Hidden & Dangerous
Encyclopedia
Hidden & Dangerous is a WWII 1999 computer and video game developed by Illusion Softworks
and published by Take-Two Interactive
and TalonSoft
for Windows
, the Dreamcast, and the PlayStation. The PlayStation port of the game was developed by Tarantula Studios. It is regarded as one of the pioneering tactical first/third person shooters.
Special Air Service
(SAS) team executing a number of important missions during World War II
. The game features soldier selection prior to each mission. A comprehensive load-out sequence is also available where players have access to a variety of weapons and equipment. Mission briefings outline objectives, intelligence on enemy strengths and recommended plans of advance. During missions, players can command directly by toggling through the soldiers in their squad, voice commands or a tactical map which allows for real time control or planned maneuvers once the map is exited. Missions include, sabotage, search and destroy, POW rescue and resistance aid. Hidden and Dangerous features missions in Italy, Yugoslavia, Germany, Norway, the North Sea and Czechoslovakia. Despite certain historical liberties taken with actual SAS missions and time-lines, the game retains a degree of historical accuracy and intense atmosphere.
A fully updated version of the game, Hidden & Dangerous Deluxe, was released for free as a commercial promotion for the sequel Hidden & Dangerous 2
. It is still available as freeware.
Illusion Softworks
2K Czech is a game development company located in Brno and Prague, Czech Republic. The company focuses mostly on first-person and third-person shooter games. Since the foundation in 1997, till the sale to Kush Games ten years later, its owners and key managers were founders Petr Vochozka and Jan...
and published by Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a major American publisher, developer, and distributor of video games and video game peripherals. Take-Two wholly owns 2K Games and Rockstar Games. The company's headquarters are in New York City, with international headquarters in Windsor, United Kingdom...
and TalonSoft
TalonSoft
TalonSoft was a Baltimore, Maryland-based computer game developer founded in 1995 by Jim Rose and John Davidson. The company specialized in wargames; many of its releases were acclaimed within the wargaming community....
for Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, the Dreamcast, and the PlayStation. The PlayStation port of the game was developed by Tarantula Studios. It is regarded as one of the pioneering tactical first/third person shooters.
Gameplay
The player controls a four-man BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
(SAS) team executing a number of important missions during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The game features soldier selection prior to each mission. A comprehensive load-out sequence is also available where players have access to a variety of weapons and equipment. Mission briefings outline objectives, intelligence on enemy strengths and recommended plans of advance. During missions, players can command directly by toggling through the soldiers in their squad, voice commands or a tactical map which allows for real time control or planned maneuvers once the map is exited. Missions include, sabotage, search and destroy, POW rescue and resistance aid. Hidden and Dangerous features missions in Italy, Yugoslavia, Germany, Norway, the North Sea and Czechoslovakia. Despite certain historical liberties taken with actual SAS missions and time-lines, the game retains a degree of historical accuracy and intense atmosphere.
Critical response
Hidden and Dangerous arguably set the tone for tactical realistic shooters and a large proportion of its reviews were positive.Expansion
An expansion was released in 2000, titled Hidden & Dangerous: Devil's Bridge in the US and Hidden & Dangerous: Fight for Freedom in the UK. This added new soldiers, weapons and missions in new locations including Poland, the Ardennes and postwar Greece.A fully updated version of the game, Hidden & Dangerous Deluxe, was released for free as a commercial promotion for the sequel Hidden & Dangerous 2
Hidden & Dangerous 2
-Audio:Music from the game was provided by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra based in Brno, Czech Republic.-Expansion:An expansion pack titled Sabre Squadron was released during October 19, 2004, in the US, introduced nine new single player missions, seven new multiplayer maps, and a now finished,...
. It is still available as freeware.
External links
- Hidden & Dangerous at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...