[MEAT_PUPPET]

I bought this when it first came out in '99.
Though H&D1 was quite buggy it was a a real kick in the ass to play. H&D2 on the other hand is a far cry from its predecessor, i.e. much better graphics and a lot less buggy.
Illusion Softworks really did a great job on improving the game though it lacks coop in MP. And the AI was improved quite a bit as well but still needs a little more improvement.
It is really too bad H&D2 doesn't have the following as MOH does, mainly due to promotion of the game itself. The MP in H&D2 suffers from a lack of players/servers.
Aside from all that the SP does have an intense feel and is not constrained to the linear aspect as does w/ most FPS. You can go into 3rd person view which is a great aid in your surviability. This is a pretty brutal game and you cannot just go out runnin' & gunnin'. It'll take a some planning and stealth to get through some of the missions.
H&D Sabre Squadron is the expansion pack to H&D2. It does have some improvements over H&D2 but doesn't have enough missions, IMO.
An excellent selling point to H&D is its replayability. There are so many ways to get to your objective on the map and also there are sub-objectives as well.
All in all I find this game to be one of the best that ever was released. Next to Operation Flashpoint this game absolutely rocks. Too bad it has a piss poor following.