Hidden & Dangerous

About Hidden & Dangerous

Hidden & Dangerous (1999) is Illusion Softworks' Second World War tactical shooter in which the player leads a four-man SAS team on missions behind enemy lines, where brief contact can be fatal.

Hidden & Dangerous in Depth

The player commands a four-man British Special Air Service team on important missions during the Second World War, across six campaigns in Italy, Yugoslavia, Germany, Norway, the North Sea and Czechoslovakia. Before each mission the player selects soldiers and works through a comprehensive loadout of weapons and equipment, and briefings set out objectives, intelligence on enemy strength and recommended plans of advance. Missions include sabotage, search and destroy, rescuing prisoners of war and aiding the resistance.

In the field the player can take direct control by switching between the soldiers in the squad, issue voice commands, or use a tactical map that allows real-time control or planned manoeuvres carried out once the map is closed. The game can be played in first or third person, switching between the two at will. Although it takes liberties with real SAS missions and timelines, it keeps a degree of historical accuracy and an intense atmosphere, with realistic wounding: squad members can be badly hurt or killed by even brief contact with the enemy. Edge praised it as "challenging, deep, acutely atmospheric and an intense adventure", while AllGame called it "boxed potential". The Fight for Freedom expansion, known in the US as Devil's Bridge, added soldiers, weapons and missions in Poland, the Ardennes and post-war Greece.

Making Hidden & Dangerous

Illusion Softworks developed it, and Take-Two Interactive and TalonSoft published it for Windows, Dreamcast and PlayStation. The PC and Dreamcast versions received average reviews overall: Edge gave the PC version nine out of ten, saying it "is such a sweeping success that it dwarfs any criticism" despite clunky controls and graphical glitches, NextGen praised the Dreamcast version's missions and options despite bugs, and GameZone wanted more patches and fixed online play. Most of its success came from Europe; PC Gamer US said it endured poor sales in the States because of competition from Rainbow Six, limited multiplayer and little marketing. The Fight for Freedom expansion was received less favourably, and Hidden & Dangerous 2 followed in 2003.