Review: Tom Clancy’s Brunch Force Delta

It’s 2007. The All-You-Care-To-Eat Buffet at Shoney’s is overrun by a rogue band of rebels from the International House of Terrorists. With two dozen lukewarm sausages, half a tray of scrambled eggs and an unknown number of serving tongs now under their control, America is on its knees. It soon becomes obvious that the only option is to call in the elite commando force that has kept the late-morning/early-afternoon dining crowd safe since the end of the Cold War: Brunch Force Delta.
Such is the storyline that leads us into the latest Tom Clancy adventure, another first-person shooter whose older siblings from Clancy’s Rainbow Six franchise are among the most popular gaming console titles to date.
Gamers familiar with Rainbow Six will already find themselves at home with Brunch Force Delta‘s look, structure and set-up. As Mike Butterworth, you’ll head the team that will face the terrorists head-on, to take brunch out of the hands of thugs and return it to America. The campaign progresses through a series of challenges as you tackle baddies, rescue bacon and stealthily turn off the heating elements under the serving trays.
Graphically the game is astounding. Carved watermelons shatter under gunfire, the Eggs Benedict have just the right amount of Hollandaise, and the concussion from a fragmentation grenade can send thermal coffee pots sailing across the room – leaving you to decide which is regular and which is decaf.
As you progress through the game, the stakes get higher and the gameplay gets even harder. One of the most nerve-wracking missions for me was “In Hot Water” a scenario where you have only three minutes to take out the bad guys and prevent an egg from being over-poached. In “Meltdown” you must run a gauntlet of gunfire to re-stock the juice bar with ice chips, lest the fresh-squeezed OJ be rendered warm.
Brunch Force Delta is not without its faults however. The enemy AI all too often acts irresponsibly: when not dropping grenades on themselves, they’re charging your machine gun emplacements armed only with spatulas. Their only catchphrase, “American, I burn you like toast” gets repetitive and tiresome.
Also, the instruction manual is written in broken English and never does explain why pressing the left thumbstick triggers Whooping Cough.
Overall though, Brunch Force Delta is a must-have game for your console. It offers a unique glimpse into the post-9/11 world of international terrorism and weekend dining. Ubisoft has already announced additional expansion packs that include bigger menus and morbidly obese patrons who blame an overactive thyroid.
Title: Brunch Force Delta
Developer: Ubisoft
Release: Q3 2004