Hidden & Dangerous 2 demos

They may have ballsed up the simultaneous launch due to an 11th hour bug, but Illusion Softworks and publisher Gathering (Take-Two) did eventually manage to release both single and multiplayer demos for tactical World War II-based shoot-'em-up Hidden & Dangerous 2 while we were catching forty winks.

The single-player demo, a handsome lad weighing in at a strapping 185MB, consists of a single mission called "Operation Overlord - Blade Dancer", which sounds like the Oklahoma Kid meets Kill Bill, but that's probably just me.

If that's not enough for you and you prefer to kill people, then you can avail yourself of the similarly big-boned 195MB multiplayer demo, which comprises an Occupation map called Normandy3 and an Objectives map called Czech3. A standalone server package (222MB) is also available for benevolent admin types who want to bring joy to lives yearning to be steeped in digital conflict.

Sadly of course the multiplayer demo does not include a co-operative mode, but as fans (and regular readers) well know, developer Illusion Softworks hasn't been coy about its plans for the franchise. Apart from patching the game until everyone's happy (it's up to version 1.04 at the moment), Illusion has confirmed it is working on an expansion pack, and that one of the key additions there will be co-op play.

Finally, if you came in here expecting some sort of explanation of H&D2 before we launched into the demo links, then you probably ought to read Kristan's colossal examination of said game. A true sequel, or as hellish as war itself?