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Article Type: Review
Article Date: December 19, 2001
Deadly Dozen is a tactical shooter set in World War II and is based on an elite group of soldiers trained for special operations and to be ruthlessly efficient at taking out the enemy using all manner of weapons, stealth, and hand-to-hand tactics. Back in 1943 a Major Quentin Maxwell of the US Army was given orders to recruit and train a small squad to carry out such covert operations.
Now down to the manual. They are getting worse. I remember the books one used to get and I’ve not been around computer games forever. This one fits inside the CD case itself and gives one the bare essentials. You get a preface on “The Deadly Dozen” then a little information about the weapons and vehicles, both American and German. You’ll get some tactical advice albeit this is minimal at best.
What the manual doesn’t cover you can find at www.n-fusion.com. That’s the Deadly Dozen homepage and they have more info there; and if that doesn’t satisfy you, try a search for some WWII info. The net is swamped with just about anything and everything related to WWII. This seems to be the way of the game company now as boxes are swapped for DVD cases and manuals are made in PDF format. So don’t expect any in-depth help from the manual, it does all it has to and nothing more.
First up is the main menu that will give you the option of starting a new game or loading a saved game. Then there’s the usual options screen for gameplay, graphics sound and controls. Then there’s an option for a Tutorial.
The tutorial mission is quite well done and makes up for the scant info in the docs. The tutorial includes shooting practice with a rifle, a Bazooka and a MG-42. You’ll also get a driving lesson, learn how to lay anti-personnel and anti-tank mines. There's even a section on how to best walk through a minefield. If you run through a minefield, you can hear a load of mines going off as your team follows you. The training session really is a worthwhile exercise.
When you have tried out the training the next step is to start a real mission. Unless you use the start-up front-end utility you'll have to play each mission in order. The first screen is a mission briefing in text and audio (The voice in the briefing sounds exactly like Robert Mitchum. It's not, I checked). There’s a map that has some information relating to the mission ahead. Two buttons are for intel and objectives (you can also press the Esc key at any time during a mission for a list of the objectives as well as the objectives completed).
Once you’ve understood what’s expected of you in the forthcoming mission click continue to move onto the roster screen. Here you can select three men from a pool of eleven men. The first person on the top left is you. By highlighting a soldier it will display a list of skills that are unique to that soldier. Some have skills that are better than others. You decide from the men available who you want with you on the mission. You then move on to the equipment screen where you select your kit for the mission. You are limited to what you can carry from the two categories of weapons and items, so choose wisely according to the mission objective. Once you've got your squad chosen and weapons and items selected, it’s time to go forth and begin the mission.
I thought the mission briefing screen was adequate, there’s nothing special required here. The roster screen served its purpose, as did the equipment screen. There’s no fancy gimmicks or graphics to complicate things.
The in-game screen interface gives you the basics and all you really need. A compass, a health indicator and an ammo indicator. You will also find in the top right of the screen four faces. One of these is you, the others are those of your squadmates. Your face and that of your squad mates will redden as your health drops so watch carefully before it’s too late.
When it is too late and you and your mates are no longer walking the earth, you will get a debrief screen telling you that what happened when you lost your mission. This is aimed at making you feel bad, I certainly did when Bastone fell and it was all my fault.
You have a number of formations at your command including a left or a right-hand skirmish line, which all sounds like fun, but when I told my men to go on a left-hand skirmish they just looked at me as if to say “after you”. Now that’s what I call clever AI Or maybe the commands are not as responsive as I’d have hoped. The accompanying men tend to stick very close together and apart from ordering them to hold back there isn’t much else that can be done to keep a distance between you and your men.
Remember, you have three men with you so whatever you do can affect what happens to your soldiers. In other words, plan your tactics wisely. As I said previously, watch for the reddening of your squad mates' faces on the top left of the screen. This is a health factor that could mean the end of the mission if you’re not careful. Completing the mission alone could be tricky. Always check your inventory for health packs. If you do die but other members of your team are still alive you can move into any active player and continue the mission.
The enemy AI are quite good. Certain movements or sounds by you or your squad will trigger them into carrying out different actions. So do be careful when you’re rustling in the bushes. This counts for dogs as well; yes, some German soldiers have German Shepherd guard dogs with them. These dogs are quite well modeled. I took a moment to watch one and I could see it sniff the air, wag its tail, paw the ground, stand up, then sit again and act basically like a real German Shepherd on guard duty. Oh and watch out for tanks. You’ll see those around too and the tanks don’t give up following until you’ve put them out of action.
On the con side, muzzle flashes are not the best and I found them rather off putting at times. Also frustrating was the limited view one gets of the surroundings. Because there's so much detail, what with swaying grass and all, the game only draws your immediate surroundings. Anything more than fifty feet away is shrouded in mist. This is grim, I didn’t like that at all, but not a total fun killer.
The uniforms looked very good. I’m not sure how historically accurate they were, but they did look very convincing.
The ambient sounds are very well done. Bushes rustle as you walk through them, crickets chitter, pigeons coo in barns, and seagulls cry in missions where you find yourself along the ocean. The weapon sounds are great and overall well put together although I thought the vehicle sounds including the tank was too quiet.
Please note: Windows XP is not officially supported but seemed to work fine in our limited testing.
I could have made references to Hidden & Dangerous on numerous occasions with Deadly Dozen, but that wouldn’t have been fair on either game. Deadly Dozen deserves a shout although don’t expect a game of greatness. That said, one has to remember it’s a budget game so with that taken into account I’d say you’re getting a fair deal. Graphically well executed except that damn limitation on the distance you can see in your immediate surroundings.
Reviewer's System:
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Deadly Dozen
by Robert "Bilko" ShawArticle Type: Review
Article Date: December 19, 2001
Introduction
Another budget World War II game I hear you yelp in despair? Well yes, but before you walk away, take a closer look at this first person shooter and see what sort of ammunition it has loaded. There’s been more than a few arcade shooters delivered to the computer game world recently and another would have had Deadly Dozen dead before you could say "Shoot me!".  |
| The briefing Screen |
Deadly Dozen is a tactical shooter set in World War II and is based on an elite group of soldiers trained for special operations and to be ruthlessly efficient at taking out the enemy using all manner of weapons, stealth, and hand-to-hand tactics. Back in 1943 a Major Quentin Maxwell of the US Army was given orders to recruit and train a small squad to carry out such covert operations.
Installation and Docs
Installation was a breeze, no problems at all. It took around five minutes with the usual ritual of telling you that you need Direct X 8. If you don’t have it, don’t fret. Deadly Dozen does have it and will install it. You get the option to register you game online as well. Then after all that you need to reboot. Again, Deadly Dozen will tell you this. It’s all very painless.  |
| It's best to avoid tanks |
Now down to the manual. They are getting worse. I remember the books one used to get and I’ve not been around computer games forever. This one fits inside the CD case itself and gives one the bare essentials. You get a preface on “The Deadly Dozen” then a little information about the weapons and vehicles, both American and German. You’ll get some tactical advice albeit this is minimal at best.
What the manual doesn’t cover you can find at www.n-fusion.com. That’s the Deadly Dozen homepage and they have more info there; and if that doesn’t satisfy you, try a search for some WWII info. The net is swamped with just about anything and everything related to WWII. This seems to be the way of the game company now as boxes are swapped for DVD cases and manuals are made in PDF format. So don’t expect any in-depth help from the manual, it does all it has to and nothing more.
 |
| House in the Ardenne |
Menu Screens
You have ten missions from across Europe and nearly all on well-known operational backdrops like Overlord, Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. This gives an edge to the missions. You will be carrying out numerous tasks, like intercepting radios and equipment, destroying fuel storage, taking out leading German officers, and other tasks to help the war effort.First up is the main menu that will give you the option of starting a new game or loading a saved game. Then there’s the usual options screen for gameplay, graphics sound and controls. Then there’s an option for a Tutorial.
The tutorial mission is quite well done and makes up for the scant info in the docs. The tutorial includes shooting practice with a rifle, a Bazooka and a MG-42. You’ll also get a driving lesson, learn how to lay anti-personnel and anti-tank mines. There's even a section on how to best walk through a minefield. If you run through a minefield, you can hear a load of mines going off as your team follows you. The training session really is a worthwhile exercise.
When you have tried out the training the next step is to start a real mission. Unless you use the start-up front-end utility you'll have to play each mission in order. The first screen is a mission briefing in text and audio (The voice in the briefing sounds exactly like Robert Mitchum. It's not, I checked). There’s a map that has some information relating to the mission ahead. Two buttons are for intel and objectives (you can also press the Esc key at any time during a mission for a list of the objectives as well as the objectives completed).
 |
| Soldier Select Screen |
Once you’ve understood what’s expected of you in the forthcoming mission click continue to move onto the roster screen. Here you can select three men from a pool of eleven men. The first person on the top left is you. By highlighting a soldier it will display a list of skills that are unique to that soldier. Some have skills that are better than others. You decide from the men available who you want with you on the mission. You then move on to the equipment screen where you select your kit for the mission. You are limited to what you can carry from the two categories of weapons and items, so choose wisely according to the mission objective. Once you've got your squad chosen and weapons and items selected, it’s time to go forth and begin the mission.
I thought the mission briefing screen was adequate, there’s nothing special required here. The roster screen served its purpose, as did the equipment screen. There’s no fancy gimmicks or graphics to complicate things.
 |
| Weapon Select Screen |
The in-game screen interface gives you the basics and all you really need. A compass, a health indicator and an ammo indicator. You will also find in the top right of the screen four faces. One of these is you, the others are those of your squadmates. Your face and that of your squad mates will redden as your health drops so watch carefully before it’s too late.
When it is too late and you and your mates are no longer walking the earth, you will get a debrief screen telling you that what happened when you lost your mission. This is aimed at making you feel bad, I certainly did when Bastone fell and it was all my fault.
 |
| An Intro Screen |
Tactics
Yes, it has tactics. This means Deadly Dozen is not just about running around shooting everything that moves. Stealth counts for something in this game and if your quiet enough you can use your knife on the unsuspecting Jerry not doing his job properly.You have a number of formations at your command including a left or a right-hand skirmish line, which all sounds like fun, but when I told my men to go on a left-hand skirmish they just looked at me as if to say “after you”. Now that’s what I call clever AI Or maybe the commands are not as responsive as I’d have hoped. The accompanying men tend to stick very close together and apart from ordering them to hold back there isn’t much else that can be done to keep a distance between you and your men.
Remember, you have three men with you so whatever you do can affect what happens to your soldiers. In other words, plan your tactics wisely. As I said previously, watch for the reddening of your squad mates' faces on the top left of the screen. This is a health factor that could mean the end of the mission if you’re not careful. Completing the mission alone could be tricky. Always check your inventory for health packs. If you do die but other members of your team are still alive you can move into any active player and continue the mission.
 |
| This german was trying to rearm before I killed him |
The enemy AI are quite good. Certain movements or sounds by you or your squad will trigger them into carrying out different actions. So do be careful when you’re rustling in the bushes. This counts for dogs as well; yes, some German soldiers have German Shepherd guard dogs with them. These dogs are quite well modeled. I took a moment to watch one and I could see it sniff the air, wag its tail, paw the ground, stand up, then sit again and act basically like a real German Shepherd on guard duty. Oh and watch out for tanks. You’ll see those around too and the tanks don’t give up following until you’ve put them out of action.
Weapons
You’ve got a whole list of weapons to use and you don’t need to reach certain milestones in the game to acquire them. As for the actual realism of the weapons I’m not to know, but if I was hit by one bullet I’d probably curl up in the corner and cry like a baby. I’ve seen plenty of soldiers taking more than a few bullets and fight on as if they’ve only been scratched. One shot can kill, but injuries are not modelled realistically in Deadly Dozen which, is a shame. One bazooka hit will take out a tank and grenades from close quarters will kill more than one man at once, however.  |
| A moody looking sky |
Graphics
Overall it looks very good. The Ardenne forest made me feel cold with the snow falling. Nights are moody, as is the rainfall which is very convincingly rendered. The houses looked great and the ability to move around inside them makes for a better game. The environmental graphics are excellent. Grass sways in the breeze and the sky looks like Rembrandt painted them with his own hand.On the con side, muzzle flashes are not the best and I found them rather off putting at times. Also frustrating was the limited view one gets of the surroundings. Because there's so much detail, what with swaying grass and all, the game only draws your immediate surroundings. Anything more than fifty feet away is shrouded in mist. This is grim, I didn’t like that at all, but not a total fun killer.
The uniforms looked very good. I’m not sure how historically accurate they were, but they did look very convincing.
Sound
I’ve never been one for in game music, it reminds me too much of Lassie movies. Maybe I should seek medical attention? Anyway, there is only one game prior to this where I enjoyed the in-game music and that was Hidden & Dangerous. This is also the case in Deadly Dozen, I recommend that you play with the music enabled, it really seems to add to the overall atmosphere.The ambient sounds are very well done. Bushes rustle as you walk through them, crickets chitter, pigeons coo in barns, and seagulls cry in missions where you find yourself along the ocean. The weapon sounds are great and overall well put together although I thought the vehicle sounds including the tank was too quiet.
Performance
The README for Deadly Dozen does say the game uses a lot of RAM and even with 512 MB in my PC I found the game smooth most of the time except for one scene in the Ardenne forest where it became unplayable with bad stuttering. Said problem was fixed by a reboot.  |
| Not a toilet |
Support
Since its release, there’s been an overall patch, blood mod, and map/mission editing tool released. The blood patch will interest those waiting for Medal of Honor since MOH is supposed to be bloodless. You’ll also find a Start-up Front End Utility which allows you to start any mission rather than follow the chronological order. The Deadly Dozen homepage has a forum for editing issues a forum for technical issues and a general forum. I’d say that’s not bad support at all. It would put some game companies to shame. Check the resource section below for links to all these files and sites.Please note: Windows XP is not officially supported but seemed to work fine in our limited testing.
Community
A game's health can usually be judged by the community activity, judging by my visits to the Deadly Dozen homepage, its apparent there is a small but keen fan base. The developers make regular postings which is always a good sign. The patch release was quick off the block as were the editing tools. Another good sign from the developers.No Multiplayer
Even for people who thrive on multi-player games don’t let this put you off. One of the first things I look for in a game is multi-player, and Deadly Dozen deserves multi-play, but it's still a worthwhile title nonetheless.  |
| Drivable car |
Summary
I remember someone once saying cult status meant popularity, but on a small scale. If that's the case, then Deadly Dozen is heading toward cult status. There’s obviously a following out there. Being a budget release has meant Deadly Dozen has had a almost unnoticed release with little fanfare or trumpets to aide its sales and promotion. As for a UK release, I can’t find it.I could have made references to Hidden & Dangerous on numerous occasions with Deadly Dozen, but that wouldn’t have been fair on either game. Deadly Dozen deserves a shout although don’t expect a game of greatness. That said, one has to remember it’s a budget game so with that taken into account I’d say you’re getting a fair deal. Graphically well executed except that damn limitation on the distance you can see in your immediate surroundings.
Reviewer's System:
- CPU: PIII 933
- 512 MB PC133 RAM
- GeForce II MX 32MB
- SB Live Value
- Windows 98
- 52X CD ROM
- Direct X 8.1
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