Bennett Ring likes nothing more than to catch an RPG round with his chest.
There's no denying that the Black Hawk Down book and movie are brilliant examples of military story telling. If you haven't read the book yet and are even vaguely interested in modern urban warfare, grab a copy now. It's not like the author and director had to be exceptionally creative only needing to follow the events that unfolded in 1993 in Mogadishu. The end result is one of the most frightening, awesome and furious war stories ever told. Considering the level of carnage that this event entailed, combined with copious amounts of military hardware, it's not surprising there is a game based around these 24 hours of gibbage.
The game sees you playing the role of both US Ranger and Delta Force operatives involved in the various missions that led to this fateful operation, as well as the actual Irene mission itself. There are around 12 different missions to complete to make it through the single player game - sadly you'll probably finish these in around five hours. Many of the missions involve you being inserted into the combat area via an assortment of military vehicles with the objective to kill somebody, escort a convoy or escape to a certain point.
Manning weaponry on vehicles isn't new to first person shooters, but it's a technique that has never been relied upon so heavily before.
Unfortunately you'll never control these vehicles, and after the delights of Battlefield 1942 this is a major disappointment. Considering the game engine BHD uses (a derivative of the Comanche 4), there's really no excuse for leaving out drivable vehicles.
You wouldn't expect a flight sim (wannabe) engine to suit a first person shooter, but BHD does an admirable job. Draw distance is phenomenal, while the sheer amount of buildings and shacks populating each level is breathtaking. Character and vehicle details are equally impressive, with one large drawback: interiors are very sparse with a boxy feel to them. Thankfully you'll be doing most of your fighting outdoors.
In reality these soldiers don't ever operate on their own, Rambo style, so for every mission you'll have at least four members backing you up. However, instead of being the one-shot, one-kill, elite soldiers you'd expect, these guys act as if they've been chewing some heavy duty khat (a Somalian tree with amphetamine-like effects). Compared to the likes of Raven Shield, the AI for your soldiers is woeful - rarely, if ever, do they take down an enemy. It's not as if there aren't many civilians, oops, targets to hit - over the course of the campaign I managed to take down over 1500 Somalians - both good and bad. By the end of the game I shot anyone who dared to even look, let alone fire at me. "Sorry sir, but your shirt is ugly - nothing a burst of gunfire to the chest can't fix. There you go: red is sooo your colour."
According to the manual your team mates are supposedly able to clear rooms in the same manner as real US soldiers - after flashing the room each soldier heads to a different corner, thus taking out every enemy in the area. In reality they end up flashing you, before getting gunned down by the bad guys as they enter the room.
With enemies as intelligent as frontal lobotomy patients, you'll be within a couple of feet of a skinny and he still doesn't hit you. The real life soldiers were amazed at how bad the Somalians were at shooting, but there's no way they were this inept.
Multiplayer is a variation of capture and hold game play, with the added novelty of Black Hawks and ground vehicles. Like the single player, the vehicles aren't controllable, instead orbiting the map like bizarre cable cars with miniguns. Again, compared to games such as Desert Combat, this is more than a little disappointing.
While there's a lot not to like about BHD, it makes up for these flaws with a heavy dose of atmosphere. The vast maze-like levels, packed to the brim with hostile AK-47 wielders, manage to capture the feel of the event. The radio calls of your team mates, a brilliant touch, help to impart the notion that the brown stuff has just hit the Black Hawk rotor. Don't expect it to be as realistic as Raven Shield - BHD is pure arcade bliss. The highlight of the game is easily the Irene mission, where you relive the event the book and movie are based around.
You'll have a blast completing the campaign, although it becomes a little samey after a while. Unfortunately you'll probably complete it in a single night, and the multiplayer isn't likely to hold lasting appeal. This is the biggest complaint of the game; while the other flaws are easy to overlook considering how much fun you'll have, it's simply far too short to justify spending $90.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012