H&D2: Sabre Squadron review

If subtlety fails you there's always heavy artillery.

Creeping up on an occupied Axis bunker buried deep in the French countryside, with nothing but the occasional twitter of a songbird breaking the silence that surrounded me, I was understandably surprised when half a dozen German infantrymen burst out through the side door and crashed right into me.

After a few moments of fidgeting and apology, the brash Bavarians were on their way except for a single individual. This stubborn soldier remained persistent in his attempts to run through me to reach his comrades who were dashing in mad circles behind me.

None of them seemed to realise, in this moment of madness, that I was an SAS officer wearing a British uniform, walking softly and carrying a big gun.

Dressing, not addressing

Medals always prove to be a good talking point down the pub.

Had I been dressed in the uniform of one of the German sentries I had silently dispatched earlier, I'd be far less concerned, as posing as one of the enemy still remains one of H&D2's most enjoyable elements and is often the best approach in several of Sabre Squadron's extra missions.

Unfortunately, this incident serves only as a reminder of the AI mishaps of the original which, although not quite as common in the expansion, can still ruin the experience, especially when it's your own squad members misbehaving. Axis soldiers are still oddly prescient when it comes to tracking you too and if they spot you, will still be able to draw a bead on you even when you're hidden amongst bushes and long grass.

I was hoping that Sabre Squadron would address such problems, which were mentioned by more than a few reviewers upon H&D2's release. Instead, most of the effort has been focused on what was considered by many to be a stingy ommission from H&D2 - a very welcome multiplayer co-op mode, for up to six players.

Bring some friends

Important missions come from the desks of important people.

Playing with human allies rather than trying to mother the computer makes squad play work like a dream but restricting said co-op play to Sabre Squadron's nine missions only, rather than retro-fitting it to the rest of the game, feels a little stingy too. Of course, there are other, more predictable additions too - new guns, new pieces of equipment and exotic new locations to visit and pepper with machine-gun fire.

But, aside from this dressing, the expansion is essentially more of the same and if that's exactly what you're after then you won't be disappointed. Some of Sabre Squadron's missions feel a little too similar to ones in H&D2, but there are some fine additions in the bunch too. For example, holding a bridge against advancing Italian forces and then being tasked to crawl under it and defuse the dynamite placed below it whilst avoiding heavy enemy fire, is a tense experience on par with the best missions the series has ever offered.

Hardly cutting edge

If you fancy a real challenge, try playing in Lone Wolf mode, which strips H&D2 down to an FPS experience.

So Sabre Squadron is preaching to the converted, playing on the strengths of its predecessor but without trying too hard to smooth its rough edges, edges that are starting to look a little rusty now.

This particular sabre could've done with a little more of a polish before it was drawn, as H&D2 isn't getting any younger and was never the most spritely looking character on its release anyway. If only a little more tweaking had been done to address the game's shortcomings.