Online game "Delta Force"

Those who follow the development of the online shooter genre know that Chinese developers are not very good at finding their own ideas, but they know how to combine the advantages of other people's games in one work like no one else. Especially if there is already a ready franchise known to millions of gamers. That's how the recipe of success of the new Delta Force was formed: it's a reference to the classics, and a dynamic action movie with fifty soldiers on one map, tanks, helicopters and missile strikes, and also an evacuation mode, repeating the rules of Escape from Tarkov. In general, in words - a ready hit, and also available for free. Let's see what it's like in practice.

It's all about nostalgia and the special place Delta Force occupies in the history of the game industry. The first game of the series appeared in 1998 and was dedicated to the special unit "Delta" within the U.S. Airborne Forces. This unit was created in response to the growing terrorist threat after 1972, when the Black September group attacked Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. In the two days that the hostage rescue operation lasted, the police's poor preparedness for this kind of threat became apparent to law enforcement officials in Germany and other countries, including America.

The Delta Force's first mission was Operation Eagle Claw to free 53 Americans taken hostage in Tehran, but later the unit's role expanded to include general military operations. Delta operatives have fought in Panama, Iraq and Afghanistan. They successfully hunted Iraqi missile launchers during Desert Storm and helped the Rangers of the 75th Parachute Regiment when they were ambushed in the middle of the Somali capital. Each heroic episode was reflected in the Delta Force series. For example, Ridley Scott released the movie "Black Hawk" about the battle for Mogadishu - and more than a year later NavaLogic studio presented Delta Force: Black Hawk Dawn.

Interest in the shooters of the series was fueled by three circumstances. First, the actions of "Delta" have always been covered with a veil of secrecy, and the public knew about them only by rumors. And here you could become a special forces fighter yourself and take part in any operation of your choice. Secondly, the games of the cycle had no alternatives in the late 1990s: they offered beautiful graphics for those times and simulation of battles, when the heroes spent half an hour traversing the level, but could be killed by a single sniper's bullet. Finally, DF shooters had freedom of choice in completing missions - they were never linear. It also had great multiplayer. And that, mind you, was long before the first Call of Duty and Battlefield installments came out.

Nevertheless, the glory of the series turned out to be short-lived. The main reason for its decline was the fact that developers from year to year introduced less and less innovations and did not deal with the engine - while the competitors were gaining momentum and becoming more spectacular with each new release. The agony of the franchise dragged on, and the franchise came to an end with the failed Xtreme game, after which NavaLogic shut down production and sold the rights to Delta Force to THQ Nordic, a company well known to gamers. The acquisition was not the most profitable - and in the end the intellectual property went into the hands of the Chinese from Tencent. And the development of the updated version of the action movie was entrusted to TiMi J3 Studio - the team responsible, incidentally, for Call of Duty: Mobile.

It should be noted that, unlike the classic "Delta" with its viscous, complex and slow gameplay, the new Delta Force has a completely different character. It is a very dynamic, entertaining and, one might even say, fun action movie. That is, only the name is from the classics. Perhaps, it's for the best, because it is lightness and mobility together with a big name that provided the updated action game with a rapid growth of popularity and 100 000 online in Steam in the first week of sales. But if you live in Russia, you won't be able to play through Steam - to solve this problem you need to go to the official site and download the Russian version from there. Fortunately, you won't need to create a Kazakh account to play the game.

Right in the main menu we see what Delta Force is going to entertain us with. There are four items: "Battles", "Operations", "Black Hawk" and the current event. The first is, roughly speaking, an imitation of Battlefield, the second is an homage to Escape from Tarkov, the third is a mode with a story, and the event can be anything. Right now, for example, night time operations and Hardcore are popular, but there are other interesting matchmaking environments. Before diving into the online game offers to go through a tutorial campaign, where the beginner will be told how to run, shoot, mark objects on the map and activate special skills.

Moreover, ten characters of four classes are available at the start - and each of the operatives has unique properties. For example, if you take control of a medic nicknamed Roy, he will not only heal his comrades in battle, but also put up a smoke screen. Stormtrooper Lytowolf is the only one who uses a motorized exoskeleton, which allows him to move quickly and perform "rolls", i.e. sliding on the floor on his heel. Luna Kim from the Intelligence class is skilled with a bow - some of her arrows light up enemies, others explode, and still others electrocute enemies. There are also engineers with gadgets to deal more damage.

The maps in Delta Force are spacious enough to amuse the tactical savvy of gamers, but without overdoing it - there's always something going on in each section of terrain. Do not expect long lulls, as in the original series, from the matches in the new action movie. At the same time, the locations here are very diverse. There is a "Dam" with several large buildings like a cement factory. "Forest" consists of villages connected by bridges over a network of rivers, "Cosmogorod" is a continuous industrial zone with laboratories and mines, and also in the set - purely urban map, where you can fight in the streets or buildings. The destruction mechanics adds interest: if you have enough explosives and missiles, you can partially demolish walls - just like in Battlefield.

Of course, there are plenty of various decorations like weapon trinkets, gun skins, armor colors and other ways to stand out. That is, you can personalize anything, but the brighter and more unusual the decor, the more expensive it is. You can buy beauty for in-game coins - Delta Coins, and they, in turn, are given in the course of exchanging items or for real money. Otherwise, the game is free, but if you want to support the developers with a coin, you can pay for a rare collection.

You should start your acquaintance with the online shooter with the "Battle" mode, because it is very clear, and also it is often compared to Battlefield 2042 - fans of the genre will master it without difficulty. The rules are simple: two teams of 32 people fight on the map, racing to capture and defend control points, and in addition to infantry weapons you can use tanks, armored vehicles, helicopters and other equipment. The abundance of tactical possibilities creates a sense of scope: you can fight on the ground, and from the air to cover your comrades, and go through the rear on the armor.

Shooting in the game is convenient, and it is optimized well enough to work on not the most modern computers without stuttering. But let's note for justice that the specifications of guns do not correspond to the real models - some pistols, for example, can be more powerful than a Kalashnikov assault rifle. On the other hand, fans of fiddling with weapon workbenches will be satisfied. There are a lot of modules and modifications here, starting from stocks and grips and ending with changing the location of individual parts. Nothing prevents you from screwing on the sight at such an angle that it would be convenient for you to use it. As a result, some rifles can have as many as five ways of aiming - not every shooter will offer such an option.

The developers also responsibly approached the progress of gamers. Here you will find the usual for online fighters pumping system - with the awarding of experience points and rewards for each level of account and battle pass. There is nothing extravagant in the quests: you will be required, for example, to kill a certain number of enemies or help five wounded comrades to get back on their feet. Prizes for success are jewelry, game currency, weapon skins and other such pleasant little things, which, however, do not affect the balance.

In addition, there is its own progression right during matches in "Battles". It's about special techniques available to operatives. During a firefight, you accumulate points, which can then be invested in the call to the battlefield equipment (like a tank or buggy), the installation of a revival beacon (this is such a mobile respawn point for allies) and special types of attacks. These include purely tactical tricks like smoke screens and several types of bombardment. The most powerful bombardment unleashes a ballistic missile that destroys everything in the area where it falls.

But Delta Force also offers "Operations" - an escape mode like Escape from Tarkov. Sometimes the repetitions are too obvious: there are also customers here, rewarding you for completing quests, developing your own hideout, managing your loot in a cache, and even an analog of "wild", when you are offered to take control of a character with pre-defined equipment. And the rules are painfully familiar: you are dropped off at a location, then you collect as much loot as possible and try to leave the level while your legs are walking, because in case of hero's death all the contents of the inventory disappear. Here, unlike in "Battles", bots act, not only live opponents, but AI opponents are not very smart. In general, "Operations" seems to be much easier than EFT missions.

If we arrange Delta Force activities in ascending order of difficulty, then "Battles" comes first, then "Operations", and on the pedestal will be "Black Hawk". This is a cooperative PvE mode with a story based on the already mentioned battle in Mogadishu. In the fall of 1993, the American military from the peacekeeping group tried to arrest General Aidid, who commanded the forces of the Somali National Alliance, but fell into a trap. Not only did the rebels block the rangers, they also shot down two MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Trying to protect the surviving pilots, Delta Sergeants Gordon, Shugart, Bush and Fillmore were killed in action.

The rest of the Special Forces fought alongside the stranded Rangers of the 75th Parachute Regiment until UN reinforcements arrived. These tragic events are the focus of the Black Hawk story campaign. Those who watched the Ridley Scott movie of the same name will immediately recognize the scenery, uniforms, weapons and equipment that are presented in this mode. Joining your friends in one squad, you will step by step pass seven missions related to the Somali battle. That is, you will have to escort a convoy of vehicles, and clean up colorful locations of Mogadishu like the bazaar, and get to the fallen helicopters, eliminating snipers and grenade launchers on the roofs of buildings.

The main thing in passing these tests is mutual support. First of all, the squad must be complete, that is, it must consist of four living participants, because allied bots are almost useless. And people with intelligence will distribute the roles among themselves according to the abilities and desires of each. Hence - the second point: it is necessary to treat wounded partners and cover the whole to act as effectively as possible, because no indulgences this mode does not give. Each of the four classes must fall into skillful hands, and it is impossible to repeat the specialty of the fighters in the squad. That is, you can have only one engineer, one stormtrooper, one medic and a scout. And some character skills are much more useful here than in "Battles". For example, if no one knows how to share ammo with friends, you won't be able to replenish their supply any other way.

Don't forget about "friendly fire" - you can accidentally hit your comrades, if not with a bullet, then with grenade fragments thrown without warning. However, the main difficulty is bots - they are stupid, because with the development of artificial intelligence in TiMi J3 Studio did not bother much, but very accurate. In second place in terms of difficulty should be put tasks performed for time. But don't think that Black Hawk will squeeze all the juices out of you. Everything from storming the militant headquarters to the so-called "Mogadishu mile" will take less than three hours for the played team.

The new Delta Force looks like a perfect assemblage of popular online shooters. For complete happiness, the only thing missing is the "battle royal", but the developers, judging by their own statements, do not plan to add it. Otherwise, here you can shoot from different weapons, ride on vehicles, fight in PvP and PvE, and even go through the story campaign with friends. And all this - with good optimization and for free. That's why fans of the genre should definitely get acquainted with this shooter.

Zarium. May 2025