Delta Force: Black Hawk Down Hands-On

For one thing, I'm glad to see that NovaLogic is back! Over the last few years, they've been gradually diminishing the quality of their Delta Force games only to reach an all-time low point with Delta Force: Task Force Dagger, which was about the crappiest game I've played in recent months.

But, in a surprising turn of events, the boys at NL came back with a vengeance announcing their upcoming Delta Force game Black Hawk Down. The title was inspired by the events that took place in Somalia back in 1993. I presume that you all know what happened there and then, and I take it most of you have seen Ridley Scott's excellent movie based on those events. Some say that the mission was a failure and some say that it was an overall success. Whatever it was, people got killed on both sides, and it wasn't pretty.

This guy is as good as dead.

Don't aim too high!

Delta Force: Black Hawk Down takes you back to that wonderful tourist attraction, the capital city of Somalia - Mogadishu where players around the world will get to experience (albeit in far safer circumstances - in front of their monitors) what it was like to be in the thick of things on that autumn day in 1993. Yesterday on Aug 2 NovaLogic released a multiplayer BETA test demo from the game, which will be active until Aug 16, and then they plan to follow it up with a bona fide demo release that should include all the fixes and tweaks that will be reported during the BETA test. The MP test demo includes a single map and one mode of play - team deathmatch. Blues against the reds. Both friendlies and tangos will have standard nighttime and daylight ops. DF uniforms - one per each team. In order to navigate through the game and locate the enemy soldiers you will use your handy-dandy mini-radar located in the lower right part of the screen. One interesting note about the demo is that you can actually fly in Black Hawk's and even mount the M134 7.62mm mini-gun found on each side of these highly armored helicopters. The Black Hawk's are indestructible in the MP test, so flying in one of these seems a whole lot safer than being on the ground. Ironically, this kind of contradicts the game's main premise (and the title), but that's beside the point.

For DF: BHD NovaLogic went so far as to hire actual Delta Force operatives that were involved in the mission. Naturally, one would assume from this that the game is all about realism, but things seem a bit different when you actually start playing. I will go out on a limb here and say that DF: Black Hawk Down is a lot more action-oriented than I have initially suspected. In terms of realism, the team deathmatch game I got to play was far from what you'd experience in say, Operation Flashpoint. I account this to two important factors that were suspiciously missing from the game - weapons recoil and aim inaccuracies when running or moving around and shooting. The weapons have no recoil whatsoever (not even the smallest jerks), and that does thwart the feel of the game somewhat. Also, it's way too easy to run around and snipe down tangos (even with your zoom option on), which seems to be totally different from what you'd experience in actual combat. The arsenal featured in the game on the other hand is true-to-life Delta Force stuff:

CAR-15 Colt 5.56mm AR
First used extensively in Vietnam, the CAR-15 soon became the standard rifle for the U.S. Army. It is lightweight, full automatic and more maneuverable than the M16, making it the preferred assault rifle for Delta Force. The only downside is that the shorter barrel reduces accuracy.
Ammo: 5.56 Match Ball
Mag Cap: 30 rounds
Range: 250m
Mvelocity: 990 m/s
Fire Rate: 800 r/min

M21 7.62mm
This semi-automatic sniper rifle is fitted with a medium power scope. The scope adjusts to allow for accurate sniping from helicopters or moving ground vehicles. Introduced in 1969 as the XM21, it was initially used in the Vietnam conflict. An upgrade from the M14, it was initially fielded with a hardwood stock and later replaced with fiberglass. A bolt-action rifle would provide more accuracy, but the M21 increases the speed at which targets can be acquired and eliminated.
Ammo: 7.62 mm HPBTl
Mag Cap: 20 rounds
Range: 2700m
Mvelocity: 825 m/s

M1911A1 Colt .45A high-power sidearm, favored for its reliability and stopping power. The Colt M1911 has armed the United States military since 1911. The design, including grip and trigger was standardized in 1926 and remains unchanged. The pistol is extremely accurate when used for single shots.
Ammo: .45 Match Ball
Mag Cap: 7 rounds
Range: 25-75m
Mvelocity: 262 m/s

Also available are the combat knife and a number of fixed weapon emplacements (press the "U" key to activate). Fixed weapons include:

M2 .50 cal Machine Gun
A single barrel machine gun, the M2 has a rate of fire of 550 rounds per minute. It has been in use since WWII and can be found mounted on vehicles or aircraft throughout the world.

M134 7.62mm "minigun"
This weapon is most often found mounted on helicopters. It utilizes a rotating set of six barrels to achieve an astounding 6000 rounds per minute, though it is usually set to 2000 or 4000 rpm in crew served applications.

Behold, the Black Hawk!

Don't shoot at your teammates.

Moreover, in contrast to the lack or recoil and the ease with which you can aim and shoot while running, the damage model seems to be very realistic, as a few well placed shots in the critical areas will knock you down for good. So, there will be no Quake heroics in Black Hawk Down. This game is more about finding proper cover and watching your back; minding the roof snipers, etc. The most important thing is to check out the terrain first and then advance to the next cover spot. Being out in the open for a second too long will only get you shot. Find out where the bullets are coming from and proceed accordingly. Again, I must emphasize that this style of play adds a lot of realism to the gameplay, but the lack of recoil and the ease of aim kind of defeat the purpose. Similar to previous Delta Force games, players can go prone, but this won't do much for your aim, as it's already perfect as it is. Still, I feel that the style of gameplay in Black Hawk Down has a lot of potential, and that especially goes for the multiplayer mode. The one map in the MP test has an excellent layout with a properly configured mix of narrow passages, covers and open areas. But most importantly, it accurately recreates the look and feel of Somali streets and buildings, as seen on CNN and in Ridley Scott's movie.

From a visual standpoint, the latest DF game looks surprisingly better than its predecessors do. We're talking a whole new 3D engine here, which supports all the latest bells and whistles for today's high-end video cards. The textures are highly detailed and the gun models are rendered in full 3D! The player models are high in polys and they move well. But this is not to say that the visuals aren't with plenty of glitches. Some of them have to do with the fact that the programmers haven't yet implemented many of the planned animated moves. For example, there's no 'climbing' animation, so any player trying to climb a ladder will look like a stiff being pulled upwards by an invisible rope. There are also missing textures, clipping problems, etc. But, I'm sure all these problems will be gone by the time this game is ready to hit the shelves.

Overall, Delta Force: Black Hawk Down looks very good, but it does require a hog of a system to run. I played it on an Athlon XP 1800+, and GeForce 4 Ti 4400 and I could still notice visible frame drops once I was airborne and looking over the terrain from inside the Black Hawk. I should also note however that I was running the game with all the details maxed out, in 1024 x 768, and a 32-bit color palette.

Still, I do hope that the programmers will optimize the code before the final release, as I doubt many people will be able to enjoy the experience fully with the other 32 players in a multiplayer match.

The sound FX in Black Hawk Down is not something I should discuss yet, as it appears that most of the environmental sounds and background music are still missing from the game, though the main screen does feature a musical track that's very reminiscent of the movie.

That's it for now, folks. There is still time (until Aug 16), so I recommend you try this one out. Overall, DF: Black Hawk Down seems to be the best game in the series yet. Hey, at least we're seeing a positive trend from NovaLogic now! I was wondering when they were gonna come to their senses.