great game I would not call it dated Its to the point and not as complex as it may look

Disclaimer: This review is only for the Single Player modes. I have not touched the multiplayer.

TL;DR: Good technological innovations, good level design for the most part, realistic, despite aged graphics, still relevant in today's tactical shooter scene. Has stuttering issues.

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Delta Force 2 is a fun and charming game and even though I say that while accounting for the fact that the game came out in 1999,marking it's Silver Jubilee this year, when the modern mil-sim scene is considered I'd call this an entry-level game that is still relevant to the advancements that we've had in modern games.

The main story of Delta Force is divided into two campaigns: Operation Common Resolve and Operation Global Enforcement. Unlike its predecessor, the campaigns are not restricted to only country, but actually span several countries. Each campaign has 14 missions in total. However, one mission from each campaign is a hidden mission, to unlock which, you have to collect intelligence from certain other missions. Beside that, Operation Common Resolve has one mission that cannot be accessed without using a Hex Editor, giving the game and total of 25 main missions. Apart from that, there are also 19 Standalone quick missions in the game. While the campaign missions are engaging, they ultimately boil down a goose-chase, trailing terrorists across the globe. Unlike in Delta Force, we rarely ever go on the offensive and when we do, our efforts feel more like filler rather than an actual mission important to the campaign. In contrast, the Quick Missions are far more engaging despite not being interlinked by any story and that's primarily because of the level designs in those levels.

One of the things that feels like a downgrade as compared to the first Delta Force is the lack of proper briefings. The briefings simply give you the situation at hand and tell you what you do without going into too many details about the action plan or even how the current mission fares into the grand scheme of the entire campaign. To add on top of that, they've removed the debriefing screen entirely. It breaks the immersion and doesn't motivate me as much. On the other hand, the voice lines in the game have been revamped to add even more immersion. If your teammates are alive, they will usually have something or the other to say about the way the situation evolves over time. In most cases, the significant events in the game are well narrated and despite limitations of the era, they actually implemented proper ambient noises in the backgrounds. The only thing that I find breaks the immersion would be the enemy death screams. When our own teammates die, they sound extremely convincing. However, the death sounds from the enemies sound greatly stereotypical and low-effort.

The level design has received a massive upgrade in this iteration. The levels no longer shower you with hordes of enemies in most cases and even when they do, you typically have well-set level paths to guide you to your objectives. Apart from the lack of a large number of enemy combatants, they are also placed at strategic spots that truly make the open-world nature of the game shine through. They have added a lot more terrain to utilise as per your preferred playstyle. You are free to circumvent problematic parts of the map if you deem it fit. The waypoints were something to mostly ignore in the first game, but in this iteration, they tend to point you towards the optimal solution. That being said, there were instances where the level design felt a little off. At some instances during missions with stealth, it felt like the enemy AI is not programmed to see us at all. There were also cases where I had to rely on stealth in a game that isn't optimised for it. Then there were the few levels that felt like you were in an action movie instead of a military operation with the kind of things they ask you to do, like in 'Safe Haven.'

Guns are another huge upgrade in this game. A lot of the experience is also tied to the technological advancements, but almost every gun in the game has its place. The M4 gives you versatility the same way an actual AR would. The suppressed weapons also have their place in this game since stealth is now possible and it now possible to spot enemies without scopes. The snipers have a different identity as well with the M40 providing you with more rounds and the .50 cal providing you with a faster RoF and materiel penetration but fewer rounds. There is also underwater gear, but I didn't find any instances where I would want to use them. You also have Ghillie Suits in this game that make you practically invisible when crawling and satchel charges finally work as intended! You also have greater control over your gear with four Loadout slots instead of three.

The gameplay has greatly improved with stealth now being a thing. Enemies don't automatically spot you from across the map and factors such as fog, your attire, time of day, and concealment factoring into it all. It turns each mission into more of a surgical strike than rather than a kill-all simulator. Delta Force always had an emphasis on strategy, but this minor change boosts it to a whole new level where your tactics are even more important on the battlefield. The game is still a realistic mil-sim shooter where the odds are heavily stacked against you. The levels are not easy unless you consider most of the Quick Missions. The typical level will require a few tries with some of the harder levels being left almost entirely to RNG or at most, memorisation. The enemy AI has also been dumbed down to to give you plenty of time to safely sweep and clear buildings in missions that call for it in contrast to Delta Force where they would shoot you dead on sight. This also brings in the possibility of hostage rescue scenarios which you'll find plenty of, especially in the Quick Missions. This iteration, though, has a thing for vehicles as you'll find various kinds of them throughout the game with Helicopters being the most notorious of them all.

They decided to upgrade the engine to give you better graphics and make enhancements on existing technologies. For instance, bullets have better drop and travel times. The game now has bullet penetration as well as transparent, breakable glass. This means that your .50 cal will now act like it and basic bullets will penetrate cloth. They fixed the Satchel charge to work properly in this game while making another major change: you can now only blow things up using explosives, making the SAW less handy. It is also possible to enter buildings now without crashing the game. Night Vision still doesn't illuminate the view well enough.

There are a fair few problems with the game though, and most of it is related to the gameplay. Overlooking the one mission that can only be accessed through the level editor as it might just be cut content that was packaged with the build, the most glaring flaw is the stuttering issue. The game tends to stutter around areas with too many objects, such as most areas in the single player missions. The game also freezes from time to time even though there is a fan-made fix for that. Objects in the game often don't render properly and lead to visual glitches including enemies five feet from you. There are also numerous times where the enemies can shoot and kill you through walls (you can't). Your own teammates might get stuck inside objects at times. The friendly AI also causes mission failure in 'Life Guard,' making the appropriate course of action, simply making them stay put. One of the settings menu also causes the game to crash.

While Delta Force 2 is not perfect, it is very fun game despite its lack of a strong narrative. The levels speak for themselves. The bugs do break immersion but it still feel pretty realistic to where a good strategy and fluid battlefield tactics are typically important in addition to skills.