Explosions are particularly impressive. And deadly

"War? What is it good for?" asked the legendary '70s funk song. "For making games about," answer Czech Republic newcomers Illusion Softworks. They'd be right.
Kieron Gillen

Far in your past, did you ever read the Victor comic? Have you seen Where Eagles Dare more than once? And, most importantly, do you hate Nazis? Yes? We have the game for you, friends.

Basically, this is the game that Commandos should have been, with you controlling four highly trained special operatives, fighting a lone battle behind enemy lines against overwhelming odds.

This may sound like familiar territory but Hidden and Dangerous differs in several paramount areas. Firstly, while never less than impossibly hard, the challenges are created naturally rather than stemming from some fake situations that you must work out a predetermined answer too. Here you're given a gloriously complicated scenario, a variety of tools and are then left to figure out your own answers.

Secondly, it's completely, unreservedly, best-game-since-Half-Life brilliant. In terms of sheer scope, the game dazzles. Each of the 21 levels grasps you firmly by the hand and pulls you in an original direction. Any wrinkle of a doubt we may have had about these unknown chaps from Eastern Europe was instantly smoothed away as their scene-setting prowess became apparent. The missions never cease to impress, from the midnight raids on lonely chateaux to room-by-room clearances of nuclear-missile bunkers. Thanks to the quality of the innovation, you're constantly reeling from the flow of fresh ideas.