H-Hour: World's Elite

H-Hour: World’s Elite for PC and PS4 is a multiplayer squad-based tactical action game developed by Special Operations Forces, a studio spearheaded by David Sears, an experienced FPS developer known from two initial installments of SOCOM, a popular PlayStation 2 series.

Mechanics

Named as a spiritual sucessor of the SOCOM series, H-Hour attempts to create a viable mix of a military simulator and a tactical-action game. To create a realistic feel of real special ops, the authors (including their boss, an retired commando) were subjected to a number of training courses led by experienced soldiers. The gathered experience enabled the authors to create a game that favors stealth and cover-based gameplay, all the while attempting to avoid the staples of most first person shooters such as the regenerating health bar. The game is also supplied with an advanced physics engine that simulates the ballistics and handles other physics-based calculations.

H-Hour: World’s Elite contains a standard single player mode, yet the game was mainly dedicated to team-based multiplayer sessions. The authors point to the fact that there are no lone wolves in real life, and only a well-versed and cooperating team can undertake a mission and lead it to success. The players are able to communicate with themselves through a user-friendly interface, offering voice-based communication, as well as a set of visual signals. Moreover, the authors supplied a set of community tools that enable us to manage our friend and acquaintance list, as well as create and manage clans. The sessions are hosted on dedicated servers managed by SOF Studios.

The action is seen from the first person perspective, but we are also free to switch to the third person perspective that often proves to be useful during tough calls. Each mission is preceded by a briefing and load-out screen which allows us to pick the equipment that will suit the overall character of the mission and decide upon a more light or firepower-oriented load-out, considering that some of the items can affect the movement speed, stamina, or our field of vision.

Technical Aspects

The game is characteristic for its audio effects, as well as the soundtrack, created by Penka Kouneva, a soundtrack producer responsible for a number of video game scores, including Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Gears of War 3, or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Last updated on 19 August 2013