There have been several squad tactics first person shooters recently. They all have their followings, but none of them managed to capture the majority of hardcore gamers' hearts. So how does Hidden and Dangerous stack up?

The first thing you notice about H&D is the complicated controls. Reading the manual is a must, and we recommend you keep it handy for the first few hours of play. In addition to the normal first-person shooter commands, you can control your characters stance (standing, crouching, or prone), dive to the sides, and move stealthily. You can switch between first and third-person views and the soldier you are controlling, both of which you will be doing often. And you can issue basic commands to soldiers near the one you are controlling. These include commands like "Follow me!" and "Stop!" This may not seem complicated, but those added controls are among the most frequently used so you have to get used to them from the start.

The first and third person control, while adding nice additions to play, falls down in the area of feel. In the Quake engine, a truly skilled person can move around quickly and easily. In Hidden and Dangerous, a truly skilled person can move around like a drunken elephant. Aiming is extremely difficult. The gun sight bounces around madly and the only way you can hit anything farther than ten feet away is by stopping your soldier in his tracks and aiming very carefully. Throwing grenades is extraordinarily difficult, and you will kill your own soldiers as often as the enemies. Don't expect smooth control from Hidden and Dangerous. The control is not terrible, but it's certainly below average. This is actually not that bad for the game on the whole, because you are not supposed to control your soldiers directly as much as you are supposed to control them tactically. There is, however, a problem there.