Kaelin Consulting

Mark W. Kaelin

I have over 25 years of experience in the electronic publishing industry. I was an editor for CBS Interactive for eleven years, where I was responsible for acquiring, editing, and writing technical content for daily publication on CBS Interactive properties TechRepublic.com and ZDNet.com. My duties included the recruitment and development of contributing talent. Prior to CBS Interactive, I was an editor with ProQuest for 12 years, where I developed, designed, edited, and maintained an array of university and business school supplemental curricula products. Before ProQuest, I was a public accountant for five years, specializing in tax preparation and in compilation and review engagements. In addition, I have performed independent consulting services over the last 30 years for various business clients.

Hidden & Dangerous – You’ve got to know your limitations

PUBLISHER: Talonsoft

DEVELOPER: Illusion Softworks

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: P233, 32MB RAM, and 3D Accelerator

SIMILAR TO: Rainbow Six

CATEGORY: Tactical Combat

ESRB: Mature

 Historical note: I don't remember the details, but I do remember my editor needing a column in hours not days. Consequently, I reviewed a game I never actually played. Not recommended. By the way, I still have not played the game.

Originally published September 1998

Hidden & Dangerous, from Illusion Softworks, is a tactical squad combat game. Recent game releases like Rainbow Six and the Special Operations series have made this genre one of the fastest growing in computer gaming today. A tactical combat game combines the planing elements of turn-based strategy games with the action of first-person shooters and the relentless time-constraints of real-time games.

 I have not played Hidden & Dangerous, but I have heard excellent things about it on the grapevine. The buzz that this game has generated has wetted my appetite to play it. Maybe only once or twice a year does a game generate this kind of grassroots excitement among core gamers. I always take notice, because those games usually end up winning awards at the end of the year.

 The game consists of six campaigns, all occurring during WWII, beginning in Italy in 1941 and ending in the Czech Republic in 1945. The player commands a squad of the British Special Air Force (SAS). The missions are loose translations of events that actually took place in the war. Each potential member of the squad has specific character attributes and specific training. Finding the best combinations of character traits and training is at the heart of this game.

Cheats

Now when I do get around to playing Hidden & Dangerous, I have the feeling that I may need help finishing some missions. Even games that capture the fancy of the elite core gamer succumb to the all-encompassing realm of the cheat code. To implement the cheats, follow these steps:

First, enter "iamcheater" at any opening screen or menu. Enter the following codes during gameplay. If entered correctly, you will hear a clicking sound.

NOTE: These cheats have been known not to work with patched version 1.1. You can try typing "iwillcheat" instead of "iamcheater" to get some of the codes to work. Good Luck.