Delta Force: Black Hawk Down (xbx: 2005): Reviews

> Switch to Advanced Search

Games Homepage
Best of 2007 | 2006 |2005
Advanced Search

PS3 | PS2 | PS One | PSP

Xbox 360 | Xbox

Wii | DS | GBA | Cube | N64

PC | N-Gage | Dreamcast

How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Games In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

xx Madden NFL 09

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.

Delta Force: Black Hawk Down


6.1

based on 37 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 19 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game

Cheat Code Central

In late 1993, the United States launched dual military operations in Mogadishu Somalia. Delta Force Operatives and Army Rangers were sent in to capture Somali warlords and restore order. Experience the intense combat of Operation Restore Hope in this ground breaking first person shooter. As a Delta Force operative participate in a number of daring and intense raids against the oppressive Somali warlords in and around Mogadishu. [NovaLogic]

PUBLISHER:	NovaLogic
DEVELOPER:	Climax Studios
GENRE(S):	First-Person Shooter, Action
PLAYERS:	50
ESRB RATING:	T (Teen)
RELEASE DATE:	July 26, 2005

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Stuff

With a harrowing 16-mission single-player experience, and monstrous multiplayer arenas, this disc is worthy of your hard-earned per diem, grunt.

VGPub

This one doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does add some nice bling to it.

BonusStage

Offering a great mixture of both fast-paced action and stealth objectives, Delta Force: Blach Hawk Down is definitely one of the better first person shooters I’ve played on the Xbox in some time.

Talk Xbox

If you can get past the low production values, you’ll find a very satisfying game here.

Maxim Online

If that's not enough carnage, you can also engage in 32-player (50 on Xbox Live) online deathmatch missions, which is technically twice the bloody chaos of "Halo 2."

Team Xbox

If large-scale battles are your forte and you despise PC gaming, then Delta Force - Black Hawk Down is a must-buy.

Gaming Nexus

Shows its age in both the lack of technical sophistication and the almost forgotten subject matter.

GameShark

Where the game seriously losses points is in its presentation. Delta Force: Black Hawk Down is a two-year-old computer game and it shows it.

TotalGames.net

The Live options are up there with the best of them and cover everything from team support to Live stats and leaderboards. However, as with many titles that focus on the thrills of Live play, offline it is fairly run of the mill. The game's saving grace, though, is the huge scale of every battle.

Computer and Video Games

If you have Live then we can't recommend Black Hawk Down enough. Sure, it's no "Halo 2" (something it thankfully never even tries to be), but when you fire a screaming RPG into a chopper carrying a dozen or so enemies, you momentarily forget all about the terrible, stunted single-player experience. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

Cheat Code Central

A decent first-person shooter but it's based on the two-year old PC version. In this day and age of military, quad-based, tactical shooter, Black Hawk Down is a bit of a disappointment.

MS Xbox World

As it stands you have a hit and miss campaign which yes, is very Hollywood and fairly engaging but on the other hand can be rather lacklustre at times.

Armchair Empire

The online setup is great, supporting an in-depth ranking system and easily accessible online options.

AceGamez

If you're not an Xbox Live subscriber then steer away from this like a marine-filled armoured truck would steer away from a street full of RPG-wielding Somalians. If you're into your shooters and fancy a change, you might just like this - it's no Halo 2 but it has real charm and personality, once you settle into the flow.

Pelit (Finland)

An average and slightly dated shooter with an interesting background story. [May. 05]

GameZone

As flawed as the game is, Black Hawk Down is a shining example of what makes the Xbox Live such a necessary service for any Xbox gamer.

IGN

In terms of team shooters, this game lacks the tight controls and presentation of the Rainbow Six titles but offers a little more in the strategy department than say Ghost Recon. If you can look past the dated presentation, and are intrigued by the big team battles, then this game offers up some fun.

Worth Playing

Overall, I kept wanting and trying to really love this game, but time and time again, one of the game's flaws would keep me from reaching that level of gaming bliss.

Game Informer

After squeezing off I don't know how many rounds into untold numbers of bodies, I'm more prone to being lulled into a nice nap than a frenzy. [Oct 2005, p.128]

Gamer's Hell

Although the single-player campaign is dull and monotonous, the online component will surely provide some sense of value and amusement. The graphics are notably outdated and the general gameplay and presentation suffers similarly.

Official Xbox Magazine

It's a competent, interesting game that will usually entertain but never thrill. [Oct 2005, p.100]

Gaming Target

There are plenty of other shooters on the market that are better than this game, and most of those shooters do both the single-player and multiplayer aspects of their game in a far superior manner.

Xbox Solution

The game had the makings of a great game, but with its quirks and outdated look it is simply average at best.

games(TM)

In order to get any challenge or satisfaction from Rebellion’s dustbowl shooter, it must be tackled on the hardest difficulty setting right away; only then will Black Hawk Down demonstrate any of the depth or well-implemented tactical elements it has to offer. [Sept 2005, p.110]

Game Over Online

The bland graphics, antiquated gameplay, and shoddy AI of this title place it far beneath the myriad of others in the genre currently available.

G4 TV

The single-player missions are fairly mediocre, especially in comparison to other shooters. If you really, really need to shoot virtual people in a virtual desert, then this’ll do.

DarkStation

Having enjoyed limited success on the PC, this console port comes off a bit uninspired, plagued by dated visuals and poor enemy AI.

Game Chronicles

For all that if offers, the entire time I was playing Delta Force: Black Hawk Down, either online or off, I just kept wishing I was playing something else.

GameSpot

Black Hawk Down's dated gameplay design and presentation just don't measure up compared to other modern combat shooters. Though the multiplayer can be fun for a while, the weapon balancing is out of whack, and the implementation of vehicles is contrived to the point of absurdity.

GameSpy

The multiplayer has too many hiccups to be worth your time. The single-player mode is so unbalanced that when I put the game on my bookshelf, it tipped over.

Detroit Free Press

Diehard military combat fans might want to rent this one just to partake in the giant chaotic skirmishes.

Sydney Morning Herald

The solo campaign lacks the pizazz of other military shooters, but decent multiplayer options prevent it from feeling pilotless.

Gamezilla!

While Delta Force: Black Hawk Down isn’t a broken shooter or anything, there’s just far too many better alternatives out there if you’re looking for an action rush. Leave this one behind on the store shelf.

1UP

What's more annoying than anything else, though, are the bizarre messages that pop up during multiplayer battles. You don't really need the server to remind you the maximum number of allowed players have joined a battle every time someone drops out and then refills the quota.

Inside Gamer Online

A gargantuan disappointment. With so many delays, one has to wonder how they spent the extra time. It certainly was not on the torrent of problems facing the game.

Game Revolution

While not a spectacular failure, Delta Force: Black Hawk Down is just another ho-hum first-person shooter, offering a big multiplayer canvas but little else. I wouldn’t call it as unattractive as a live grenade, but I wouldn’t go jumping on it, either.

Gaming Age

For the game to be released now amidst a store full of next generation titles on the cusp of yet another generation of consoles is laughable. For them to be charging 49.99 is just plain offensive.

The average user rating for this game is 6.1 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jeff S. gave it a4:
Black Hawk down has incredibly realistic, fast paced, exciting gameplay only to be marred by PS1 (at best) graphics. The graphics are extremely muddy and washed out. NovaLogic paid great attention to detail in terms of gameplay. For example there is a level with crocodiles that adds a touch of realism, enemies fall off rooftops, and even have a "death gurgle" when they die. The weapons don't have magnification on the scopes just as real weapons do not. Another nice touch of realism. Yet all of this conflicts with the horrid graphics and poorly designed voice recognition. You issue a command into your headset and then have to push a button to confirm your command. This makes the whole thing pointless. Why not just issue a command and have your team carry it out? I really tried to get into the gameplay but the terrible graphics held me back. How can the water effects and explosions look so good and the characters look so bad? When your character dies the game ackwardly (very ackwardly) switches to a dull cut-scene. Consumers have to send a message to developers. If you put out a game with graphics that are this bad, we won't buy your game. We need to send NovaLogic this message. I happily traded this game for Rainbow Six 3. Rainbow Six 3 is almost two years old, which is ancient in the videogaming world, but at least the characters don't look like they have been put through a washing machine with an extra dose of bleach.

FPSMaster gave it a5:
This game is so revolutionary! It's the only broadband game to ever play like it's on dial-up. Now that's never been done before. 50 players my ass! It can barely handle 10 without locking up or putting the laggy message across your screen so you can see nothing. Graphics are terrible, sound and animations are of PS1 calibur. Spawn points are the most unthoughout spawn points ever. Even worse than GR2's spawn points. Weapons are innaccurate unless you're a bastard sniper. Even the so-called dedicated servers lag like a PS2 game with dial-up customers on it. I guess they're dedicated to lagging and not working for more than 5 minutes before locking up. Just stay away from this failure or you'll be sorry when you have 40 kills and the game session just magically ends and you lose all your points and kills. What a waste of bandwith this game is once you actually get into a game online, which takes at least 10 minutes each time. This game should have died on the PC where it belongs. And they asked $50 for this $10 garbage bin game.

Kyle M. gave it a6:
Online is solid,50 players is insane,in a good way.single player isn't so solid.graphics are blah,lag is blah,and gameplay is super blah,I was so tired of all the World War 2 games,so I expected a little more out of a game,which features a war/conflict that was'nt so famous,this ones defintely a renter.

Notoriouz Wun gave it a6:
Not a bad game. Could be better. The lag is horrible for a game that was touted as having virtually no lag. The graphics are well shy of what other shooters have done. The Campaign isn't that fun. Some maps are so small that Spawn camping (Although you have like 3 sec invincibility) becomes a serious problem. When it starts to lag too much you get a "This Game Session Is No Longer Avalible", thing right across your screen which makes it difficult to snipe, sometimes when it lags like that you reload over and over and over, did I say over? Its a decent game, a game for being as old as it is should have been priced at 29.99. If I had a choice right now Id pick up Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike over this just for the better gameplay less lag and great price tag.

Lucas38 gave it a3:
I traded my copy for Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike...'nuff said.

KC G gave it a7:
Good game, very good online. The only thing this game lacks online is actual missions (like in SocomII). The whole respawn thing gets kinda repetitive.

Bill F. gave it a10:
i rented this game and it is amazing. Bullets flying past your head, I mean there is nothing mire satisfying. Buy this game RIGHT NOW and play online!!!