As a member of the military for the past 22 plus years (retiring end of the year) I have had the pleasure of serving on 6 continents (including Antarctica) and have been in various war zones and in my humble opinion this video game is the most realistic military simulator (for the most part) you'll find on consoles today (Battlefield 3 will take the crown mostly from O.F. later this year). I own or owned nearly all of the military shooters on the Xbox 360 and PS3 (Battlefield 2, Black Ops, MW2, Homefront, OF: Dragon Rising, Sniper: Ghost Warrior, MAG, SOCOM etc...) and this game is pretty good.
Gameplay:
I really enjoyed working with my four human teammates and battling tons of enemies across huge battlefields. Each battle can last for an hour or more and very intense. If you enjoy realistic battles that make you work as a team and coordinate together then you will enjoy this game. Anybody who likes to run around and just fire away with no regard to realism then please go play the Call Duty, Halo and Gears of War series and have fun (they are fun in their own way). I like working together as a team throughout a mission and feel a sense of cohesiveness that can only be found with military squads working together to accomplish the objectives.
Example of what I'm talking about happened on my first night of playing. I was playing with 4 teammates on a campaign mission and one of the teammates was a young guy who told us how good Call of Duty: Black Ops (it is in its own way) is compared to other shooters and then complained about why does this game have such huge levels and why he keeps getting killed. Well when we started are mission he took off like you do in games like COD: Black Ops and we all kept telling him to form up and stay together. He kept saying how good he was and how he prestiged several times (etc etc...)in COD: Black Ops. One of my squad mates said this isn't that type of game and you need to stay together and work as a team or you will get killed. Well he went off and decided to take on the PLA on his own and within a few seconds he was on the ground asking for help. We tried to get to him but we got into our own intense firefight and barely made it to him. After healing him we pressed on and he worked for a while with us and then he decided to go off again (geez Call of Duty and Halo players) and he goes around a building and gets a nice tank shell in his face (no saving him now). I will say after that he never went on his own again. I guess him thinking he was Master Chief came to an abrupt end.
Graphics:
The visual effects are top notch. When you take time to look around (not just at the ground and dirt roads) you will see a visually stunning mountain peaks and clouds, and clear blue skies. The dust up when you're in the heat of battle is very authentic and can obscure your view just like in real combat battles in the Middle East (actually the dust ups are more intense in certain areas). The lighting (sun, night vision, stars and moon) are as authentic as can be. The team went out of their way to make sure you really experienced the utmost realism as possible. The guns, the character modeling, vehicles (Humvee's, tanks, Helicopters, fighters, and other vehicles) are top notch (not perfect, again what game is in this area).
Sound:
I really liked the sound of the various weapons. They sounded just like their real life counterparts. The development team worked with real military units in their country to hear and record the real sounds of the various weapons. So to the naysayers (if any) this game has the sound of the real deal. The voice acting was done adequately and is standard nothing spectacular. I will say that I had to turn the speech down because I was very annoyed with the foul language over and over again. My wife was not happy and told me it was not appropriate for a game to have this kind of language in it. Being in the military you hear some foul language once in a while (a few times a week), but not like this over and over and over again. I would advise you to turn it down or off and if you still want to know what the people are saying then put on subtitles. Because of this I can't let my teenage son play this because it's worse than anything he has heard in school (especially because it's so much and way over the top).
Music:
The musical score is standard and not John Williams or Danny Elfman quality but it works for the game. I will say it has a few moments of great sound and then goes back in the background or off at the right time. So you don't have to worry about feeling like it's you, your squad, and the London Symphony Orchestra taking on the enemy in every battle.
PC Version Comments:
In regards to PC it's still a great game, but as most have stated ARMA 2 is better and I can't disagree with that. Both came from the same starting point i.e. Operation Flashpoint 1, but have gone separately like a fork in the road over the years. They both have dedicated fans who adore them both even if neither one of them are perfect (what game is, except Chess and Stratego!!!).
Closing:
I really am enjoying this game on my Xbox 360 (still checking it out on my PC). I somewhat enjoyed OF: Dragon Rising but a variety issues dragged it down for me a little bit. I enjoy co-op missions and look forward to the expansions coming out this month (free for us who pre-ordered). This game has some incredible moments and intense battles that you'll not forget for a long time.
Listen, if you like running and gunning then please go play Call of Duty: Black Ops and Halo and have a blast (they are fun games). However if you want to enjoy realism then please pick up this game and prepare yourself because you will feel the heat of battles and the whizzing of bullets flying by your head. This game will be my top shooter along with Battlefield 2 until Battlefield 3 is released later this year (and yes all be picking of the next run and gun MW3 later this year as well).
Gamplay: 5 stars. Enjoy working with others who work as a team in these very long missions. Those of you who like COD: Black OPS and Halo will learn painfully this isn't a run and gun type of game. Working as team is crucial to your missions success.
Graphics: 4.5 stars. Sometimes I feel a sense of awe on the beauty of the landscape and special weather, lighting and night effects. The character modeling is very well done (again not perfect but well done).
Sound: 5 Stars weapons, vehicles, and environment, 1 star for foul language and dialogue (yes some of the squad mates AI have funny comments).
Music: 4 Stars. Not John Williams but pretty decent. I'm just glad I don't feel like I have an orchestra right behind me throughout the game (I can't recall experiencing that in any warzone I've been in).
Overall: 5 stars. It has it faults but looking past these I'm very pleased and can't wait to form up again with my squad and fight for freedom once again. Semper Fi!!!
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I wrote a big review for Dragon Rising, which I loved and still do, and was excited about this coming out. Having only played it for a few hours, I will try to give the best impression that I can and reserve the right to update this in a few days after diving deeper into it. To give you my frame of mind in writing this review, I'll throw the following out there:
1) Prior military: Tank and then Scout Platoon Leader with 1AD in Iraq in 03 and 04. Some people don't think this matters apparently, but I'll hold that it might make a difference in my judgement of a military based game.
2) I love GRAW 2 and think that the COOP missions were the best part of the game. Great online community worldwide. I hated it's campaign. Too linear.
3) I love the HALO series (ODST is still my favorite) but it's online community is still the most obnoxious one I can think of, but enjoy the campaign more than the vs mode.
4) I hate MW1, loved MW2, and thought Black Ops has been the best addition so far. Campaigns are a bit idiotic, but the multiplayer is setting the standard for what it should be.
5) I loved Dragon Rising. Campaign is awesome and that you can do it COOP was excellent and it was hard! It was gritty and real and fun in that patient sort of thinking mans fight instead of running the board like the Spartan 117 guns blazing.
But, on to Red River:
5 stars for fun? No. It requires too much patience to be that much fun. Halo, Black Ops, those are games that are FUN. This is about the realism (for the most part)and forcing you to think the situation out and fight through it intelligently and viciously.
Sound: Solid. I won't rate it on stars, but with a surround sound system, it's pretty impressive listening to the bullets buzz past or the helicopters orbit around you. I will agree with other posters thus far, the swearing is annoying. Honestly, the characters can't hold a candle to the amount or creativity of the swearing my guys used to come up with, but I don't think any of it should have been involved in a video game. That's realistic too, but it's cheesy and forced here. Once again, some computer guy was watching Aliens and thought it would be cool to include as much Hoo Rah! verbiage as he could muster up because that's what military people do. We swear nonstop and say things like "DEAD!" every time we pull the trigger. It gets annoying. On the plus side, the constant grid referencing from the first has been done away with and when your team mates do speak to you, they actually give you information of value. Give and take. Dialogue is moronic, but the effects are pretty great.
Graphics/Video: Maybe somewhere they slack off here, but I haven't seen it yet. Everything looks well rendered and recognizable up close and from far away. Explosions look good, tracers are eerily good, and the environment is beautifully rendered. I did experience some of that random warping going on though with a PLA rifleman sort of skipping around a courtyard while we were rushing him. Movement seems pretty smooth, human rendering looks good, and the depth of the battlefield is just as good as Dragon's was, if not somehow a bit better.
Menu: Still kind of ugly. It works, but it could be better just to get things rolling. I would say they should look at Graw 2 for inspiration and then plagiarize/ steal it.
Gameplay: This isn't Black Ops, and you're not going to go out and Pwn anybody. It's a COOP game, which is AWESOME! Why? Because it keeps those mountain dew fueled 12 year olds off the servers once they realize they are dumber than the AI you're up against. It's humbling, or should be. Working with other sentient beings to accomplish the mission at hand instead of being glory hound campers seems to bring together a good group of gamers and helps make this online experience a lot of fun. They updated a lot of Red River's actions from Dragon Rising, and I think it's for the better:
1)You get a Splinter Cell like grenade ark now to give you an idea of where the grenade is going.
2)The controls are much easier than Dragon Risings and the squad controls were EXPONENTIALLY easier when you're trying to give an order and felt much more intuitive. You could lose yourself in Dragons order menu, Red River keeps it simple. Think of the GRAW 2 menu over the GRAW 1 menu and how much you hated GRAW 1 for putting you through that nonsense. Same here.
3)Dragons enemies were supermen, and those who played it know the frustration of hitting a PLA soldier 6 times at 200 meters just to see him shrug it off and carry on like those were raindrops you sent his way. They drop now when you hit them, just like you ALWAYS have, which seems a bit more fair to me and much more fun.
4)Realism of the weapons seems pretty on. You still have all the fire selection modes that any particular weapon system has, they sound like they should, produce fire like they should, and the ballistics seems pretty solid as well. Overall I'm quite happy and enjoyed the fact that I raked a house with a M2 .50 Cal and killed the occupant inside.
5) Boundaries: I didn't like that my screen started to fuzz a bit and I was told to get back into my Area of Operations...Flashpoint should let me go wherever I bloody well wish, especially if the PLA forces are using it. I'll figure out how to secure my own area and from where, thank you very much.
6) Vehicles: Those are less prevalent than in Dragon, but you never really used them in Dragon anyways. I wouldn't expect my SSG Marine to crawl into a Chinese made APC or tank and be able to operate anything anyways, so it's probably better it was excluded. This does bring us to AI...
7) The AI is horrible. Watching 2 HMMWVs ram into each other at an intersection is just...well it sucks. I couldn't figure out how to motivate my AI to do the right thing and go around. That seemed to be a limited occurrence, but it shouldn't happen. The ODST guys could drive a Warthog around pretty much anything, so I know the programing exists. The game is made for COOP though! Look at the cover. Is it one guy like all the MW games have been? No, it's four. Get online, make some friends, and enjoy it. The games about teamwork, not some idiot Marchinko-Army of One nonsense. The enemy AI is pretty sharp though, and they seem to understand fire and maneuver quite a bit better than your own guys.
8) This is a 1 person per system game. No split screen. Get online, or you're stuck with the aforementioned idiot AI as your back up.
9) I don't know if this should fall in Visual or Gameplay, but I don't think they have their dimensions down quite right yet either. The 200 meters in the game is a LOOOOOONNNNGGGG way out there, and anybody who's shot much knows about what a human sized target looks like at 200. Makes target acquisition and servicing tough.
10) The ability to alter your equipment now is a HUGE plus over Dragon. So much better...From your demo options to sights on your weapons to a set of MW like perks, you can customize now.
11) You can select your player type before the mission, just like Ghost Recon, and go to work with a good set of toys. If you get zapped or join in, you can select the follow on load out too. I can't express how bad that was in Dragon or how fast I looked for that PLA marksman rifle every board and ditched my M16A2 with iron sights as fast as possible.
That's probably enough for now though. Just like Dragon, I say rent it, and if you like it, buy it and jump into the community for some fun and probably long games. I think it's a great game, and fun in its way if you're patient and intelligent. As another reviewer said, if the Army wanted an Infantry sim, this would probably be it. If you don't think a single bullet will incapacitate or kill you on the real battlefield, then back to COD kiddo. We don't want to listen to you whine or betray our position, and you've probably got that spelling test coming up soon anyways.
Best Deals for Operation Flashpoint: Red River - Xbox 360
This is a very simple game to review:
If you're the kind of person who LOVES Call of Duty and thinks other games are terrible by comparison, this game is not for you.
If you enjoy console FPS games (Yes, console. PC elitists always have something to complain about, especially when it comes to series that began on PC and then moved to console/cross-platform), and you're looking for something closer to a realistic/simulation military game, then this is it! It's not as hardcore as the original PC Flashpoint or the Arma games (the real sequels to the original Flashpoint), but for console players that's a good thing. We've got a controller and a couch, so a more accessible game is better, IMO.
This game is not nearly as buggy as OF: Dragon Rising was, and has MANY feature improvements. Red River is everything I wanted from OF:DR, but didn't get. You can fully customize your loadouts, heal a wounded leg (an annoyance from DR) so you can sprint again, and have a great time playing co-op with friends.
If you want to keep the pure, hardcore feel of previous FP games, you can. Just self-impose some rules on yourself and turn off all your HUD data (the real effect of the difficulty settings in the game). Don't like that the game allows you to heal a wounded leg? Don't do it! Stopping bleeding from a wound and healing the wound are treated in 2 separate steps. Simply stop the bleeding and move on with your wounded limb. Problem solved! Those of use who don't crave the unnecessary difficulty curve or annoyance of limping through a level because of a stray bullet no longer have to put up with it.
Bottom line, if you want a game that more closely simulates the actual experience of firing a weapon in combat, and using tactics and strategy to complete an objective, BUY THIS GAME!
If you would rather have guns with no recoil as you fight off 100+ enemies on your own, can take 50 bullets without dying, and only have to walk around a corner and wait for wounds to heal, this is not your game. That's not the game's fault (as other reviewers would imply), that's just not what this game is about.
Honest reviews on Operation Flashpoint: Red River - Xbox 360
First off, I'm not mad about it breaking tradition, because I never played the original. I'm a Battlefield guy, with some COD thrown in because that's what all my friends play. I'm a grown-up, with the slow reflexes to match...so the high-speed paintball feel of COD multiplayer is really not my thing. I like Battlefield, because it's more about staying alive and taking objectives than COD, where it's run, kill, die, respawn, run, kill, die...
That being said, OF:RR is a nice change of pace. It's annoyingly realistic in places; for example, if you get shot, you'll have a hard time returning fire, because you stagger realistically. If you don't patch up, you'll bleed out. As another reviewer mentioned, there are no friendly red boxes over enemies. Waypoints can be hard to find. Sometimes you just have to hunker down and figure out what's going on. You can order your squad to do some cool things, like flank left/right, lay down suppressing fire, and go to an objective...but that doesn't always help when you have no idea where the objective is.
Game mechanics are a fresh change. As I mentioned, damage is much more...damaging. You always have to keep your eyes open and check your corners. Likewise, you don't have to put a full clip into an enemy to drop them (hint to COD:BO) which is nice.
The drop in/drop out co-op works well. I accidentally left my game 'open' while playing the campaign, and had some random people drop in. At first I was annoyed, but it ended up being fun. And the actual co-op multiplayer has some nice twists, like the 'last stand' game mode, where you keep fighting waves of AI until you decide to call for extraction. The twist is that if you hold out for a higher score and don't make it, you get no points for the match. You have to gamble between low-risk/low points, or going for high score and risking a big goose egg to show for all your hard work.
Honestly, I meant to cancel my pre-order for this game, but forgot. I felt pretty burned when I pre-ordered Homefront and found it to be a mediocre cross between COD and BF, and swore off of pre-ordering. But after burning most of a Tuesday night on this game, I'm glad I got it. It's something different from the two Big Daddies of military FPS games, and that's quite a feat these days.
PS: the voice acting is superb. Filthy and foul, but not gratuitously so. I heard some phrases I haven't heard since the better parts of my mis-spent youth.
UPDATE: after a week of playing this, a quick point:
As mentioned by another reviewer, the AI for your team-mates is weak...I think the 'solo' campaign is meant to be played co-op. It's brutal when you play offline, but much better when you open the lobby and bring in real people. The co-op missions are nothing short of brilliant, but don't overlook the campaign co-op mode. It plays much (MUCH) better with real people on your fireteam.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Operation Flashpoint: Red River - Xbox 360
To start off with this game is not your fast pace close quarter FPS like the call of duty series, And kinda but barely relates to the Battlefield series. This is a military combat simulator where you are a squad leader of a fireteam. So if you are expecting to be that guy who runs around and kills everything and the only tactics you know are run and shoot then you are set up for failure. This game is supposed to simulate an actually combat environment. Its not to see who has the highest kill to death ratio and what level prestige you are. So if anyone is expecting a game like Call of duty don't even bother this game will eat you alive. Now that we got that out of the way onto the actual game review.
Pros
Graphics, are amazing, I dont get why people are being such sticklers about it. Its a video game not real life enough said. But still the graphics are truly breath-taking. The only one thing that pissed me off the most was getting a glare from the sun. Granted its really realistic but can be a pain.
Weapons, they are truly realistic they jam, the muzzle flashes are spot on, The sound of rounds flying over your head and seeing tracers lighting up the sky actually makes you want to duck when you're in the middle of a fire fight. The only one thing I found slightly unrealistic is the sound of incoming or IDF. Me being currently deployed in Afghanistan right now I've had the unpleasant experience of taking rockets and mortar rounds shot at my FOB and in the game they are a tad unconvincing but not a major draw back.
Dialog, Your platoon sergeant has one of the most ridiculously filthy mouths possible, But it is surprisingly close to how we all talk out here, Me personally I talk like a drunk sailor swearing left and right. So I cant complain about it, And not to mention your squad will actually give you good information.
-Music, Is awesome, when you first start the game rolling out on your first convoy they have Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth playing in the background I couldn't think of some better pump up music before your first fire fight other then some As I Lay Dying but that is my opinion. And whenever you get in the back of your HMMWV and start moving out to the next location they throw in some good rock music.
Command Ridicule, Is a lot better and more user friendly the in OF: Dragon Rising, So good job there now only if the AI was good enough to follow the orders you give them.
Gameplay, Is outstanding, The levels are long, firefights are insane, And you can pick the class you want to be (Marksman, Rifleman, Auto Rifleman, Grenadier). And in every class there is different weapons, attachments, perks, and gear you can unlock. They have also thrown in a leveling system which as you progress threw the campaign you unlock previously stated items. And since there are 4 different classes the replay ability is great. You can go threw the campaign as one class and when you beat it you can change to a different one for a different gaming experience. And when you get the opportunity to call off map support like CAS, Mortar/howitizer barrages, and 2000lbs of democracy, Pop a squat and enjoy freedom at its finest.
Healing, When you get hit, You are going to bleed. So bust out that handy dandy first aid kit and patch yourself up or you will bleed out and die. Some wounds will bleed out faster then others and depending on the caliber of the round will also influence how fast you bleed out so keep that in mind, say you get shot in the arm you can go a little bit before you have to patch up before you bleed out. But say you got shot in the chest depending on where it hit you and if it didn't Incapacitate you, you will bleed out a lot faster.
Cons
Your team AI in single player is just ridiculous. You will tell them to hold position behind a wall and next thing you know you have to guys standing in the middle of a street getting lit up like the fourth of july. It can be extremely annoying but life goes on. I can only imagine what it would be like have a full squad commanded by real people but like I stated im in afghanistan and my internet will not let me play on Xbox Live.
I really only have one problem with the weapons and in my opinion they over powered the 5.56 round. I can understand one shot will put you on the ground. But depending on where you hit them its not a guarantee that you will kill them but for some reason I can shoot a guy in the foot with my M4 and it kills him instantly.
this isn't a Pro or Con, But this game is realistic! One bullet in the right spot and your going home in a body bag. You get shot in the leg, and your not going to be able to run or sprint as well as before you got hit, You get shot in the arm, You wont be able to hold your weapon as steady as before... You can see where im going with this. So don't think you can run out in the middle of all hell breaking loose and being able to take a 30 rounds in the chest and be able to crawl behind some cover and you will magically be all good and ready to be a bullet magnet again.
So all in all this games fun value is awesome. There are some bugs with the AI but other then that there shouldn't be anything to serious that interferes with gameplay. And like I mentioned before this isn't Call of Duty so if you where expecting something like that you are sadly mistaken.
