are a bit disappointing as well as some vehicle sounds but the environmental sounds just blow me away.
Well the summary is Hidden & Dangerous is a classic game. Still today in 2004, five years after the game was released still manages to score well in top 100 gaming lists all over the world. If you don't have a copy of this classic game I strongly suggest you get one. I agree this game isn't for everyone but those who grasp the gameplay will end up being a fanatic.
Reference: http://www.hidden-and-dangerous.net/hd/review.php accessed 12th September 08
And the following review written after the original game was released:
Hidden & Dangerous represents the new breed of realistic squad-based action games, which demand shooter-style reflexes only in short controlled bursts and only during those dangerous moments when the enemy is actually in sight. Otherwise, high tension and anticipation dominate gameplay, as you carefully edge your way through enemy territory, hoping you aren't detected en route. In Hidden & Dangerous in particular, you'll edge your way through all kinds of German-occupied territory during World War II, commanding up to four soldiers to get in, clear up, and get out of situations that would be completely overwhelming if not for the element of surprise on your side. The game looks good and feels convincing, and although it's unstable and flawed and otherwise every bit as difficult as you would expect, Hidden & Dangerous is nonetheless an impressive and uniquely serious depiction of squad-level combat behind enemy lines.
They couldn't have thought too hard in naming the Insanity graphics engine that powers Hidden & Dangerous, but the developers at Illusion Softworks must have put a lot of time into making it look good. Almost all the nearly two dozen missions in the game are completely different and take place during all kinds of weather conditions during all hours of the day and even on different terrain, from midair to the high seas. You can play from either a third- or first-person perspective, with the former being better suited to maneuvering, while the latter is ideal for targeting, and the game looks good either way. There's a lot of visual variety in Hidden & Dangerous as well, though none of it is too detailed if you stop and stare. Your troops and the enemy, while blocky-looking at times, are finely articulated with realistic motion-captured animation and clearly discernible weapons. Though those weapons sound a little weak, the game's thunderous explosions and other ambient effects, not to mention its booming orchestral soundtrack that responds to the action onscreen, all help to make the game's environments totally convincing. And you'll feel the tension every time you put an unassuming grunt in your sights.
While your reflexes will make all the difference when you square off against the enemy, you'll never even have a chance to test them unless you plan your every step and navigate carefully and slowly. Most every German soldier you'll face has keen vision and incredible marksmanship to match, meaning if he sees you before you see him, you're dead. Of course you'll have three men remaining with whom to accomplish the mission, but you'll probably end up retrying every encounter until all your troops make it home. In order to survive, you need to inch your way forward, keeping out of sight, using binoculars or a sniper scope to make sure the coast is clear. You must be ready to dispatch any guards or patrols quickly, and you must make sure your own snipers have submachine-gun backup in the event of a close encounter. You can also coordinate more complicated maneuvers thanks to an overhead tactical map that lets you sequence simultaneous actions as though you were composing music, but this coordination demands a lot of practice.
Even if you take every precaution, Hidden & Dangerous still demands trial and error. You'll witness your men get gunned down mercilessly time after time, but once you know where the threat is coming from (the camera conveniently zooms to your soldier's killer), you'll stand a better chance of circumventing disaster the next time around. Then again, being able to aim well and shoot first and survive is only half the problem. Before each mission and campaign in Hidden & Dangerous, you need to select your team and their equipment. The idea, apparently, is for you to anticipate the obstacles you'll face and to deploy and pack accordingly, but the execution of this planning phase isn't much fun. Of the three dozen-odd soldiers at your disposal, only a few excel at marksmanship, reaction time, or stealth. Once you realize troops with high shooting scores are perfect snipers while those with good reactions make ideal backup, you'll find yourself using the same soldiers again and again. It doesn't help matters that all your soldiers basically look and sound identical.
Outfitting your team with equipment is an especially cumbersome affair, as the game's completely counterintuitive interface forces you to transfer items and ammo to your men individually and with far too many mouse clicks. In fact, this clunky interface invades the entire game, and you'll feel it worst when you realize it takes about five steps to load a saved game, whereas it ought to take one. Although the game does offer an option for the computer to outfit your squad for you automatically, it may just as well be a self-destruct button since this so-called feature results in a game crash more often than not.
That the computer-assisted equipment selection is broken is the first evidence that much is amiss with Hidden & Dangerous, whose technical flaws are manifest in countless ways. There's little question, for instance, that the game's artificial intelligence has serious problems. Setting point-A-to-point-B waypoints for your troops oftentimes results in their frolicking all about the map as though it were a Family Circus cartoon rather than a Nazi internment camp. Although enemy soldiers are preposterously and unreasonably accurate, they're dumb as rocks otherwise and ignore their dead and fail to work together to stop you. They merely lie in wait or patrol about and do not respond to hostile situations in a convincing fashion. At least they die realistically. And aside from AI and interface problems, the game is chock-full of glitches and crashes and other inconsistencies. Your men perish if they fall so much as three feet. Sometimes they float in the air, or their weapons vanish, or texture maps drop out. And the camera goes wild, the game crashes whenever, and so on. You shouldn't have to put up with problems like these, especially within what's essentially a good game.
Yet such flaws can be tolerable if you choose for them to be. The fact is this game looks good and its missions are big, unique, and complicated, even as the tension continues to mount with each one. Hidden & Dangerous is the only convincing World War II tactical combat simulation out there, and it can be an immensely satisfying experience during those rare times that you successfully coordinate your men to achieve one of the game's multifaceted objectives. Ultimately, if its premise appeals to you, then Hidden & Dangerous is worth all the effort it takes to play. At the same time, you'll feel frustrated that it isn't perfect, since it comes so close in so many different ways.
By Greg Kasavin, GameSpotPosted Aug 16, 1999
Reference: http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/action/hiddendangerous/review.html accessed 12th September 2008
