[OFP] Davidian by Slayer aka GodHatesUsAll

Review by Sui

Overview

If done properly, good atmosphere can really make a mission stand out. This is the case with Davidian, as the author(s) have used a number of clever techniques to put the player on the edge of their seat.

The premise is the time honoured hostage rescue, with a couple of civilians being held hostage by a terrorist cult. As a counter-terrorism specialist, it is your job to go in and bring them out safely.

Intro

The scene is well set with the opening intro cinematic. A combination of well chosen slow angle shots combined with eerie, mysterious music notch up the atmosphere before the mission has even started. Kudos to O'Neil for that one!

Briefing

The briefing details the operation nicely, with markers showing the detailed plan of how the operation should go down. There is no gear selection at all, due to gear being chosen through a menu system once the mission starts. However, I do not think this was very well done, as I'll explain shortly.

Mission

The mission starts and the atmosphere is maintained with dark, rainy weather and an excellent mist script. This is where the player is shown a dialog menu, given options to change the weather settings (great for replayability), save the game and choose different 'kits' for weapon selection. I didn't find the kit selection very good, as I had no idea what the 'sniper kit' or the 'assault kit' comprised of. Had there been a standard weapons selection in the briefing, the player would have been able to see exactly what they were getting and customise it to their needs. Don't get me wrong, the menu was very nice. However, I think it was slightly misplaced as the standard way of selecting weapons is much better, in my humble opinion.

Creeping through the undergrowth, the first terrorist camp comes into view. Peering through the mist, perimeter patrols and guards can be hard to spot. Being spotted prematurely will spell instant death for the hostage, so it's important to get the timing right!

The set out of the opposing forces and the scenery was well done. Patrol patterns can catch the unwary by surprise, and clearing the houses can be nasty if you're not very careful. A couple of suggestions I would make to improve this already good mission would have been random enemy placements for replayability, and the addition of a couple of squad members for the player. The Rainbox Six voice samples are very nice and help to maintain the atmosphere, but it seems a bit strange with the player effectively talking to themselves.

About the only major bug I found was that the mist/music script stops working upon loading a game. This could possibly be due to the 'time' variable resetting to zero (as it does when you load), or something similar. Other than that, it seemed very solid technically.

Overall

(Review Date: Mar 2004) Overall, this is a well constructed, though simple, lone-wolf mission. It is definitely worth playing a couple of times for the atmosphere at least. The author(s) have utilized some clever tricks to immerse the player in the action, and this shines through above all else.