Technology Lesson

Delta Force Task Force Dagger full version for PC

Info:
While Red Storm Entertainments Rainbow Six series often gets all the credit for establishing the tactical shooter genre, games like NovaLogics long-running Delta Force series deserve some credit too. With a focus on real-world weaponry, long-range sniping, and quick kills, the early Delta Force games helped create a new level of realism in shooters. Nevertheless, the Delta Force series has since been left limping along the gaming wayside, surpassed by superior tactical shooters like SWAT 3, Operation Flashpoint, and Ghost Recon. NovaLogics latest release, Delta Force: Task Force Dagger, simply cant compare with these games and marks a real step backward for the Delta Force series.

It may sound like doublespeak, but NovaLogic is billing Task Force Dagger as a "stand-alone mission pack" for 2000s once-decent but now-dated Delta Force: Land Warrior. This seeming contradiction means youll get the same fundamental game engine featured in Land Warrior, but with 25 new missions and a bunch of new weapons. Unfortunately, none of them are particularly entertaining.

In Task Force Dagger, you head to Afghanistan to fight in missions inspired by Operation Enduring Freedom--which may suggest to some that NovaLogic is simply trying to profit from tragic real-world events. NovaLogic touts the game as a tribute to the heroes of the conflict, but Task Force Dagger simply treats the subject matter with cold, boring sterility. As far as story and setting go, its one of the most uninvolving tactical shooters in a long time.

In Task Force Dagger, youll head to places like Kandahar, where youll destroy SAM sites. In Mazar-e Sharif, youll try to capture an enemy commander. In Bagh-e Daud, youll try to rescue a journalist. Despite this seeming variety, many missions play the same: Approach a compound, snipe a bunch of guys who are just standing around, move in, blast a few remaining guys who are just standing around, and grab some documents or blow something up. The fact that you do most of these things without any AI companions is both dull and unrealistic. As for multiplayer, its decent enough for a short spell but ultimately just the same sort of thing youve played many times before: capture the flag, king of the hill, deathmatch, and the like.

Delta Force: Land Warrior is probably most remembered for its atrocious enemy AI. The utter ineptitude of your opponents often made the game feel more like a glorified shooting gallery than a true tactical shooter. Task Force Dagger offers little, if any, improvement to the AI. If the enemy beats you, its only because they grossly outnumber you. Theyre brainless pushovers who yell out for no reason, only drawing attention to themselves, or who stand motionless when you shoot one of their buddies in the same room.

Youll get to "fight" these enemies as one of 10 different Special Forces groups, like the US Green Berets or the British SAS. Each force has special abilities, like enhanced swimming (not exactly in demand in the mountains of Afghanistan) or the ability to withstand more damage (apparently Marines have thicker skin). Each group also has its preferred weapons, though how exactly these preferences affect gameplay is never made clear, since its easy enough to hit targets with any weapon. Read more

System requirements: MINIMUM
Pentium II 400MHz Processor
200MB Hard Disk Space
64MB RAM
4X CD-ROM Drive
Windows compatible Sound Card
Direct3D Accelerated Video Card
Mouse
DirectX 7.0
Full Duplex Sound Card for Transmitting Voice-Over-Net
RECOMMENDED
128MB RAM
Voice-Over-Net

NovaWorld Service (multiplayer)

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