Graphics

Insane in the engine

Hidden and Dangerous uses the Insanity graphics engine, and supports both D3D and Glide. It has, actually, fairly impressive graphics. (Those of you who regularly read my stuff will know that I am seldom impressed with a game's graphics, despite the tendency in the industry to drool over them) The characters look realistic for today's graphical standards, especially the faces. Unfortunately, there seem to be very few character models; one hero, and two or three enemies seem to repeat their image over and over.

Even though the game's characters are swanky-lookin', the area where the graphics really shine is environments. Each level is a whole new story, from forests to river locks to oil refineries to airfields. Also, the scenery is always detailed. For example, different sorts of trees, log cabins, and dirt roads line the forest, while the airfield is in a clear, flat valley, with mountains rising on all sides.

Let's plan this out

Kill 'em all

It's like rain

Another aspect of the graphical environments that enhances the game experience is the realistic weather. Some levels are bright and sunny, but some are mired in rain or snow. The coastal town you visit at night is even blanketed by the marine layer. Weather not only affects the look and feel of the game, but visibility as well. It's a lot easier to hide and sneak through a foggy coastal town at night than it is through a clear field in the middle of the day; your enemies know this, and so should you.

The only realm that the game's graphics suffer (and suffer they do) is the area of clipping. The game handles this quite poorly; you can often see through walls and such if you walk the wrong way, and sometimes even walk through them. If you get too close to your comrades, parts of their bodies will simply disappear, leaving a jumbled up mess of polygons behind. Although being able to see enemies through walls can come in handy, it really shouldn't be happening.

Which one doesn't belong?

Train wreck