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DIE HARD TRILOGY
review | PLAYSTATION
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Publisher: Electronic Arts.
Developer: Probe Entertainment. Released: December 1996 (Europe). Genre: Run 'n' Gun; Lightgun; Driving. Other versions: SAT; PC. Posted 9th November 2025. By Tom Clare © 2025 |
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The PlayStation capitalised on a mid-1990s ‘cool’ wave that saw the system cultivate an audience of young adult gamers through titles like WipEout, Cool Boarders 2, Tomb Raider and Resident Evil. Inevitably, however, there are a few games whose significance isn’t credited as prominently as is perhaps deserved. Die Hard Trilogy is a prime example of this, shifting more than a million units on PlayStation alone. It adopted a completely unique approach to licensed gaming. In contrast to their excellent Alien Trilogy, which combined three films into a lengthy, action-packed first-person shoot ‘em up, Probe’s adaptation of the Die Hard films was multi-faceted and significantly more ambitious. Three genres for three films: a third-person run ‘n’ gun, a lightgun game, and an open world driving segment, exhibiting notable quality across the board. Moreover, it captured the anarchic, destructive appeal of the films, as well as their humour.
We’ll start, as is customary, at the beginning, with Die Hard. John McClane must ascend Nakatomi Plaza, wiping out all the terrorists, one floor at a time. Along the way, there are bonuses to be earned by rescuing hostages, before beating a hasty retreat to the elevator as a bomb countdown is triggered at the culmination of each stage. Whilst it’s perhaps the least sophisticated of the three games, it’s still a colossal amount of fun.
All three segments of Die Hard Trilogy provide a ridiculous amount of action, as well as some ace McClane quips
Each floor is packed with enemies, destructibles, and scenic features. A vast network of rooms, corridors, passageways, and stairways makes for a deceptively tactical experience, as McClane must lead large groups of terrorists into pinch points, make use of cover, utilise a roll mechanic to evade danger, and use the radar to avoid pincer attacks. Enemies may not be especially alert, but the threat comes from the large groups they travel in. A crosshair pops up in the corner to alert players that an enemy has you in their sights, marking another neat, helpful touch. The game features an impressive, semi-transparent environment effect that allows players to see through nearby walls, helping broaden the often enclosed surroundings. This, in turn, allows the camera to follow McClane’s movements unimpeded, an extremely impressive feat for a 3D action game from 1996.
The levels are far from palette swaps, either. Things kick off in an underground car park, before working up through the lobby, a vault, office and server floors, as well as the odd bonus level on the roof. The level of detail is just brilliant. There are a few downsides, however. The draw distance isn’t great, and enemies have a tendency to amble around rather dozily due to some fairly basic route mapping. Character designs look weak, a compromise likely the result of there being so much in the environments at any one time. These are all less of an issue than the game’s excessively high difficulty level. You’re given just 3 lives to complete the 19 floors which, given McClane can only withstand a small handful of hits and must routinely take down around 30-50 terrorists per floor, is precious little wriggle room. It’s possible to beat it playing with cautious, surgical precision, repeatedly retrying levels as soon as a life is lost, though this doesn’t feel like the intended spirit. I rarely condone the use of cheats, but without the lives and weapons top-up, you’ll likely find this segment heavy-going.
The levels are far from palette swaps, either. Things kick off in an underground car park, before working up through the lobby, a vault, office and server floors, as well as the odd bonus level on the roof. The level of detail is just brilliant. There are a few downsides, however. The draw distance isn’t great, and enemies have a tendency to amble around rather dozily due to some fairly basic route mapping. Character designs look weak, a compromise likely the result of there being so much in the environments at any one time. These are all less of an issue than the game’s excessively high difficulty level. You’re given just 3 lives to complete the 19 floors which, given McClane can only withstand a small handful of hits and must routinely take down around 30-50 terrorists per floor, is precious little wriggle room. It’s possible to beat it playing with cautious, surgical precision, repeatedly retrying levels as soon as a life is lost, though this doesn’t feel like the intended spirit. I rarely condone the use of cheats, but without the lives and weapons top-up, you’ll likely find this segment heavy-going.
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Die Harder is the star of the package and is worth the price of admission alone. It ranks easily among the best lightgun games of its time, alongside Virtua Cop and Time Crisis. If you can overlook its failure to support Namco’s GunCon (you’ll need a Justifier), it’s almost without fault. The action is dialled up to eleven, with an absolutely maniacal quantity of destructible scenery (you can shoot individual plasterboards from airport ceilings!), and non-stop action that’s helped along by McClane’s quips. Shooting vending machines and boxes yields extra health and ammo, and together with ‘Good Cop’ and ‘Gratuitous Violence’ bonuses for achieving certain feats, it’s massively rewarding.
Just as with the run ‘n’ gun, you’ll need to keep a cool head and a steady aim to avoid killing civilians. A sequence of brilliant levels sees McClane working his way through the airport, before a memorably tense encounter in the woods outside a church, with enemies hiding amongst the trees. How about an action sequence on skis? A crazy conclusion in the skies as you defend a passenger plane from attack choppers? Die Harder has you covered. The difficulty is pitched perfectly, with the player able to sustain five hits, but with ample health kits hidden amongst the levels. A bit of practice should see players able to beat it. Surprisingly decent with a pad, it’s an absolute riot with a lightgun.
Just as with the run ‘n’ gun, you’ll need to keep a cool head and a steady aim to avoid killing civilians. A sequence of brilliant levels sees McClane working his way through the airport, before a memorably tense encounter in the woods outside a church, with enemies hiding amongst the trees. How about an action sequence on skis? A crazy conclusion in the skies as you defend a passenger plane from attack choppers? Die Harder has you covered. The difficulty is pitched perfectly, with the player able to sustain five hits, but with ample health kits hidden amongst the levels. A bit of practice should see players able to beat it. Surprisingly decent with a pad, it’s an absolute riot with a lightgun.
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The quality keeps coming in the form of Die Hard with a Vengeance, which casually delivers an open world driving experience that no standalone PlayStation game would come close to matching until Driver, which wouldn’t be release for another two and a half years later. A good sense of direction and cat-like reactions are called for here, as McClane hurtles through busy New York streets, subways, and Central Park in a desperate attempt to stop Simon Gruber’s bombs detonating. Your eyes will be glued to the objective compass, though occasionally, you’ll get the chance to deviate and swap out your taxi for an alternative, be it a police cruiser or a number of novelty vehicles.
Early open world titles tended to look sparse due to memory and processing limitations. Not DHT, though, which crams its streets with civilians, traffic and smashable scenery, like food stalls, all whilst running at a very respectable frame rate and speed. The vehicles handle responsively, with the one blot on the game’s copybook being its dodgy collision detection. Cars have a nasty habit of getting stuck against walls, making it quite difficult to drive away. This issue is magnified as, like the first part of the package, Die Hard with a Vengeance becomes seriously difficult after a handful of missions. You’re afforded three lives, but with levels consisting of numerous, consecutive, tight-on-time challenges, even experienced drivers will struggle to beat its 12 levels.
Early open world titles tended to look sparse due to memory and processing limitations. Not DHT, though, which crams its streets with civilians, traffic and smashable scenery, like food stalls, all whilst running at a very respectable frame rate and speed. The vehicles handle responsively, with the one blot on the game’s copybook being its dodgy collision detection. Cars have a nasty habit of getting stuck against walls, making it quite difficult to drive away. This issue is magnified as, like the first part of the package, Die Hard with a Vengeance becomes seriously difficult after a handful of missions. You’re afforded three lives, but with levels consisting of numerous, consecutive, tight-on-time challenges, even experienced drivers will struggle to beat its 12 levels.
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Save the hostages by getting them to the chopper on the roof
The package captures the spirit of Die Hard, with a plethora of nice touches. The developer had license to create a few McClane-like quips, as well as quoting (and endearingly misquoting) the films, and thanks to Eric Allen Baker’s decent efforts, you’re treated to some satisfying clips. The high-score name entry has McClane circling around a gathering of hostages, each holding a letter, before selecting a letter sees its owner joining a line behind him. There’s the awesome title screen depicting a skyscraper, a plane, and a New York cab to represent the films. The wacky credits roll, and the humorous message upon selecting ‘Quit’ on the pause menus; it’s clear the developers loved the subject matter, and the numerous little shows of personality fit perfectly with the films’ shoot-from-the-hip nature.
Die Hard Trilogy is three marvellous games combined in one ambitious, tonally perfect package that’s an instant recommendation for fans of the films. Whilst the first and third segments are uncompromisingly difficult, they all deliver heaps of action-packed fun, and the Die Harder lightgun game is magnificent. Probe’s effort is distinctive and special: not just one of the best film tie-ins on the PlayStation, but three of the best.
Die Hard Trilogy is three marvellous games combined in one ambitious, tonally perfect package that’s an instant recommendation for fans of the films. Whilst the first and third segments are uncompromisingly difficult, they all deliver heaps of action-packed fun, and the Die Harder lightgun game is magnificent. Probe’s effort is distinctive and special: not just one of the best film tie-ins on the PlayStation, but three of the best.
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VERDICT"Blockbuster action that captures the destructive spirit of the films. A couple of the segments are super tough, but the lightgun game is outstanding. Probe outdid themselves: not just one of the best film licenses on PlayStation, but three of them!" OVERALL: 8/10 |
EARLIER WORKS FROM PROBE SOFTWARE REVIEWED
Out Run Europa (1992, Master System)
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Alien 3 (1993, Mega Drive)
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