I love dogs. I hate shooting them. That’s what you have to do to get through this white knuckle WWII mission-based shooter from Infogrames. The game can be played in either first or third person perspective.

When the game first loaded and I heard the haunting music score through my PC’s speakers, I had been placed in the mood for a serious excursion into war torn Europe. Ok, so the effect wore off after the short score recycled 13 times before the game actually started, but I was still up for some fun.

This isn’t a new idea. In fact, it is very similar to 1999’s “Hidden and Dangerous”. It does, however, stand alone in it’s own abilities and low price point. Deadly Dozen gets it’s name from the twelve elite soldiers assembled for your selection. They’re the best of the worst. Soldiers that were not fit for the regular Army, but perfect for clandestine maneuvers behind enemy lines. After your mission briefing, you must choose four men for each mission.  For instance, if your mission includes dealing with the potential of several heavy armored vehicles, you’d be wise to make sure you have a specialist for dealing with explosives. After you select your team, you must equip them with weapons and items. Weapons include rifles, machine guns and a handgun. The items you choose include grenades, timed explosives, anti tank mines, and health kits. The most important item I found was binoculars. You WILL be shot at before you see them—unless you scope out the target area for the enemy from a safe distance.

The missions take place in a variety of settings and environmental circumstances. The rain and fog are very realistic, and well done. That immensely enhances the mood of the game. The missions take place in countries such as Norway, France and Africa; each with their own unique weather and visual conditions. One mission will have you walking through a bright, sunny desert situation, while the next plunges you into a world so dreary it makes you want to put an umbrella over your PC. Your dangers come in many faces. From the rolling tanks to the ferocious German Shepard dogs that help alert their Masters that you are in the area. The dogs will kill you, if you do not kill them first.

You can obtain new items and useful weapons in structures, and by killing the enemy. You can take their weapon and ammo, which is good since some of their guns perform better. Some of the situations work best with specific weaponry, while some can not be done any other way. You do not want to try and take out a long range Nazi soldier with a short-range handgun. If you have planned well, you will have a talented well-armed sniper in your unit that will make short work of this challenge. Did I mention how important binoculars are? It’s worth mentioning again.

The missions provide a lot of ground to cover- literally. The landscapes are lavish, but somewhat long when each step can place you closer to enemy fire. There are a lot of tense moments as you round corners in heavy fog. When you hear a dog bark, you scramble to see where the enemy is hiding. This adds to the richness of the experience, though had me jumping out of my saddle more than once. There’s not a lot of character talking, but what voices there are come in loud and clear. The Germans speak-- German, which I do not understand. However, it was not difficult to know if trouble was brewing as the enemy soldiers yelled to each other when my team approached.

Install: Easy
No problems with this installation. Took a while, but I blame that on a slower processor and a slow (DVD) CD ROM drive. Took close to 300MB for my installation, but they recommend 600MB for best results.

Graphics: 8 
Very nice landscapes, environmental elements, and character detail. Stationary structures (buildings, rocks) could have been better. There were a few minor graphical glitches here and there, but the richness and depth of the weather elements make up for it.

Sound: 9
Great sound with a haunting, dramatic score. The voices are clear, and the weapon sounds were very authentic. The music actually helps with the game play; in knowing when you’d better keep an eye out for danger.

Concept: 7 
It’s an idea that’s been done before (e.g.: “Hidden and Dangerous”), but there’s always room for more of the same genre.

Overall: 8.5
This is a great game for people who want a challenging format. It takes a lot of planning for the missions, and they are not completed easily. It runs smooth and has a good feel to it, though I did experience a few graphical glitches.