Hidden & Dangerous

Written by Tom Clare in PSOne Game Reviews, Saturday 5 March, 2005

The good, the bad and the dangerous

Hidden & Dangerous proved to be a popular first-person shoot 'em up when released for the P.C in the late 1990's, though it still came as a surprise when publishing giants Take 2 announced (and subsequently released) a PSOne version in time for Christmas 2001.

The year is 1941, and through carelessness/horrific bad luck your band of Special Forces has been shot down deep within enemy territory. This isn't particularly heartening news, but it at least gives your team the opportunity to do some serious damage to the Nazi's in their own backyard.

Hidden & Dangerous is a first-person shoot 'em up that crosses Medal Of Honor with Rainbow Six; it features an authentic World War 2 setting and the old kill-all-Nazi's objective, though completing levels often requires a more tactical slant.

Prior to a mission you are asked to select from a variety of soldiers who will then make up your team for the following few levels (you can only play as one in any single level though). Each is rated in terms of their accuracy, reaction time, stealth ability, strength and endurance. Having picked your group of gunslingers, you are then given an impressive selection of weapons and tools to choose from, including pistols, rifles, bazookas, dynamite, grenades and land-mines. You must think carefully though, as each item weighs a certain amount, and the kit you decide to take in to the field has to last you for up to five levels at time.

First impressions aren't great to say the least; the control method is initially nothing short of hideous; moving requires the left analogue stick and the trigger buttons which is very odd, and more suited to a keyboard than a control pad (and buttons can't be configured, which is a major oversight on the developers part). The scenery wobbles around like a bouncy castle and those darn Nazi's seem to have a heck of a lot of firepower - the odds are really stacked against you in the beginning.

At this point, many simply give up on the game, which is a bit of shame really. Getting over these early problems requires you to simply ignore the realistic and tactical approach the game wants you to adopt. The thing is, if you go to great lengths to sneak up on each and every Nazi for the sake of achieving silent kills, you'll inevitably find yourself getting bogged down. Extended play reveals several technical weaknesses in the gameplay, which ironically help the action to flow better and inject some fun into the proceedings. Whilst running in all-guns-blazing doesn't seem the most intelligent course of action when just a few enemy bullets can kill you, it is usually the most effective battle plan. Opposing soldiers seem to get more and more short-sighted as the game goes on, and as it doesn't require much accuracy on the players part ('point your gun in the general direction and fire') chances are you'll plough through most of the Nazi's without them even spotting you.

It would appear Hidden & Dangerous is the victim of its own ambitions; the PlayStation hardware simply can't handle its complex vision of tactical FPS action. Consequently, it ends up somewhere between dreadful and brilliant; where exactly depends on how easily you can overlook its limitations.

One thing H&D most certainly doesn't lack is atmosphere and tension. The graphics engine may be dogged by severe 'fogging' problems, but the level-design is undeniably superb. There are some real edge-of the-seat moments within - the night-time missions are particularly nerve-jangling, as enemy soldiers have a nasty habit of appearing where you least expect them, and you really have to stay on your toes (so to speak). Also, indoor levels successfully convey a cramped and claustrophobic feel, helped by an almost deafening silence as you shuffle through corridors anticipating what might be waiting for you around the next corner.

The graphics, much like the gameplay, are a rather mixed bag. On a purely visual level, things appear pretty rough; there's a fair smattering of glitches populating each level (presenting the odd 'stuck-in-the-scenery' moment which irritates), and the textures shake in a disconcerting manner too. On the plus side, the developers deserve credit for maintaining a decent degree of variety throughout the course of the twenty levels - missions take place at various times during day and night, and involve rescue attempts, enemy elimination, checkpoint-reaching and placing explosives. The animation is fair and the level of detail is admirable, but as a result the speed of the action is reduced, leaving many sections feeling pretty jerky.

Sound is another section of the game that, to a certain extent, is open to interpretation. Apart from some themed music on the title and menu screens, there is very little else in the rest of the game. But in a funny way, the lack of music in-game manages to enhance the feeling of tension, as you listen out for the merest sound that might give away an enemy's location. The explosive sound effects are nice and meaty, though the rifles and pistols sound quite clunky and unconvincing.

Certainly as a package it represents very good value; £9.99 gets you twenty fairly large levels to tackle, and whilst they are streets behind the quality on show in the likes of Medal Of Honor and Quake 2, it should keep fans of the genre happy for a number of weeks. There is no replay value whatsoever though, which is disappointing; it would have been nice to have a multiplayer section, some simple sub-games or even a handful of secret characters to try out, but you can't really complain as the game is less than a tenner.

It carries a 15+ age recommendation from ELSPA. I could argue with that (there is no blood content or graphic violence after all), though in truth most people under the age of fifteen wouldn't have the patience to persevere passed the first couple of levels. It isn't especially violent, but with the World War 2 theme it isn't exactly a children's game either…

Ultimately, Hidden & Dangerous is a first-person shoot 'em up positively brimming with potential, though not the hardware to fulfil it. For every great moment and technical innovation, there is a simple but obvious flaw that hampers it. The PlayStation has many more accomplished shoot 'em ups on offer, though H&D should still deliver an adequate diversion to anyone who considers themselves a fan of the genre and for £9.99, it represents solid value for money.

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