operation flashpoint: Dragon rising
Developer: Codemasters,
Publisher: Codemasters,
Release Date: 09/10/11
Format: PS3/XBOX360/PC
First let’s make this clear, in a year of its release everyone wanted to jump on the FPS bandwagon, OF: Dragon Rising is no game, imagine a war simulator if you will. There is no regenerative health, your solider has six pints of blood, and once those are gone you are dead. Headshots are one hit kill and if you survive a bullet to the leg, you can no longer sprint; a shot to the arm and you can no longer aim. It’s as real as it gets without being in the ARMY yourself. Codemasters wanted to put the fear back into dying when making this. A now common trait with games, the “ah, I can just respawn” attitude was not welcome here and was its main cause for its unpopularity.
The developers didn’t want another game to add to the mix, so they set about creating the most realistic, true to life game they could make. No expense was spared, they borrowed M16s and various other weapons from the countries involved and created the weapons from the ground up, every screw and every rivet on the real one was reproduced on the in game weapons. And it’s not like you could take a 12kg Anti-Tank Javelin out your pocket, it had to be assembled in real time and manually loaded after each shot. They studied all the vehicles in game, how they handled by talking to the people who drive them. Your Squad mates and every other AI would have the training of a US Marine, being able to support you even without direction. They wanted a game that would play without you moving a muscle; your role wasn’t to single handily win the battle, just do your part and make a different to the outcome. This was all big talk and was one of the most anticipated games of 2009.
The release date kept being pushed back and was now in direct completion with Infinity Wards, Modern Warfare 2. Knowing they would not compete with the entire hype surround the next Call of Duty instalment, they released knowing the game wasn’t finished. The game was plagued with AI bugs, team mates would run in front of your gun while firing. The enemy would just stand there while you dropped people next to them. The vehicles were chunky and felt like stones being dragged along the ground, crashing with the smallest of bump in the road. The game looked good, but should have looked much better, the missions boosted about having the entire Island to play out your mission, but didn’t get the chance to go out and explore the beautiful Island you were fighting. At the end of the missions, they hadn’t even covered a tenth of the playable area.
Publisher: Codemasters,
Release Date: 09/10/11
Format: PS3/XBOX360/PC
First let’s make this clear, in a year of its release everyone wanted to jump on the FPS bandwagon, OF: Dragon Rising is no game, imagine a war simulator if you will. There is no regenerative health, your solider has six pints of blood, and once those are gone you are dead. Headshots are one hit kill and if you survive a bullet to the leg, you can no longer sprint; a shot to the arm and you can no longer aim. It’s as real as it gets without being in the ARMY yourself. Codemasters wanted to put the fear back into dying when making this. A now common trait with games, the “ah, I can just respawn” attitude was not welcome here and was its main cause for its unpopularity.
The developers didn’t want another game to add to the mix, so they set about creating the most realistic, true to life game they could make. No expense was spared, they borrowed M16s and various other weapons from the countries involved and created the weapons from the ground up, every screw and every rivet on the real one was reproduced on the in game weapons. And it’s not like you could take a 12kg Anti-Tank Javelin out your pocket, it had to be assembled in real time and manually loaded after each shot. They studied all the vehicles in game, how they handled by talking to the people who drive them. Your Squad mates and every other AI would have the training of a US Marine, being able to support you even without direction. They wanted a game that would play without you moving a muscle; your role wasn’t to single handily win the battle, just do your part and make a different to the outcome. This was all big talk and was one of the most anticipated games of 2009.
The release date kept being pushed back and was now in direct completion with Infinity Wards, Modern Warfare 2. Knowing they would not compete with the entire hype surround the next Call of Duty instalment, they released knowing the game wasn’t finished. The game was plagued with AI bugs, team mates would run in front of your gun while firing. The enemy would just stand there while you dropped people next to them. The vehicles were chunky and felt like stones being dragged along the ground, crashing with the smallest of bump in the road. The game looked good, but should have looked much better, the missions boosted about having the entire Island to play out your mission, but didn’t get the chance to go out and explore the beautiful Island you were fighting. At the end of the missions, they hadn’t even covered a tenth of the playable area.
The game wasn’t a complete failure; the heart of the game was there. You felt like part of the battle and what you were doing was for the greater good. The missions varied and had some really memorable moments, nothing was over powered and no mission was impossible if played with strategy. It is an experience like no other, having to run a mile and face two LAVs with support infantry was difficult, but rewarding when completed. A lot of your time is spent running and looking thou your binoculars, that’s because most engagements occur at well over 100meters. Spotting the enemy is difficult enough but dispatching them is more of a challenge at this range. Each ballistic projectile had real life physics and bullet drop, meaning when you connected with a headshot made it ever so sweet.
Hardcode mode was the only option with difficultly, this did not alter the way the enemy reacted or gave them super human strength. Instead all your HUD was removed, no bullet count, no squad information and no compass. A most vital thing when in the middle of the woods or an open field. Each of the missions could be played co-op, replacing your squad members with your friends. This made the missions both easier and more difficult, but fun. The multiplayer was limited and was difficult to entertain. Only two game modes where available, the better of the two saw one small force attack a larger force defending an objective. Each player would be in command of his or her own AI Squad. This lead to big battles but the maps where that big it took over an hour to complete and in that only 5minutes was enjoyable.
Codemasters tried again in 2011 with Red River, more geared toward co-op than single person gameplay. It featured a lot of the original format from Dragon Rising. Despite this, it flopped. It seems gamers today don’t want true to life games and so there are no plans to bring it back anytime soon. It’s a very specific area of FPS, only real competition was ARMA on the PC which is said to be even more realistic. Either way Operation Flashpoint gave consoles a taste of what their missing. It filled a nice gap between a simulator and enjoyable game. Despite its problems the game is well worth playing, however, it’s not to everyone’s taste and will leave you shouting at the TV as you die and have to restart 2 miles away. But that’s the point, don’t get shot. Take your time, do it right the first time. In real war you have no second chance; no magic de-fibs or syringes to heal all your injuries. But that brings us to a debate, can realistic games be as enjoyable as games that aren’t.
By Chris Sowry 7/10
Hardcode mode was the only option with difficultly, this did not alter the way the enemy reacted or gave them super human strength. Instead all your HUD was removed, no bullet count, no squad information and no compass. A most vital thing when in the middle of the woods or an open field. Each of the missions could be played co-op, replacing your squad members with your friends. This made the missions both easier and more difficult, but fun. The multiplayer was limited and was difficult to entertain. Only two game modes where available, the better of the two saw one small force attack a larger force defending an objective. Each player would be in command of his or her own AI Squad. This lead to big battles but the maps where that big it took over an hour to complete and in that only 5minutes was enjoyable.
Codemasters tried again in 2011 with Red River, more geared toward co-op than single person gameplay. It featured a lot of the original format from Dragon Rising. Despite this, it flopped. It seems gamers today don’t want true to life games and so there are no plans to bring it back anytime soon. It’s a very specific area of FPS, only real competition was ARMA on the PC which is said to be even more realistic. Either way Operation Flashpoint gave consoles a taste of what their missing. It filled a nice gap between a simulator and enjoyable game. Despite its problems the game is well worth playing, however, it’s not to everyone’s taste and will leave you shouting at the TV as you die and have to restart 2 miles away. But that’s the point, don’t get shot. Take your time, do it right the first time. In real war you have no second chance; no magic de-fibs or syringes to heal all your injuries. But that brings us to a debate, can realistic games be as enjoyable as games that aren’t.
By Chris Sowry 7/10
