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Developer: Rebellion
Publisher: Novalogic
Genre: FPS
Region: PAL
Format:
Release Date: 09 Aug 02
User Rating
9 (5 votes) -
More Screens (5 total)
Overview
I was a big fan of Delta Force for the PC, especially number 2. I liked its Tom Clancy approach to things, the way you worked as part of a team and did raids on drug smuggling organisations. Now, for Novalogic's first Delta Force game exclusively for PS One, developed by Rebellion, they've abandoned the team play scenario. Yes you heard me, PS One. Wasn't that the console that should have died a couple of years ago now? Yes, but with Sony trying to squeeze the last drops of blood of the old dog, a few like Novalogic still want to cash in, scavenging in the skip looking for dropped loose change and why not? The PS One section in my local GAME still takes a large section of wall, so someone must be still buying it. Apparently though, more PS One games are being released this year than last but then again I can only remember one game released last year, wasn't it C-12?...
So, Are Novalogic going a bit overboard with the Delta Force series? (I count another 3, including this since land warrior) Should they have left the PS One well alone?
Gameplay
You are the lone gunman, a member of a delta force team that were killed during one of your raids gone bad. Being the emotionless mercenary type you set out to get to the bottom of the thing and kill as many people as you need to, until you feel better.
The story line is not bad, but not very deep or involving. It's hindered by the fact that your character seems to be that lame actor Van Dam's long lost robot brother from a naff film that was made during the late 80s. I didn't get any feeling loss or pain after this guys mates had just been blown to bits, instead I got a butch line, something like "I've had a lot of friends killed, sign me up". Another thing that doesn't help is the length. This game is real short and because of this I can't help but think it's just an attempt to look down the back of an old sofa for 10 pence pieces i.e. a shameless cash-in.
This aside, there are some great gameplay moments. As I said you can use your stealth, laying down mines on predicted enemy patrol routes using your MGS style cone vision radar. It can produce some quality gaming moments or it would have done for me if I could have got around the controls a bit better.
On the whole the controls are quite good on the weapons selection side of things - Oh, tell a lie, I thought the selection of explosives was quite fiddly, which isn't incorporated into the normal D-pad selection but is instead in a little menu of it's own accessed by the select button. When trying to do this you are left open to being shot in the face. However this was probably my only real gripe however there was something else I didn't like. Being used to the control systems of Red Faction and TimeSplitter's I found that this was back to front. On the aforementioned you would use the second analogue up to move down and down to move up. On this it is the correct way, up to move up, down to move down. I don't know why, but this was a task for me, but it is something that can be learned.
As I said before, this game is quite short being only 12 missions long. These range from meeting contacts to stealing enemy files - all the usual stuff. Some of the sub missions are a little poor. For instance there's one bit on the second mission where you sit with a sniper rifle unable to do anything except move your gun around. You take down about 6 sentries with your gun and that's it. It's hardly challenging.
|I was hoping for some decent AI as well, being that the game is made on a ancient engine. However it is only satisfactory in my opinion. The AI in Meal of Honour is a lot better and really I was expecting better than that.
It's supposed to be a balance of stealth and all out action, which it probably is, but if you're not big on stealth and you get caught because your rubbish, never be afraid of running around aimlessly with your SMG.
Graphics
It's been a long time since I popped a PS One game into my PS2 and now I know why. I took a look at this a thought; did I really used to play games with graphics like this? No, I didn't, because I have seen better looking PS One games. It seemed like a lot of the straight edges, or edges that were supposed to be straight, were not, e.g. wobbly door frames and ceilings. I also caught a glimpse of some textures that weren't properly aligned in the opening cut scene, but then again this happens somewhere in a majority of PS One games.
I was impressed to see some mouth movement from our hero in question and his counter-parts, but he still had a face that I would like to hit. You'll know what I mean if you see it. Butch chap, slick black hair and flared nostrils - obviously from a cover of "The Man Who Loves Himself" magazine.
Everything is solid looking enough, apart from those wobbly edges I mentioned and for a PS One game it is quite impressive I suppose. Just don't hold it up against something like MGS2, because you know there's going to be no competition and it's just going to make you cry.
What I do quite like is some of the animation from our terrorist friends. They jump, roll, and peak around corners - At a good moment. At times when the animation does shine you really feel like you're in some quality action, especially when you just run at people with an MP5. The menu screens are quite cool too…
Fun Factor
At times this game can be a blast, if you've got a few dumb enemies in front of you and an Uzi at your disposal. There's nothing better than running through these goons and giving them a good walloping close quarter's style. After all that is what this game is trying to bring to the series and to the PS One.
Overall
Delta Force Urban Warfare is a short game but offers some short thrills. There are some graphical glitches and the AI could have been a lot better, as could the control system, which is what we were all hoping for when this game was announced. However, I wouldn't say adding this to your PS1 collection was a total waste of time. It adds a balance of stealth and close quarter battles not often seen on the platform and it ranks higher than that of the dreadful Rainbow Six.
If you own a next generation console though, don't bother - assuming that you might in the first place.
- Gameplay
7.0 - Graphics
7.0 - Fun Factor
7.0 - Overall
7.0
