Lost Classics: Delta Force – Urban Warfare (PS1)

Earlier this week, I featured a compilation of the PC Delta Force games. So to that end, this week’s Lost Classic features a Playstation side entry of the series. This game is special as it was one of the last (if not the last) first person shooter games for the original Playstation. While Novalogic could have easily phoned this end, they instead chose to go all out with it, creating one last engaging military-style FPS experience, putting this game head and shoulders above other PS1 shooters, and even giving a few then current-gen shooters a run for their money.

Urban Warfare is different from its PC cousins, as instead of being a tactical shooter, this is more of a straightforward FPS, having a unique character, storyline, and single player campaign. You are a member of the Delta Force, seeking to avenge the deaths of your team and stop a terrorist attack. You’ll make your way throughout 12 missions, such as a bank robbery, hostage rescue, and an oil rig. While no one will mistake this for Rainbow Six, tactics and stealth take center stage here. Just like in the PC games, you can stand, crouch, or kneel to make yourself a harder target to hit. You make use of silenced weaponry to catch enemies off guard, and you can even hide bodies and take their radios to eavesdrop in on enemy patrol routes. This game can almost be considered a FPS Splinter Cell or Metal Gear.

As you can imagine, this game’s control scheme is very complicated. Although you can play it using the original PS1 pad, you’ll definitely want a dual shock (of course if you’re playing on PS2 or 3, then it won’t matter). The cutscene graphics leave a bit to be desired, but then again this is a PS1 game. The weapons and backdrops look realistic, and even though you’re once again a one-man army, you get the feel of participating in a real military operation.

Sony has learned a valuable lesson in this industry. It behooves a console developer to keep the lights on the previous model as long as possible. There are third party developers who will still put their best foor forward for the consumers who have yet to afford the new system. This is how we’re still getting a bunch of awesome PS2 fighting game compilations and RPGS nearly 3 years into the PS3’s life cycle. Microsoft has yet to pick up on this, Nintendo is beginning to forget this, and Sega forgot it completely, as evidenced by the Saturn’s premature death. Amongst all the hype for the increasingly popular Grand Theft Autos, Half Lives, and Final Fantasy 10s, Novalogic silently delivered a solid console FPS game, for Playstation no less. Hopefully we’ll see this game on the PSN store sometime in the near future.