Delta Force Is Solid On Xbox, But Another Upcoming FPS Runs Rings Around It

So, free-to-play shooter Delta Force has been out on console for a few days now - and while I haven't put enough time into it yet for a full Xbox review, I just want to get this out there in the here and now. Every time I play it I can't stop thinking about playing Battlefield 6 instead.

I know, I know - one's a free-to-play shooter from a relatively new developer while the other is an established franchise that's backed by one of the largest publishers in the business, but the proof is in the pudding, and BF6 just tastes so much sweeter. Both of these are large-scale military FPS games that are ultimately targeting a very similar audience; one that I believe is going to be better served by EA in this case.

But, before I wax too much lyrical about Battlefield here, let's talk about Delta Force a bit. I've not yet dug into the game's Black Hawk Down-inspired campaign mode, but I've put a good few hours into its PvP multiplayer and Extraction modes - where the bulk of the community will reside in the coming months and years. While I had more fun playing the Extraction mode here by a good margin, there are some fundamental issues across the board - at least on launch.

As we briefly mentioned in our recent comparison article for Delta Force on Xbox Series X and S, the game's console performance isn't quite up to scratch right now. Despite playing on Microsoft's beefier Series X system, I'm definitely noticing that "choppy" feeling, even with VRR on a 120Hz display. Something just isn't quite working right now in terms of performance, and I genuinely hope that improves over time across all the console versions.

These early teething issues go beyond performance, though. The game's UI on console is... not great, not great at all. The experience just hasn't been fine tuned on Xbox yet, and I was struggling to get familiar with it as I toiled away with the Extraction mode and online PvP. The game was telling me I needed to make certain loadout preparations before jumping into Extraction — instructions that I could barely read when sat on my couch — and the game just didn't properly explain how and why I needed to make those preparations. In the end I ignored them and just jumped in anyway.

Once you're in-game, other niggly issues become apparent. Extraction shooters rely on good audio to keep the experience fair and rewarding, and Delta Force struggles in this regard too. Gunshots are insanely loud, footsteps are hard to gauge, and small environmental cues just become distracting rather than immersive. Some tweaking to the game's audio wouldn't go amiss, particularly in this mode.

Delta Force Is Solid On Xbox, But Another Upcoming FPS Runs Rings Around It1

Over in the more standard PvP offering, which is much closer to the Battlefield 6 experience, the aforementioned performance issues — and some general gameplay shortcomings — let the side down somewhat. Delta Force multiplayer isn't bad per say (it actually plays more like Battlefield 2042 in some ways), but it just doesn't feel as good as some of the competition. The gunplay is hit-and-miss depending on the weapon, and there's a general feeling that the console version needs work to match up to other games - and by some accounts, match up to the PC version as well, which is seemingly in a better state in terms of game feel.

So, the good news here is that most of these Delta Force issues can be tackled, and I do think the game will improve on console over time. The thing is, Battlefield 6 is breathing down its neck with an upcoming October release date - and I just think the EA offering runs rings around it when you compare the beta experience to Delta Force on launch day. Ultimately, we'll have to wait and see how both of these FPS games fare in the coming months - but playing Delta Force has made me really, really miss the BF6 beta. And that's a ringing endorsement for what Battlefield Studios is building right now.

Who's been playing Delta Force, then? Anyone agree with me on this? Chat to me about the two games down below.