In the gaming world, it’s rare for a few "annual staples" to completely dominate a category. While many genres have influential evergreen series like "Final Fantasy," "Monster Hunter," "Pokémon," and "Diablo," the gaps between each official sequel often stretch for several years, preventing annual fatigue.

Today, when discussing the most significant annual gaming genres, FPS ranks high, with the "Call of Duty" and "Battlefield" series firmly holding market and player attention due to years of brand accumulation and technical expertise. Many instinctively associate FPS with these two games—one focuses on close-to-medium-range combat, while the other offers an irresistible semi-open battlefield experience with various vehicles. Fortunately, the industry saw a surge with "Escape from Tarkov," which revitalized traditional FPS gameplay with its innovative hardcore search and extraction mechanics.

Among the major new entrants trying to carve a niche in this field, "Delta Operation" stands out as one of the most anticipated titles. Beyond its decades-long classic IP, popular gameplay modes of large-scale battles and search and extraction, a rich customization system, and distinctive operator characters, what resonates with me more after several playtests is a sense of ambition. After refining their craft through titles like "Crossfire" and "Call of Duty Mobile," the studio behind "Delta Operation" aims to deliver an immersive and innovative experience for FPS enthusiasts across multiple platforms.

The approachable and flexible "Warzone" mode The game’s "Warzone" mode, commonly referred to as "treasure hunting," primarily aims to collect resources on the map and successfully extract them, selling them for currency to purchase stronger weapons, armor, mods, items, and ammunition, enhancing players' base attributes and weapon capabilities to improve survival rates and establish a self-sustaining economic loop.

The mode's primary appeal lies in the risk-reward dynamic: once players are killed or fail to extract, all equipment taken in will be lost (most likely looted by enemies), leading to substantial financial loss. Clearly, high initial investment in gear increases the likelihood of high returns, but a single misstep can result in total loss—I’ve seen streamers lose millions in gear. This thrilling experience of life and death amidst ups and downs is a core attraction for countless players worldwide.

Some survival extraction games are labeled "hardcore" mainly due to their realistic yet traditionally FPS-contradictory mechanics, such as manually loading bullets, no crosshairs in UI, and no visible remaining magazine count. While these features are integral to their unique charm, drawing many players for a sense of realism, they also pose significant barriers to newcomers. After multiple tests and extensive feedback, the developers decided to retain the core extraction mechanics while aligning weapon controls with common FPS standards, combining highly realistic firearm details and a solid feel with traditional player habits, effectively lowering the entry barrier for new players.

The shooting mechanics received widespread acclaim during the initial limited testing, with realistic recoil settings and bullet dispersion that may initially challenge new players. However, with the weapon customization system allowing fine-tuning, many discovered changes in shooting feedback, gradually appreciating the nuanced yet authentic firearm experience, returning to the essence of shooting enjoyment. Furthermore, the development team created detailed reloading and weapon-switching animations for dozens of firearms, ensuring no detail was overlooked, which, combined with realistic military-themed skins, piqued many newcomers’ interest before they even started playing.

In terms of map design, regardless of size, areas close to extraction points are divided into several distinctly graded difficulty zones. New players wishing to avoid confrontation or compete for high-value caches can enter less combative maps in a "bare-bones" state, defeating AI enemies and scavenging various containers for items of different tiers, then extracting calmly.

It’s worth noting that peripheral areas may also yield valuable loot, aiding new players in familiarizing themselves with maps and building confidence. As players master map layouts and operator traits, they’ll find the skill synergies between different operators merit deeper exploration.

Undoubtedly, the operator system is one of "Delta Operation's" most notable features. Currently, the game includes seven operators, each possessing unique tactical gear and items beyond firearms, ensuring every team member plays an irreplaceable role. This design compels players to consider appropriate tactical approaches and operational logic based on character choices, effectively catering to diverse player needs and abilities.

For instance, skilled streamers on various platforms predominantly favor high-mobility operators like the Dragon and Red Wolf, leveraging their abilities for impressive multi-kills; meanwhile, the Bee Medic, recognized as the most beginner-friendly operator, excels in area healing and quick support, making her invaluable on the battlefield.

Among the most surprising operators is the Hacker. Not only does she have an appealing appearance and a Cantonese accent, but her key item, the "Signal Decoder," can instantly reveal the number and approximate location of nearby enemies, a feature that has left many accustomed to playing stealthily in "Warzone" distressed.

The highly practical gear and tactics, along with thoughtfully designed operator roles, allow players to utilize smoke cover, powerful healing, and wall-bouncing explosives creatively. Whether focused on searching, high mobility, or direct assault, players can find strategies that suit their playstyle, ensuring enjoyment of the extraction experience without facing overwhelming hardcore designs or seasoned players right away.

The "Warzone" mode will feature four maps: Zero Dam, Longbow Valley, Aerospace Base, and Baksh, themed around the Asara resistance, natural landscapes, and showcasing Havoc Corp's cutting-edge technology. Each map varies significantly in size, types of strongholds, building styles, and outdoor scenery, with Longbow Valley’s vast vistas concealing hidden dangers, while the Aerospace Base is filled with buildings, stairwells, and assembly areas that have witnessed countless intense battles.

Additionally, the game features a unique Mandel Brick puzzle escape mechanic. Simply put, Mandel Bricks are special, randomly respawning rewards. Successfully extracting them allows players to unlock various weapon appearances with keys and sell them for triangular tokens, which can be exchanged for weapon skins in the shop. Given their rarity, the process of acquiring them is certainly not easy.

Players often need to fight their way to the core area to obtain Mandel Bricks. Once picked up, other players can see your location on the map, and you must carry the bricks to a decryption point for a 4-minute decoding process. Successfully holding this position yields rewards, as undeceoded Mandel Bricks are nearly worthless. Outside of skirmishes, trench warfare, and attrition battles, tactical teamwork can help avoid conflict, such as leaving two teammates to draw fire while the brick carrier exits from special extraction points. In related streams, some broadcasters employed tactics like "feinting" to confuse enemies into aiming in the wrong direction, extracting Mandel Bricks with minimal cost, providing fresh insights for players like me struggling with direct combat—there's another way to play the game.

Being able to traverse land and air defines "Full Battlefield." From my hands-on experience, the "Full Battlefield" mode in "Delta Operation" has an entirely different pace and atmosphere. You can only truly grasp the subtle balance that sets it apart from the search and extraction mode by playing it. It's hard to imagine that these two modes could coexist in the same game and share the operator mechanics.

Once players enter combat in this mode, they are immediately enveloped in an atmosphere reminiscent of a real battlefield, with varied attack routes and layered defensive nodes. Players have a clear sense of purpose and direction, avoiding disorientation from the map's vastness. They can advance on foot or use various vehicles, including armored cars, tanks, armed helicopters, and assault boats, to help capture points.

These heavy firepower units can facilitate tactics like infantry-armor coordination and air support while utilizing large-caliber weapons for easy scene destruction, effectively dismantling enemy defenses. This aligns with the roles of these vehicles in reality, adding tactical variation to the Full Battlefield gameplay.

The tactical gear and items of each operator chosen by players significantly impact the expansive battlefield, especially since the mode supports up to 32×32 players compared to the three-person squads in the search and extraction mode, allowing for more creative combinations. After several rounds of testing and adjustments, the offensive options and pathways are increasing, while the balance of power between attackers and defenders is steadily improving. Issues raised by some streamers, such as obstacles causing player entrapment and limb damage, have been addressed, allowing players to focus better on the combat experience.

Before entering the battlefield, players must clarify their desired responsibilities, combat inclinations, and roles within the team, then select an operator—whether assault, support, engineer, or scout. Each class has its strengths, but they achieve greater synergy when combined, exemplifying that 1+1 can equal greater than 2. For instance, while the assault class provides essential mobility and firepower, without the support class's smoke cover, ammunition resupply, and timely healing, they could easily become overwhelmed by a defensive engineer entrenched with a machine gun.

The current maps have cleverly designed elements, including area size, elevation differences, and obstacle placements, creating varied battle environments that include open outdoor spaces, tight indoor areas, diverse cover options, and flanking routes. Despite the intense player-versus-player combat, the actual experience remains refreshingly distinct each time.

For example, in the "Ash Zone," the supply warehouse is easy to defend but hard to attack. Conventional thinking suggests rushing the front entrance against entrenched machine guns and fire points. However, if players can use vehicles to create new assault points, it can significantly alter the battle's dynamics. In "Critical Point," defenders seem easily positioned to snipe enemies emerging from underground passages. Still, attackers can effectively mitigate distant threats through coordinated infantry and vehicle tactics. Additionally, being in high ground doesn’t guarantee safety; a careless moment might lead to an assault from above by an armed helicopter.

Players must constantly consider their roles, teammates' positions, whether to flank or engage directly, and adapt to the tactical changes brought by various vehicles and environmental destruction, making every combat experience full of unpredictability, each entry offering a different game feel.

Since its first reveal with cinematic-quality story animations in 2023, "Delta Operation" has garnered attention not just for blending two popular gameplay styles and featuring top-notch firearm mechanics. The "Black Hawk Down" campaign mode, although not launched today, cleverly intertwines nostalgia with a fresh worldview and story setting. The conflict between Havoc Corp and the Asara resistance adds depth to players' connections with their characters, tasks, and the critical Mandel Bricks, going beyond mere combat to trigger thoughtful engagement.

For a major FPS title, achieving broader impact hinges on narrative continuity and completeness, which subtly enhances player involvement and IP loyalty. I’m pleased to see "Delta Operation" is diligent in this aspect.

From its announcement to the first test and today’s full launch, "Delta Operation" has undoubtedly achieved notable breakthroughs in various areas. It successfully unifies visual quality and gameplay feel across both PC and mobile platforms; despite having two vastly different modes in content and pacing, players' experiences maintain a rare consistency.

By observing various content creators' experience videos across different testing phases, it's clear their critiques have evolved from foundational gameplay and content structure issues to more specific concerns like item drop rates and balance, indicating that "Delta Operation," through player feedback, is gradually refining itself. This allows inherent advantages like visual quality and shooting mechanics to shine. We have reason to believe that today’s launch is just the beginning; this game is poised to usher in a true wave of transformation and enhancement in the FPS genre.