Operation flashpoint dragon rising - As close to war as you ever want to get!
As i will state this is my first attempt at reviewing a game, i don't normally feel compelled to do so, however with this release i certainly was! like many of you i expect... I have had a long history with the Operation flashpoint games, i remember over a decade ago (Aka) 1997 on the PC (if I'm correct?) playing the original to death, rightly knowing at the time that it was one of the best tactical sharp shooters available leaving the vast majority of the competition in the shade. To develop my point further, it was always the expansive environments and range of tactical measures that always won me over (Like calling in an air strikes) how many games in 1997 were able to boast this, even today the graphics don't look all that bad, enemy AI e.g- the list goes on...
More to the point in 12 years most games would have long running series by now (Halo e.g) not so with Operation Flashpoint, and you can see why! clearly this game has been in development for quite some time and first impressions are quite frankly stunning. The start up menus at the load up point are self explanatory and easy to navigate, then once you begin the campaign straight into the action you go, without a long boring cut scene or "training session" to be seen, however it is you may note EXTREMELY HARD there is no varying difficultly levels here, it is as real as it gets, so with that in mind those of you with sore patience levels might end up getting very annoyed indeed, a one shot kill can be all it takes -unless you have a medi kit handy...
Putting aside the fact that clearly this game is aimed at hardcore fans of the original or veteran sharpshooters, the appearance of the dynamic environments are always impressive and tie in very well with the challenges at hand, the graphics are absolutely stunningly sharp, taking full advantage of the xbox 360's processor i'm sure.
The realism and greatness of these graphics really show their worth when you shoot at long distance you can clearly make out your target and prepare to fire, 'even better and very satisfying when you take him down' at such a distance.
Without giving away important aspects of the games single campaign levels, the weapons on hand here are truly extensive, with the awesome rocket launchers, battle riffles and Sniper arsenal all making a welcome return, here you will also discover more weapons, vehicles, aircraft and tactics than ever before to help you crush the opposition through each level. With a generous multiplayer 2-16 system link is extremely fun and enjoyable, if nothing else is a great way to increase your skill, without dying every two seconds on campaign by being shot first, still the associated 2-4 co-op on campaign is just as enjoyable, and a great deal easier as you won't have to stop and give orders as much, this is a great addition to this new game and i am pleased none of these were sacrificed for xbox live.
So to summarize the connecting and most important thing to remember with this game is 'tactics' whether that's multiplayer, co-op or single campaign, unless you approach situations with good alert vision and prepared your well equipped team mates before heading in or in the case of multiplayer 'yourself', you will almost certainly die. Having said that choosing what you would like your comrades to do is extensive but surprisingly quick and easy to learn, i would also like to say that the AI in this particular game is really good, and when you tell them to do something, they usually respond very quickly (as long as they are not under fire) and will always attack back any oncoming fire if you were caught out and haven't finished or given a command.
To summarize, what you are looking at with Operation flashpoint dragon rising is truly a sublime tactical shooting game, it's well made it's organized and it looks good, sure it won't strike a cord with everyone and i'm sure some of you may have been able to spot a glitch or irritating feature that i haven't noticed, in any case feel free to leave a comment if you wish, still this game should reach classic level and rightly should stand alongside any on the xbox 360 in my opinion like i said earlier i would NOT recommend this game to casual, occasional or young gamers, but WOULD recommend to fans, old-timers and experienced/mature gamers due to it's complexity with difficulty and the control options, i hope you will find this review of some use, or indeed find in 'Dragon rising' as much fun and enjoyment as i did.
Fantastic game 10/10
I've waited, and now I'm in heaven!
I started playing this game on the PC years ago, I loved it back then. Then later it came out on the original XBOX which was a slight disappointment to be honest. But this is something else; this is what I brought my XBOX for!
I'm not into most of the shooters and war games on the Xbox 360, I've tried but they just don't do it for me, this however feels real. The environment looks just too realistic and so is the game play.
The sound and feel of this game is amazing. If you loved the original then you're going to fall in love with this. Its real objectives, it's hard I mean when you're shot your dead!
The AI is spot on; the graphics are too spot on!
I just love this to bits. All I can say is this is a thinking persons army simulator. Not a shoot'em up. If that statement means anything to you then you'll probably love it,
I can't in all honesty find fault with it. A work of art? Well I will be spending the rest of my life playing this so see you later.......
A huge let down...
I've been playing this game for a few days now, since buying it on the release date, and after really sticking at it, completing half of the campaign, and trying out all of the multiplayer features, I couldn't believe how bad it really is.
I'll start with the good points, since there are so few:
The graphics are absolutely awesome, and the lighting effects/atmospheres are really well done.
It is really satisfying pulling off well planned team commands, but unfortunately, this relies heavily on the games AI. More on that later.
That's about it.
As for the negative, it's hard to know where to start.
The game looks very pretty, but feels INCREDIBLY out of date. Things such as game menus, weapon selection screens and objective viewers are just difficult to use, and having to zoom in and click around on your map in order to tell your AI team-mate that, actually, you'd rather he didn't run into a minefield, all while being bombarded with gunfire and mowed down by attack choppers does get a bit frustrating.
The single worst thing about the whole game is the AI. Not only does this game suffer from the usual annoying glitches (team-mates getting stuck in doorways, not noticing when there's an enemy right in front of them, not responding to orders), but on several occasions, my own team has actually shot my character to death while trying to
randomly engage enemies in the area. Annoying.
Playing this game did not make me feel like a US marine squad leader, it made me feel like a babysitter, tasked with looking after 3 (stupid) children with guns.
It's so infuriating to spend 10 minutes scouting out an enemy building with your binoculars before ordering your team to sneak in to attack behind you by crawling through the long grass, just to find that they all stand up for no reason when you're nearly there and blow your cover. I spent most of the 'stealth' missions telling the team to stay back, while I had more success attacking enemies on my own!
Also, the MASSIVE world map was one of the things that the game developer (codemasters) really hyped up. Apparently it will take you 9 hours to run across the map, saying that you can explore this huge land and roam at your leisure through non-linear missions. This annoyed me especially, because this is a lie.
Yes, the map really is huge, and yes, you can travel over the whole thing if you want. But there is NEVER any reason to! 99% of the map is just forest and field with nothing to discover but the odd enemy patrol, and all of the missions are as linear as they come. You are often on a strict time limit to complete objectives, making exploration impossible, and for each mission you are simply dropped off on a different part of the map, which surely renders the massive explorable area completely pointless?
I understand that this game is meant to be difficult (and it is), but that shouldn't make it frustrating. This is meant to be 'as close to war as you'll ever want to get!', but the thing is, it's just not that realistic, either. You can die with one or two bullets to practically anywhere on your body, which IS realistic. What isn't, is that your enemies seem to be able to survive a full magazine to the chest before finally giving in.
I feel really let down and betrayed by the developers after playing this game, since so much of what they said was good about this game is simply not true. The game looks beautiful, but seems as though no effort whatsoever has gone into the actual game play.
Multiplayer is no better, with the amount of AI and atmosphere glitches doubling, and (the worst part) no option to reload a checkpoint! Meaning that, if you all die, you have to start ALL OVER AGAIN!
Avoid this game. I hope that in future the developers realize that after spending so much time hyping up the amazing features in their games, maybe they should actually include some of those features in the product.
About Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (Xbox 360) detail
- Amazon Sales Rank: #36 in Computer & Video Games
- Brand: Codemasters Limited
- Released on: 2009-10-09
- Platform: Xbox 360
- Format: Unknown format
- Original language: German
- Subtitled in: German
- Dimensions: .22 pounds
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (Xbox 360) Description
Taking gamers as close to war as theyll ever want to get, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is the much anticipated return of the genre-defining military conflict simulator. Set to deliver the total combat experience, Operation Flashpoint 2 will challenge players to survive the chaos and rapidly evolving situations of modern warfare in a new contemporary theatre. Players will experience the intensity, diversity and claustrophobia of a modern conflict from the unique.
perspectives of an infantry marine, a helicopter pilot, a Special Forces officer or a tank commander, each engaged against the full force of the Chinese PLA on a scale never previously experienced in a military action title. Gameplay simulates an immense conflict between advanced forces and provides unparalleled scope with different military disciplines, vehicles and equipment for players to utilize.
- Freedom of Play Operation Flashpoint 2 will give players the freedom to handle military crisis situations on their initiative. Unscripted missions will task players with real objectives, such as laying down covering fire, covering a friendly units retreat or conducting short-range recon patrol. Armed with cutting edge military hardware, players will need to balance brute force with intelligent use of tactics. Once players have completed the campaign, a Mission Editor enables gamers to create their own single player and multiplayer missions.
- The most realistic modern military conflict game Operation Flashpoint 2 features unparalleled levels of realism and variety of military forces, equipment, weapons and tactics. Fully loaded weapons and individual ammunition types will be simulated with detailed ballistic physics, based upon individually-crafted mechanics. Players will command and control a wide variety of multi-component, multi-weapon vehicles, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, APCs, a