Delta Force: Black Hawk Down

"Extremely fun and tactical, DF: BHD will keep you occupied for months to come"

Introduction: I watched and enjoyed the movie of the same title, and read and liked the book as well, and I heard that there was a game for it, continuing the very enjoyable, yet outdated Delta Force series, and I was definitely going to check it out. Well, I played the multiplayer demo and was greeted by a unusual(for me) looking weapon design, sound, and gameplay I wasn't quite used to yet. I forgot about the game for a while, then moths later, I heard that it was coming out in a couple weeks, so I was hyped up about it again, and downloaded the single player demo.

Wow.

I was blown away by the realistic graphics, intense sound, and detail. I was sitting in a helicopter, blasting away at the bad guys, and was slightly nervous as my helicopter dodged rocket after rocket. I heard my teammate's yells of ''RPG! RPG!'' and waited for a rocket to destroy my helicopter. And that's exactly what happened. Dazed and very ready to get this game, I restarted and tried again, and was eventually successful, rescuing hostages, and blasting at technicals with .50 Cal machine guns, then escorting the hostages to a group of humvees. Boy, I wanted this game very badly now.

I finally got it, a few weeks after it was released, and played it, but was greeted by an unpleasant surprise, the game stopped and the computer automatically went to the blue screen of death. I was having graphical problems with 007 Nightfire as well, and later found out that updating my drivers was the solution.

Now I started to REALLY play.

Story: Nothing much, until the later missions this has almost nothing to do with the movie or book, save for similar issues in Somalia that took place in the early 1990s. You are nameless soldier, but you can tell that you are at a pretty high rank as your fellow soldiers address you as ''coach'', and I assume that you are the captain. Basically the story is you, the Delta Force, with Army Rangers, and trying to prevent terrorism in Somalia. It all seems historically authentic. 8/10

Graphics: Wow. Even with games like Max Payne 2 and Call of Duty out, the visuals in BHD remain truly impressive, and doesn't pale in comparison to those games. Explosions are THE most realistic I've seen, black and orange, and it fades to a thick, gray smoke that lasts fairly long.

This game requires a decent computer and graphics card to look terrific. A GeForce 2, at least.

Drool... Everything looks great. Trees are in full 3D, unlike many other games, weapons are modeled very nicely, and some muzzle flashes look slightly unrealistic, but bold and good-looking. Vehicles are very nicely detailed, and character models are excellent as well, though it could've used a bit more work. The sky looks real, and the water looks very real looking as well. There is a good deal of blood in this game for a Teen rating. There is a spray, like in COD, and the blood doesn't spatter on the surfaces or anything. Overall, this game remains impressive visually throughout. 9.4/10

Sound: Ah, very good. Some of the weapons could've been made to sound louder, but it's all right. All of them are crisp and realistic, enemies will be shouting in their native tongue, and yell in pain when you shoot them. Voiceovers are what I've expected them to be, authentic-sounding. Explosions, helicopter rotors, water, mini-gun fire, footsteps, etc, all are almost perfect. 9.5/10

Intelligence: Sadly, nothing much to praise here. The enemy acts like they were underfed, under-trained, and high on drugs, but then again, that was the case for Somalia soldiers, so if only they were like that then it would be forgivable. Unfortunately, your teammates seem like rookies as well, or they haven't got enough sleep, are are drunk. Your teammates will rarely be much of help, but still, the working-as-a-team aspect is still exciting, but hurt immensely by the poor AI. Granted, if your teammates were really good, they would mow down the enemy and leave no kills for you. I think the enemy should've been much smarter. However, an Ak47 is an AK47, an RPG is a RPG, and a .50 Cal is a .50 Cal, so if they manage to hit you, which WILL happen often as they at least fight in groups, you will be fairly hurt(by the AK) or dead(RPG or .50 Cal). But don't get discouraged here, as this is very much outweighed by the exciting gameplay. 7.1/10

Gameplay: Singleplayer: Ah, yes, enthralling, intense, dramatic...FUN! Whether you are gunning down enemies and vehicles alike with a .50 Cal while riding on a Jeep, or try to dodge explosions on a beach and avoid mines, or set out with a silenced weapon an a nice covert mission, or get trapped in a hostile district with literally hundreds of militia shooting at you from everywhere, DF: BHD offers a lot of missions, where you will be trained to use all sorts of tactics, like rushing(my fave), sniping, taking cover, etc, to prepare you for the climatic levels based on the movie, where you will use all these tactics to survive and thrive. You can peek around corners, go prone and roll to either side, etc. There are some useful commands, where you order a teammate to throw a flashbang into a room, and then rush with everyone else. However, poor AI makes this less cool than it is, as they will completely expose themselves to enemy fire as they throw the grenade. A lot of the missions seem to put you right there in the action, with bullets whizzing past you, and it's almost hard to believe this isn't some operation in WWIII. There are many things to do in this game. Rescue a broken down convoy, then man a mini-gun and rain down hot lead on your unlucky victims. Another mission calls for you to raid a village and destroy their supplies. But don't let me spoil it for you. You will love the missions in BHD if you're action shooter fan. It's tactical, but not as tactical as a Tom Clancy game yet not quite Medal of Honor: Allied-style all out, run and gun, a happy-medium between the two. 9.2/10

Replay: Well, for me, basically, when the single player is over, the single player is over, though you might want to replay a couple choice operations. But it is a blast the first time through. Who knows, you might play through the missions many times. However, multiplayer is the core of the replay, and you won't put this game down in a while. 9.7/10

Multiplayer: Whoo, now we're onto something even better. Multiplayer in BHD is one of the best mutiplayer experiences I ever had, better than any of the previous Delta Force installments. With a ton of maps and vehicles(though no drivable vehicles), it's a total blast, and this game is worth it for the multiplayer alone. 9.9/10

Overall: 9.5(10 when rounded up for GameFaqs' system)

Pick this one up ASAP. Even with games like Call of Duty out, believe me, you won't want to miss out.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/10/04