[STEAM] Hell Let Loose: Vietnam review: "Often frustrating but always involving, this FPS brings war to life and bloody death"

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(Image credit: Team17) Balance is always a fine line for a multiplayer game to walk, and it must be said, Expression Games has largely done very well. Most of the games I've played across the review ******* have been proper tug-of-war affairs, but a few times I've questioned whether the balance was actually a little too finely-tuned in favor of the NVA. Part of this is somewhat realistic, in fairness. The maps themselves are a tight mix of jungle, urban environments, and even some fairly desert-like sand dunes, and being able to pop up from a tunnel into the dense camouflage of the jungles accurately represents the home-field advantage of the NVA. That doesn't make it any less frustrating, however, to be shot by an enemy that you can't even see from 150-200 meters.

Part of the terrifying nature of the Vietnam War, for both sides, was that sightlines were appalling. Here, too,

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. It's no coincidence that the most memorable firefights in my matches are essentially urban warfare, reminiscent of the climax of Full Metal Jacket. One highlight takes place in a fairly self-explanatory Industrial Zone, all railway lines and warehouses, while another revolves around a dense pier, dodging fire and ducking between cargo containers. Crucially, in both of these battles, I could actually see the enemy.

What's less fun are the moments on certain maps where you spawn and walk 500 meters towards the objective, only to be gunned down by an enemy sniper concealed in a bush half a mile away. Realistic, sure, but fun? No.

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(Image credit: Team17) I'll be curious to see whether Expression add more factions to the game over time, and what roles each faction may inherit. Let's not forget that when the original title launched, only the United States and Germany were present, and while we're unlikely to see Squad levels of factions – Anzac forces, the Viet Cong, South Korea and the Pathet Lao could all make for interesting additions. It would have been nice to see this at launch, but there's a very good selection of arms and equipment available already, so you're unlikely to get bored anytime soon.

For a game that's so rooted in history, with a strong sense of the atrocious nature of the Vietnam War, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam largely succeeds in recreating reality in all its bloody business. That is for both good and ill, but its undeniable frustrations are never quite able to take away from the game's stomach-churningly brutal battles or its moments of sublime teamwork.

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam was reviewed on PC, with a code provided by the publisher.

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