Reviews Xbox 360 Reviews Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

		4.4
		0.0 (0)

Written by alienstout November 08, 2009 Favorites

Game Reviews

Publisher	Codemasters
Studio	Codemasters
Genre	FPS
ESRB	Mature (17+)
Co-op	Yes
Multiplayer	Yes
Game Type Reviewed	Both

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is an open-world tactical shooter designed to realistically represent modern infantry combat. Fight as a U.S. squad leader against the Chinese invasion force on Skira Island. In it players will utilize the game's Quick Command radial menu to dole out commands to their unit. These commands include directives like ordering them to stay put, to follow you, to fire at will or only after your lead, and to assemble into various tactical formations. With a wealth of weapons and vehicles available, engagements can play out very differently depending on tactics and the pros and cons of chosen armaments.

The game features set missions as well as quick fight, fire team engagement and several multiplayer modes for varied gameplay. Another prominent and realistic gameplay consideration is its extensive and persistent damage model. This relates both to the environment and the soldiers under player's command in that buildings destroyed, stay destroyed and casualties can be inflicted immediately with a single bullet or develop from wounds not tended to.

You can get your copy of Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising right here from Amazon.

Editor review

Operation Flashpoing Dragon Rising, the thinking m

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Game Reviews

Leet-sauce	As real as you can get without actual bullets Great damage/health system Can be almost as tactical as an RTS if you want it to be Sounds like you're really on Skira Difficulty levels make sense
4-noobs	The game has a couple of bugs that you can live with but shouldn't be there Checkpoints are spaced out unevenly in the beginning levels Game starts out too slow before getting exciting Why can't I jump in this game?
Review	Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a confusing game for people not familiar with OpFlash 1 or the ArmA games but that only makes discovering this different take on the FPS all the more fun. Instead of merely a run-and-gun game that we've seen too much of already, OpFlash Dragon Rising is a thinking man's shooter. Thinking about strategies will help you quite a bit in this game. Try to run right at the enemy and you're going to find out quickly that they have great aim and your little digital body is squishy and easily stopped. Liked: Damage/Health System: You take a lot of damage in OpFlash Dragon Rising - the game is brutal on the body. That's one of the strong points of the game though, realistic damage that forces you to think before running into a hot zone. There's no regen health in this game which works out perfectly. Once hit you'll take damage that will slow you down, stop you from running, ruin your aim or, if it's sever enough, cause you to bleed out. Luckily you carry a little field dressing kit to give you back some health and there's a medic in your squad that can help heal you a little at a time. Realism: This is a broad category but suffice it to say that this game strives to be as realistic as possible. If you run out of bullets you'll either need to find a crate somewhere (if there are any) or take the baddies' guns. Driving around is realistic too, the trucks will skid out on you and you can feel the suspension working - vehicle physics my friends. Codemasters knows a thing or two about driving games and though it's subtle in OpFlash Dragon Rising, the realistic feel to the vehicles really is a nice touch. Tactical Nature: In OFDR you'll be able to order your AI squad around by either using the radial dial and pointing with your gun or you can use the overview map. The overview map is very similar to the Commander's View in Battlefield 2. You can see the whole map and friendlies easily. When a hostile is detected it will show up on the map for a minute or two if it goes quiet and isn't spotted again. While in this screen you can call out orders to your squad a little easier but you need to be careful, you're not safe in this view, you can still get your head blown off. More realism. Sounds of Skira: Codemasters did a great job with all the sounds from the guns, to the cars and helicopters. It sounds awesome. Perhaps the best sound in the game was from the environment on Skira. You'll get wind blowing in your ears, grass and gravel crunching under your feet and bushes rustling in the breeze. It sounds like you're there and you can easily imagine the cold breeze blowing over the island (which is pretty desolate.) Difficulty levels: Codemasters tossed three different difficulties in this game and they start with Normal, there is no Easy. On top of that, the difficulty only adjusts the amount of crates you'll find, the HUD goes away and there are less checkpoints. This means the AI in Normal is as hard as in Hardcore. Movements: Specifically, I'm talking about your player movements. Unlike other games, there are animations that take time to complete before you switch guns, reload or climb over things. It's annoying at first because it's so realistic but that's the point. You can't switch from knife to gun as fast as a button press, just like in real life. MP: When I first heard about the AI system in MP I was less than thrilled. It turns out I was wrong though because this isn't BF2 and you don't need 32 people running around shooting at anything and everything. 4v4 in MP with the AI for each player makes the game still strategy-centered just like the single player campaign. It's one of those things you have to try to appreciate. Didn't Like: Bugs: Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising has a couple of glitches, a couple too many for a game so good. Sometimes the AI squad doesn't do exactly what you tell them and sometimes the AI missions go awry because of some scripting issues. For example, during one mission you need to move stealthily to a lookout point and wait for a diversion from another squad. In several attempts, the diversion squad always gets stuck in their vehicle on the beach so no diversion for me. Checkpoints: This is more of an issue earlier in the game but it's still there. The checkpoints are too sparse and if you've been crawling along and moving like a ninja through the bushes and die you're going to spend the next 20 minutes doing the same thing. Of course checkpoints are a gripe in almost all games for me. As you progress through the game this issue goes away for the most part. Don't die and you won't have a problem. Starts Off Slowly: The difference between the first few missions and the rest (there are 11 total) is striking. The couple at the front end certainly don't have the punch or difficulty of the proceeding missions. This is one game that it pays to persevere because the action notches up so much it would be a shame to drop off in the beginning but we can see this happening to some. No Jumping: This is another common gripe I have with some games; there's no jump command. You can't jump over medium rocks, you can move around them or if they are a bit bigger you can climb over them. You can run so my thinking is that you should be able to jump at least a little bit. While the game is not as polished as I'd hoped, the realism, sweeping missions and strategic nature of it make up for any minor technical issues I ran into. I really was not expecting to like the game as much as I did coming from more traditional FPS games like BF2, BFBC, MW and any other FPS you want to name. That's the best comment I can give the game, I wanted to play it and it kept me up way too late into the night because I was so enmeshed in the conflict that I needed to finish one more mission, just one more then I'll stop. You won't stop either though and that's what makes the game worth the money.