[DevilDog#1]

Delta Force: Xtreme Review

written by Tim Stevens on Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Platform: PC (Windows)
Developer: NovaLogic
Publisher: NovaLogic
ESRB Rating: Teen


Rating: ***--

Pros: Fun, fast-paced gameplay; some nice graphical effects
Cons: X-tremely stupid AI; inconsistent performance; dated gameplay

Delta Force was one of the titles that helped popularize the tactical first-person shooter genre back in the late '90s. “Xtreme” is an intentional misspelling of one of the most over-used words of the 2000’s--a word that attempts to imply action and drama, but conversely makes people think of bargain-bin monster truck videos. Combine the two together and you get Delta Force: Xtreme, a lackluster update to a classic game that provides a bit of knuckle-headed fun, but ultimately proves better graphics do not a better game make.

Xtreme Updates

Delta Force: Xtreme delivers three campaigns of 20 missions each, a jazzy new graphics engine, some frantic multiplayer action, and the addition of vehicles. The three campaigns will take you to locales that seem out of place for a game such as this--places that are decidedly not terrorist hotspots like Novaya Zemlya, a frozen island north of Russia, notable only for having a bunch of Soviet nuclear test weapons dropped on it. The other two campaigns find you deployed in similarly underwhelming Peru and Chad, and with most missions easily completed in under five minutes, your visits to these locales will be neither lengthy nor all that interesting.

While many of the missions are mildly entertaining, they’re far from groundbreaking. Most entail going from point A to B, occasionally stopping to blow something up, with the overall goal of killing lots and lots of people. If you can figure out the map editor that’s included you can piece your own missions and maps together and share them, though it remains to be seen how much the user community will choose to support this game.

Xtreme Marksmanship

Each single-player campaign feels a lot like being trapped in an episode of The A-Team. Not only is each one resolved inside of 60 minutes, but the degree of marksmanship displayed here is atrocious. Feel free to stand tall in a hail of gunfire and slowly, patiently, pick off each opposing soldier, watching as their pastel tracers zip everywhere but at you. Shooting them is actually quite easy, and every hit is a kill, so you can decimate opposing ranks very easily.

Aim isn’t the only thing wrong with the shoddy terrorists and developmentally-challenged drug runners you’ll be targeting. Groups of enemies will often stand there and watch as you snipe their buddies, or will sometimes run right by you without even bothering to stop and fire. An optimistic person might think these are the smart ones who’ve realized that their aim is woefully inadequate and are heading for the hills, but any wishful thinking goes right out the window when you see them run into a wall.

Xtreme Gameplay

Delta Force: Xtreme feels very little like the military-based tactical shooter it might look like. Gameplay both online and off leans heavily toward run-and-gun action with leaving little room for tactics or stealth. The game can be mindless fun offline as you pick off baddie after baddie and cruise around in the odd vehicle, but continuing this carefree style online creates a haven for bunny-hopping and gratuitous rocket launcher usage. Online co-op is fun enough most of the time, but the competitive games leave a lot to be desired.

The use of vehicles is the game’s only saving grace online. Being able to load into a helicopter with some friends, roar over to the enemy base, and then parachute out to attack from above is a lot of fun, as is driving around in a buggy or a tank. Unfortunately, while the game is mostly smooth online, when the slightest bit of lag makes an appearance the vehicles become completely undriveable.

Xtreme Graphics

The visuals are the most impressive part of this game, but even they leave a lot to be desired. At its best, the game presents good-looking vistas and organic-looking areas, with rolling, grassy knolls and large complexes. Lighting and shadowing is well done, and the exhaust effects on the helicopters look fantastic. Unfortunately, too many other details are lacking. The weapons models are very simple, for example, and the mostly smooth terrain sometimes gets very blocky.

The biggest problem is the game’s inconsistent performance. A good PC will be able to provide fluidity with all the details enabled most of the time. However, certain sections of levels provide you with expansive vistas over miles of terrain, and when this happens the graphics engine bottoms out, making precision shooting impossible.

Xtreme Adequacy

Delta Force: Xtreme is a budget title, and it plays like one. Every feature this game has to offer has been better implemented elsewhere. However, that doesn’t make the game a total waste. Fans of the original will probably get a nostalgic kick here, and people looking for a fast-paced shooter that they don’t have to think too much about are likely to have some fun, too.