Hidden & Dangerous 2 First Look

Back in 1999, several months after the 3D action-strategy Spec Ops, and Real-Time Strategy Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines appeared, the Czechoslovakian company Illusion Softworks published its Hidden & Dangerous. The military sim market was still relatively unpopulated which gave H&D a chance to be a financial success in spite of its flaws and bugs. In the meantime, the market got crowded with similar games, and it will be interesting to see if the sequel would fare as well.

Unfortunately, I have to point out that I expected some more attention from the audience and info on the net about the new Illusion Softworks' game... It seems as though even the developers aren't too interested in promoting their work ever since they published the official pack: Devil's Bridge (Fight for Freedom). Now, what I found out about the game is that it uses a totally new 3D engine. The first part used the so-called Insane engine, and the sequel will use its improved version: the Insane II engine. This same engine will also be used in another Illusion Softworks' game: Mafia: City of Lost Heaven. The available screenshots show that the engine got much improved. The trees look much better as it no longer consists of only two sprites, and the vehicles have more details and polygons. The new engine also has some special features like real-time shadowing, real body physics, and object morphing. All character animations have been motion-captured, and the interesting thing about this is that the developers actually hired several members of a counter-terrorist unit and actors to do this job.

H&D2 takes place during the WWII, just like its predecessor. The only difference is that now you'll get to travel all over the world, or to be more precise, to all locations visited by the British Special Operation Units from 1940 to 1945 like Burma, African deserts, North Europe, etc. you play the role of Gary Bristol, the commander of a small SOE (Special Operations Executive) section. In contrast to the first part of the game where all characters were John Does, your character is now a hero who mustn't get killed. His main goal will be to find and face an SS officer he bears a grudge against. The presence of the main character should make the game more involving, and better connect actual gameplay with the storyline, and the developers claim that linearity won't be too obvious.

Gary won't be all alone out there - you'll get to lead up-to-four-member squads just like you used to. Depending on the type and difficulty of the mission you may only get one or two additional men, or even lead Gary on his own. If your team proves to be insufficient to complete a mission, you'll be able to call for reinforcements. You'll just have to see to it that you complete the mission and that Gary survives, and as for the rest of the allied troops... who cares? The number of soldiers you can get as reinforcements will depend on the level of difficulty and the mission you are currently playing. These squadmates of Gary's (or to put it more bluntly cannon-fodder) will be quite versatile and depend on the mission location. You will even get to meet Ghurkas (Indian soldiers)... They will all have about a dozen RPG-like characteristics (like silent movement, moving in water, diving...) plus some special traits... I sure hope that the differences between individual soldiers will play a bigger role than they did in the old H&D, and that I'll really have to think each time when I have to choose squad members before the mission starts.

Leading your units in covert operations will require a lot of tactical planning. I didn't find that to de a downside as I was already under heavy influence of Commandos: BEL, but I know that many of my friends craved more action. They will probably be happy to hear that the programmers decided to introduce a lot more action into H&D2. The method for commanding the entire team is a bit different now as well and 'will include the tactics planning into the level and not into the map'. The tactical map will be always present on-screen, which should significantly improve playability.