Don’t worry, that’s not a typo.
I’ve recently jumped into the alpha for Delta Force: Hawk Ops, and to give the game credit, I’ve been having a blast. For an alpha, it’s remarkably well-built, and the team at TiMi Studio has gone so far as to introduce some live service elements even though this is just a testing period.
However, I can’t get away from the fact that it feels like I’m playing Battlefield 2042. From the maps and modes to UI and the ‘specialist’ characters, and from the land, sea, and air combat model to the core mechanics, everything feels like a Battlefield game.
Let’s consider this an early-access review of sorts.
Not Unique Enough
I’ll be frank – Delta Force: Hawk Ops has serious potential. I’ve had more fun playing this than most other shooters that have emerged in the last few years. It looks fantastic, it runs well, and everything from the weapons to the characters feels solid and well thought out. It would be great if it didn’t look like a re-skinned Battlefield 2042, though.
Those familiar with EA’s most recent Battlefield game will look at some of these screenshots and believe it’s 2042’s menu:
It gets a little bizarre – even the choice of font, the colour palette, and the iconography look like Battlefield 2042’s aesthetic. One of the main game modes sees attacking teams attempt to capture objectives while defending teams try to hold them back, which is a mirror copy of Battlefield’s fan-favourite ‘Breakthrough’ mode.
TiMi Studio has tried to implement some innovative and unique features in Delta Force: Hawk Ops and there’s a campaign section on the way that’ll allow players to walk through the events of ‘Black Hawk Down’, so it’s not a like-for-like replication – but it’s damn close.
Is Delta Force Worth Playing?
Like I said, I’m having a great time playing Delta Force: Hawk Ops, and I’m particularly enjoying the extraction shooter mode that feels like a trip down memory lane into DMZ, Call of Duty’s failed extraction shooter mode. It’s essentially the same thing, introducing an ‘easier’ and more ‘arcade’ extraction shooter experience that’ll sit well with more casual gamers.
In Delta Force, the gunplay feels satisfying, weapon customisation is slick, and the line-up of specialists is diverse enough that they each stand apart from one another. I’m a particular fan of Luna, an agile character who wields a bow capable of firing ‘recon arrows’ or electrified shots.
It feels good, it looks good, and it’s free to play. It’ll inevitably be bolstered by a slew of microtransactions, season passes, and cosmetics bundles, but that’s the way of the world. In the absence of a new Battlefield game and the death of Call of Duty’s DMZ, Delta Force: Hawk Ops could be just what the gaming world needs, even if it is a mirror image of those very games.
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