Disclaimer: This review is only for the single-player modes. TL;DR: A pretty decent shooter that was way ahead of its time with a massive technological leap from Delta Force 2. Simplified tactical elements with greater accessibility and ease, but at the cost of introducing action-like elements. No bugs found per se. A fun, pleasurable title that can be played casually. Beautiful graphics, especially for its time. Ability to save is game-changing. Delta Force: Land Warrior is a massive technological leap as compared to Delta Force 2. This game is so far ahead of its time that it might just be one of the first Hero Shooters out there. There are numerous improvements to the formula, but at the same time, there are other factors that seem to have been compromised for what seems to be an effort to make the title more accessible. The game is pretty short overall, especially compared to the predecessors. It has 30 levels in total and is divided into two sections, one for Quick Missions that independent of each other, and the other being a campaign mode wherein the Delta Force takes on a terrorist group known as the Armed People's Front, and then its sister organisation, the New Dawn. The narrative is interconnected story-wise and it does a good job of detailing the enemity between the Delta Force and these two organisations. However, the pacing of the narrative makes it feel more like a turned-based affair bolstered by retaliations and escalations. It isn't towards the end that they they mount a full-on offensive against their enemies. At the same time, there is sort of an ebb-and-flow to the tale as things go sideways every now and then. There is certainly a change to the formula of the story, and while it is not as strategic as before, it is more dramatic now. The gameplay, being the most important part of this game, does not feel like Delta Force at all. Rockets are now faster and take down helos and technicals easily. At the same time, the enemies aren't usually accurate and react very slow to the point that while it makes the game less frustrating and more accessible, it also mitigates the necessity for a cautious, tactical approach. In fact, that is what the game relies on in a few scenarios where speed is of the essence, which are, ironically, the harder parts of the game. There are also a couple of rail-shooter segments in the game, surprisingly. As long as you're clearing your corners, you'll be fine while playing this game. You won't have to replay a level multiple times to succeed for the most part. At the same time, there are various technological improvements to the title as well, including the ability to now be able to tell enemies apart from foliage easier. Underground sections seem to be the theme of choice as you find an almost labyrinthian underground section in almost each level, reminiscent of dungeon crawlers. Playing the game feels far more like an adventure game rather than a tactical shooter. The lack of map in the briefing screen means that you can strategise your offensive before you mount it. Thankfully, the game is accessible enough to not require it. For the first time, you can now save indefinitely in one of three slots during missions and that makes a world of difference when playing. It works wonders for your mental health in the rare event when you die right near the end. The game is also quite ahead of its time, not only graphically and technologically, but also due to the fact that it has actual heroes for you to choose. While it is perhaps one of the earliest hero shooter in existence, they have done a pretty poor job balancing things. Among the five characters available to us, the two female characters, Mako and Snakebite, are practically useless with the former being a Medic who can't heal herself and hence being restricted only to multiplayer modes and the latter's only advantage being an extended reach for rarely utilised knife. Among the rest of three characters, Longbow seems to be the best choice because his special ability means greater accuracy because of a lack of scope sway. That's right, they introduced sway only to eliminate it for Longbow. Gas Can's grenades always land at the crosshairs, which is nifty, but not that useful considering the mostly underground/CQB nature of the game, and Pitbull has reduced recoil while using machine guns, which would've been absolutely pointless if not for the facts that a large portion of the game takes place inside buildings anyway and that the graphics have advanced to the point where you don't need a scope as much anymore. The guns, on the other hand, seem to be better balanced with a large number of changes and additions made to the armoury. You now have powerful, unscoped ARs and suppressed Snipers that use slow, sub-sonic munitions. You can now also use grenade launchers as well as shotguns in addition to other cutting-edge prototype weaponry. You also carry three guns into each level now to better balance out the playing field, one primary weapon which can be any of the aforementioned, an SMG as your secondary, and a pistol for when all else fails. You also often have artillery authorisations in missions and you can not only re-stock and re-equip weapons whenever you find an armoury in any given level, you can also discard your primary weapon to pick up the enemy's although the levels are short enough to the point where it is not a necessity. The suggested gear changes based on your selected character. The level design in this iteration is far more linear than the previous titles. The parts involving buildings are obviously linear, but at the same time, even the open-world parts have very points of attack and entry. You are free to explore the map to choose your own means of attack, but in most cases, other parts of the map usually have other objectives with their own set of enemies to deal with, so you don't really have a lot of freedom as to approaching the objective at hand. There are also multiple instances in any given level that are scripted to add more unexpected excitement to the game and while they might make the game more fun, they also make it more linear at the same time. Another one of the ways where they changed the formula to make the game feel much less like Delta Force. Most of the levels are also pretty short with the Quick Missions being especially so. The graphics in this game are the best I've seen yet and the game is just so stunningly beautiful, that I might even call it a AA title from 2005 or 2006. The terrain looks gorgeous and given the fact that you're mostly raiding heritage sites and historical landmarks, each level is very recognisable and unique. Even the vehicles are very high-poly although the characters are still blocky potatoes. At the same time, don't expect any reload animations apart from the gun disappearing. But hey, at least it has a sound. Speaking of sound, the game has pretty good ambient sounds and unique sounds for each weapon and reload as well as directionality to the sounds the enemies make. Each character also has different voices and the briefing changes depending on your chosen character. A few of things lacking, however, is the sound of enemy footsteps for the most part as they might sneak up on you from anywhere without warning. I also missed seeing tracers for rounds that the player fires. All in all Delta Force: Land Warrior is a pretty fun shooter that has major technological improvements and changes for the sake accessbility which make the game feel far less like playing Delta Force and more like a slower action shooter. The game was good to play, but it just feels so far removed from the DF formula. But putting that aside, it is a pretty decent shooter even by modern standards and I personally did not mind spending a few hours shooting bad guys in ancient Egyptian crypts and labyrinthian militia bunkers.
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