Written by: Ian

 

 

 

The first Operation Flashpoint was a huge success, as it brought a new realism to wargames. There was a huge, vocal fanbase, and expectations have naturally been high for this sequel, especially with all the added graphical power of the current crop of consoles and PCs. However, with a new setting, and a new developer, will the Flashpoint name be given justice?

 

 

Set in the near future on the island of Skira, off the Chinese coast, 'OF: Dragon Rising' is all about a fictional fight for oil between China and Russia. However, bizarrely, you never ever see the Russians.

 

They ask the US for aid, and you spend the entire game fighting as and with the US. It’s slightly odd, but as the story is just introduced with a quick cut-scene, then basically goes away until the end, with only small, un-voiced briefings between the levels, you never really notice until you’re reminded again at the end. It’s a good premise for a story, but it’s never fully taken advantage of, which is a shame.

 

More movies, more background, and just more plot would have been nice. It’s also worth noting that the 11 missions included only take place on the West of the island, suggesting that there may be more to come in the East via DLC in the future. Either way, this is again, a bit of an oddity.

 

 

The ‘open world’, however, is also a bit of a lie. Yes, the mission areas are huge. But, if you go too far away, then your mission gets cancelled and you have to start from a checkpoint, which is a shame. Talking of checkpoints- these are spaced really, really badly. Sometimes, you’re expected to drive or hike for 2km, then do an objective, whilst taking down some patrols on the way. If you fail, you end up right back at the start- which can mean, in some situations, nearly 10 minutes of solid running, with little reason, before you probably then get shot again whilst in the more dangerous area of your objective. It’s frustrating and annoying. And if you’re driving, be prepared for a terrible model, that will flip you for no good reason, have you bounce off small rocks and bushes, and jeeps that have turning circles like oil tankers. Enemies also suddenly get very loose with any rockets or explosives too, meaning that you’ll probably just end up in bits inside of your humvee anyway, whilst ironically, when driving along, your team can’t hit anyone at all.

 

 

The game also has some bugs. I lost two-and a half missions worth of progress when my save game reverted me back to a totally different level, which was hugely frustrating, whilst other glitches include your team-mates refusing to heal you, refusing to follow orders, refusing to get in vehicles with you, and also terrible pathfinding on their behalf.

 

In fact, the AI in general is pretty broken. Some enemies will stand around if they get shot or shot at, seemingly oblivious. Sometimes, they are ridiculous, as you can be driving, and get sniped in the head from 2km away- equally unrealistic! They also take as many as 6-7 hits to down, which is just stupid considering 2-3 will be enough for an instant death for your own character. They also seem a little too scripted, and you can take large numbers by surprise if you plan your own attack rather than following the game’s suggestions. I also had two achievements fail to unlock, and they won’t re-unlock either when I do them again.

 

I even broke the last mission. By avoiding enemy AA fire with some top-gun worthy piloting, I crash-landed my helicopter right on top of the final objective, then piled out, expecting to be blown to shreds. However, the mission just ended, and I completed the game, just like that, without actually really capturing anything. I was just gobsmacked and though that this was a pretty anti-climatic ending to the game, even if I obviously wasn’t supposed to go about things in that way.

 

 

However, despite this monumental list of flaws, the game is actually a good experience, because it is so different to anything else on the 360 at the minute. Whilst it’s clearly not ‘realistic’ in the way that the game claims to be, it is more realistic than anything else out there. You can only take limited damage. You do feel like part of an elite force. The setting on a single island does make it feel more like a conflict that you are involved in. Guns do have a realistic range and recoil. It is more about long range combat than most games. You do have to be stealthy. Despite the AI flaws, you do feel in command of a squad. It’s deeply, deeply flawed, but I think if you go into the game knowing what you expect, then I reckon you can still have a decent amount of fun.