Review: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
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Article written by djhsecondnature in Featured Stories, PS3 Reviews, XBox 360 Reviews, on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 18:00.
There’s no run and gun heroics here. Every bullet can kill you. This is real war, where a solid strategy matters far more than a perfect aim. We’ll give you everything you needed to make the right decisions and ensure your fire teams makes it through alive. Then, we’ll shoot you in the back of the head before blowing ourselves up on a nearby tree. Unfortunately, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a game of two halves. The first half is one of tremendous joy, and one of the better multiplayer experiences around due to the fun moments that arise from a great co-op game. The other half however reeks of frustration and missed opportunity.
After deliberating on the ideal analogy for longer than I would’ve liked, Dragon Rising is like a night out. It begins well dressed, giving a fabulous impression of sophistication and class; as you navigate the early roads ahead, you’re filled with excitement at what may lay before you. The night kicks in, the adrenaline of the engagement pouring through your veins, the patience needed for the pull, the feeling of rejection when you’re put down; whilst key moments, they are ultimately overshadowed as you share a barrel of laughs with friends. However, as the night draws on, the alcohol continues to flow, a couple of confrontations with your friends begin to put a dampener on your night and by the end of it you end up in a pool of your ambition.
With first impressions so keen, opening with a simply stunning menu will never go amiss. The wonderfully contrasting mix of greyscale and yellow, and the epic wablings and operatic harmonies of the overture just ooze that Codemasters quality that DiRT2 highlighted so well.
For a game centred around realism, it then seems strange at the contrast that is obvious throughout gameplay. The reload sequences, whilst being frustratingly long, are the actual actions a solider would take to load another clip, and thus really help add to that realism, but as a military simulator it seems incredibly odd to emit certain possibilities. With no magical regeneration, or loosely dropped health packs, the health system means you will bleed out if you leave your wounds untreated. So why is the animation for patching yourself (or a teammate) up a timer? Where are the bone crunching animations like in Far Cry 2? Even the most recent Alone in the Dark had you targeting your wounds and patching them up. The vehicles are even worse though: not only do they handle appallingly, the fade to black for entering and exiting is just another animation that is distinctly lacking, and compared to the rest of the game, they are vastly inferior graphically.
Combat wise, the game stands up well. With an impressive array of weaponry at your disposal, the mechanics are well implemented, but its the enemy AI that excels. Being flanked is not something I take kindly too, which the enemy AI seems to understand and therefore does it in spades. They will provide covering fire as troops sweep round and shoot you in the side – not to worry I thought, I’ll counter that by taking you out first. So with the initial enemies dispatched imagine my dismay at being taken out from behind – they really are brutal: if they can’t shoot you in the face, then they will flank you, if they can’t flank you they will call in for reinforcements, and if reinforcement doesn’t work then the attack chopper will just have to do. This being said, how do they always know where I am? Even crawling through tall grass to pop up a good 50 metres further east, to then be shot instantly, makes it quite difficult to flank the enemy on your own.
Luckily, you are not on your own though. With up to three friends, you can progress through the entire campaign and have a joyous time doing it. That is unless you’re playing using the dreadful team AI. Whether they’re in your fire squad or not, they are truly horrendous – if the anti-tank soldier in your squad is not controlled by a brain touting friend, you may as well abandon ship there. Our first attempt at the mission resulted in him getting gunned down for standing wide out in the open, second time for blowing himself up with by firing a missile against a tree before the final time of just lying down and not doing anything, thus failing the mission. If they’re not taking it upon themselves to obliterate each other then they might even try to dispatch you. Perhaps it’s my fault; I was taking out the Chinese at my own leisure, picking them off from a distance with a scope, before I was rudely interrupted with a chopper rocket to the face. Nothing compares though, to spending half an hour slowly and carefully advancing through a mission trying to aid and rescue a pair of crewman only to have upon our arrival one of them shoot the other before cementing himself to the floor and refusing to move resulting in his untimely death.
Dragon Rising is one of those very strange games. What it does well, it does really well and ultimately makes the game enjoyable and it’s a testament to that fact that despite all its flaws, I will continue to advance and complete Hardcore mode. It’s just a shame that a game with so much potential fell so short of a goal so easily in sight.
Graphics: The island is fantastic, yet it seems wasted: 7/10
Sound: Whether its the sound of a round being fired or the opening soundtrack, it sounds fantastic: 8/10
Gameplay: With a solid underlying shooter, its a shame that the cracks begin to show: 7/10
Overall: A good, fun shooter that excels in multiplayer but fails to reach the heights it could have.
7/10
Comments
Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.
spooner_22 | 14/10/2009 18:02
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947 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
Hmm. Looks like it’s a decent game but with MW2 and Uncharted coming out, as well as really wanting Brutal Legend, I think I won’t bother.
mynameisblair | 14/10/2009 18:04
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3666 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
I’ve heard the PS3 one has issues with this game, so it’s better to buy for the 360.
Will probably buy at some point down the line, when I get money!
colossalblue | 14/10/2009 18:09
Team TSA: Editor
1142 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
Nice review Davs! Great opening paragraph
gazzagb | 14/10/2009 18:13
Master of speling mitakse
2388 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009
I agree with most of your points (that your AI squad suck and the driving physics are appaling), but i think it deserves a 8/10 because of the realistic gameplay and co-op. I absolutely love sneaking up, nice and quietly, then getting mates to unleash a volley while you headshot the rest. No other game comes near with the fact that its a large area and needs a fair ammount of stealth and planning just to complete an objective.
Hoping to complete Hardcore with other TSA’ers (add me [gazzagb] if you want, just mention TSA)
Roynaldo | 14/10/2009 18:15
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2510 TSA Points | Member since: Nov 2008
A very good review, based on this I think I will leave it (for a while at least).
Well Done DJ.
stingraz | 14/10/2009 18:18
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2131 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
i need to play you!!! now? please? also good review. oh & i’ve somehow lost 60 points in a minute? i had 550, now i’ve only a small amount of 490. any else know why?
gazzagb | 14/10/2009 18:33
Master of speling mitakse
2388 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009
Click at the top where it says your number of points. It shows you a recent history of your points. Might say something there.
hannes_truce | 14/10/2009 18:20
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2808 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2008
Opening paragraph= genius. Still giggling.
might buy this.
awesome review
cam the man | 14/10/2009 18:23
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1860 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
Not for me
deepmenace | 14/10/2009 18:26
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245 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
no LAN or splitscreen i guess?
djhsecondnature | 14/10/2009 18:28
Team TSA: Media
815 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
There is system link on the 360 version.
xdarkmagician | 14/10/2009 18:31
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457 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
Good review, I love the SOCOM games so I was going to give this a try, but then I heard more negative than positive about it and decided to pass on buying it. But I now think I’ll rent it and give it a go.
FRUIT0FDOOM | 14/10/2009 18:41
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490 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2009
DO NOT GET the PS3 version! You are paying the same price for a shoddy port with massively inferior graphics and bugger all working online! This is not a dig on the PS3 – rather at Codemasters for allowing such a great game (personally my favorite ever as of now) to be trashed the way it is on PS3. If you can’t get it on PC/Xbox – don’t get it at all (perhaps rent or wait for a very hefty price cut).
The whole “no animation when bandaging” doesn’t really bother me, as you still seem to take more than you would in reality anyway. A shot to the leg might not kill…..straight away, but then “shock” could kill or incapacitate you, or if it hits the femoral artery then there is no stopping the bleeding without going down for field surgery. But then that would be just TOO real. Finding cover and getting a small countdown ’til bleeding has stopped suffices (IMO). The Far Cry animations are not realistic – they are “nifty” animations. If Codemasters had gone for all out realism – you would be spending more than just a few seconds pulling a bullet out, stopping the bleeding, stabilizing and then perhaps resetting any bones broken on the bullets impact, before treating for possible shock and limiting chances of infection. That would have bored the hell out of me.
Getting in a vehicle however, now that deserves an animation! I want to see bullets pinging off a hummer under fire when i am getting in it! And the driving is only “just” adequate. Helicopter piloting and tank driving is very well done though! Those tanks are capable of 70mph and thankfully they are in the game too.
A good review DJ – my experience and fondness of the military perhaps clouds any niggles I would otherwise have with the game. On a side note – if i were to review the PS3 version, I would be putting it right next to Damnation – around the 2 maybe 3/10 mark
Reiterpallasch | 14/10/2009 18:56
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330 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2009
You can see a comparison between the PS3 & 360 versions here: http://www.lensoftruth.com/?p=15649
Really disappointing job on the PS3 version.
FRUIT0FDOOM | 14/10/2009 19:01
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490 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2009
It is a crime! What the pics don’t show you is that on the PS3 grass “pops up” a few meters ahead of you, or trees start disappearing and reappearing in the background when you rotate on the spot. It uses the same engine (EGO) as DiRT 2 and there is no excuse for this laziness. Sony should have stepped in and told Codemasters to sort it or shove it as regards this title
Roynaldo | 14/10/2009 19:33
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2510 TSA Points | Member since: Nov 2008
Hmmmm, you have put me off even more.
You have had nothing good to say about PS3 for a while now, hopefully Uncharted 2 will change that.
You getting?
samba987 | 14/10/2009 18:42
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46 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
I may buy this when it is cheaper and when there is not as many better games out (Uncharted 2, Fallout 3 GOTY and brutal legend). But Sounds as if a good patch could make it in to a great game, With I hope they do.
Timesh1993 | 14/10/2009 18:48
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1093 TSA Points | Member since: Apr 2009
Hopefully this can replace MW2 for me.
Erroneus | 14/10/2009 19:12
Wanted "Trophy Hunter" but was too late.
2773 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
And it’s off my list, 7/10 is not good enough these days and it’s getting similar reviews at other sites. Codemasters should have used 2-3 months more, but I guess they were scared of MW2.
FRUIT0FDOOM | 14/10/2009 19:21
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490 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2009
MW2 and this are far too different to be competing in the same genre. MW2 will sell so much more because Operation Flashpoint (rightfully) targets a more “hardcore” gamer. Op Flash is the Gran Turismo or Forza and MW2 is the PGR or Need for Speed. But I stress that this game is best played on the 360 or PC (if you want the best graphics then PC). Imagine lying down to take a shot, lining up and ranging the shot, moving slightly to the left for a better angle but that small movement meant grass had suddenly “popped” up and obscured everything in that current position – that’s the PS3 version.
Erroneus | 14/10/2009 19:32
Wanted "Trophy Hunter" but was too late.
2773 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
MW2 might be different, but it would defiantly steal some sales and properly already are now from OF:DR. You have to wonder what kind of game it would have been, if they had used 2 months more on testing.
iNsAnE_gAmInG | 14/10/2009 19:41
* Banned *
-1930 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
I’m disappointed this did not turn out BRILLIANT. This sort of game, where it’s key success relies on realism needs to be close to perfect and it seems like it is far from perfect.
Nice review.
Alex_Assassin_08 | 14/10/2009 19:42
Member
735 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009
a shame. Was really looking forward to this. think I’ll pick it up cheaper after christmas.