Hidden & Dangerous: Action Pack (GOG)

World War II sabotage feels unusually tense here because every mission places a small Allied squad behind enemy lines with limited manpower, fragile equipment, and no room for careless heroics. Hidden & Dangerous: Action Pack combines the original tactical shooter with the Fight for Freedom expansion, following missions inspired by the early exploits of Britain’s Special Air Service. Its 1941 campaign sends soldiers through occupied Europe to rescue prisoners, steal intelligence, demolish installations, and escape heavily defended territory. The tone is stern, deliberate, and often unforgiving, closer to a military problem-solving exercise than an arcade shooting gallery.

Players assemble a four-man team from a wider roster, then equip each soldier with weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, explosives, and specialist gear before deployment. Missions play from first- or third-person viewpoints, but the real hook is the ability to switch between squad members and issue orders, allowing for sniper cover, stealthy infiltrations, diversions, and coordinated assaults. Success often depends on studying patrol routes, conserving ammunition, selecting the right loadout, and knowing when to retreat rather than fighting every German guard in sight. The expansion adds further operations and equipment, while vehicles and large outdoor maps give several assignments a broader, more open-ended feel than typical shooters of its era.

What stands out is its willingness to make planning as important as aim: a badly chosen squad or a single exposed position can turn an operation into a desperate extraction. Its dated visuals, stiff controls, and occasionally clumsy AI clearly show its late-1990s origins, yet those rough edges also belong to a period when tactical shooters were bolder and less streamlined. The blend of squad command, inventory management, stealth, and direct action feels like an early ancestor of games such as Brothers in Arms, Armed Assault, and Commandos, viewed through a more hands-on perspective. Veterans of classic PC military games will find the most to appreciate, while patient newcomers who can tolerate old-school interfaces may discover a demanding and influential WWII campaign.