Operation Flashpoint Heads to the (Red) River
Who wants more tactical FPS fun? YOU do! You do because you're normal!
Published: August 6, 2010
Codemasters has leveraged their internal engine to rather prolific effect this generation. What began as the Neon Engine in collaboration with Sony's own first-party studios begat the EGO Engine that has served as the backbone for DiRT, DiRT 2, GRID, the upcoming F1 2010 and third DiRT and even non-racers like Operation Flashion: Dragon Rising. See? Prolific!
It's that last game in the list there that's most relevant here. In the tireless quest for the inevitable sequel one-upsmanship, Codies is rolling out Operation Flashpoint: Red River, what looks like a seriously updated follow-up to their first next-gen console entry. How updated, you ask, thinking we can all hear you? (It's cool, we can and you sound sexy as hell, girl.) We're glad you asked, since it's bullet point time!
[The ultimate tactical infantry shooter]
Featuring authentic USMC tactics, weaponry and state-of-the-art equipment and played out through documentary style cameras, gamers are immersed in the life of a US Marine Infantry trooper to a level never before seen on consoles. Operation Flashpoint Red River builds on the successes of Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising with many refinements, including:
o A deeper, story-led campaign
o More variety of combat situations, including close-quarters anti-insurgency warfare
o Player weapon load-out choice
o Distinct weapon handling characteristics
o Refined squad AI
o Comprehensive tutorials
o A streamlined inventory and control system
[War x 4]
Take to the online battlefield with your brothers-in-arms in the persistent, four-player, drop-in/drop-out co-operative campaign, plus several additional co-operative modes. A brand new XP ranking system allows players to upgrade weapons and equipment as they rank up, adding further tactical options.
[A deadly new flashpoint on a brutal new battlefield]
Set in the challenging and varied landscape of Tajikistan, Red River’s campaign mode is an epic three-act story of a USMC fighting force pitched against guerrilla insurgency and the might of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. With vast open environments, stunning and varied terrain and dense suburban areas, Red River refines the flashpoint formula into the most intense modern infantry experience ever.
[Build the perfect fireteam]
In addition to the fireteam leader role, players can select from one of four classes of soldier – Grenadier, Rifleman, Automatic Rifleman and Scout - each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Players can pick their favourite class and become a specialist as they progress through the game, earning and spending XP on upgrades and working together with their friends to create a fearsome fighting force. Extending replayability, players can choose to play the game as different characters with multiple load-outs to experience war from the different perspectives of each of the fireteam’s specialists.
[A personal vision of war]
Players experience war from the perspective of real-life Marines with authentic battleground chatter, equipment and objectives. The series’ fastidious attention to authenticity remains intact and is made even more believable by visible ‘distressing’ and customisation of weapons and equipment to reflect sustained deployment in a combat zone. Soldiers will add taped labels to their equipment, wear their own shades, and improvise dust covers on their necks and shoulders. Weapons will be scratched, dirty and will sport customisations and modifications to suit the role of the soldier. Vehicles will have taped up cracks in their windows, welded patches in their armour and peeling paint as a result of attrition in the harsh conditions.
[Bring out the booms!]
Red River introduces a whole new level of combat support available to the player. Gamers will be able to call on air support much more frequently than in Dragon Rising but will require greater skill and tactical proficiency to maximise its effectiveness. The all-new A-10 close air support lets you bring down the booms on your enemies but watch out - they might just to the same to you!
So yeah, we're a bunch of lazy bastards for just cutting and pasting all that in, but honestly, there's a lot that's being added. Four-player drop-in/drop-out co-op? An XP system? More story? Better AI? A way to actually learn all about the new stuff in-game? More variety to that stuff once you have learned it and an inventory system that won't drive you mad? Yes, it would appear Codemasters was listening to all those reviews of Dragon Rising, and the result seems... intriguing.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Codies game without some "target renders," but if we've learned one thing about the EGO Engine, it's that it can get damned close at times to the kind of gritty, atmospheric presentation style seen in the four mock-ups you'll see there up at the top of the page under that Screenshots link. Clearly the same sense of scale is in place, but the addition of close-quarters combat and the tight integration with actual Marines tactics means it'll be less about kicking down doors while spraying entire clips and more about bullet penetration and breaching techniques -- or at least that's what we hope.
Thankfully, Codemasters seems to have this whole slow-drip-of-info thing down, so we're guessing we'll hear plenty more (and likely play more) soon. As soon as that happens, we'll be sure to update you with all the goods. For now, though, peep those screenies. They're purrrrdy.
It's that last game in the list there that's most relevant here. In the tireless quest for the inevitable sequel one-upsmanship, Codies is rolling out Operation Flashpoint: Red River, what looks like a seriously updated follow-up to their first next-gen console entry. How updated, you ask, thinking we can all hear you? (It's cool, we can and you sound sexy as hell, girl.) We're glad you asked, since it's bullet point time!
[The ultimate tactical infantry shooter]
Featuring authentic USMC tactics, weaponry and state-of-the-art equipment and played out through documentary style cameras, gamers are immersed in the life of a US Marine Infantry trooper to a level never before seen on consoles. Operation Flashpoint Red River builds on the successes of Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising with many refinements, including:
o A deeper, story-led campaign
o More variety of combat situations, including close-quarters anti-insurgency warfare
o Player weapon load-out choice
o Distinct weapon handling characteristics
o Refined squad AI
o Comprehensive tutorials
o A streamlined inventory and control system
[War x 4]
Take to the online battlefield with your brothers-in-arms in the persistent, four-player, drop-in/drop-out co-operative campaign, plus several additional co-operative modes. A brand new XP ranking system allows players to upgrade weapons and equipment as they rank up, adding further tactical options.
[A deadly new flashpoint on a brutal new battlefield]
Set in the challenging and varied landscape of Tajikistan, Red River’s campaign mode is an epic three-act story of a USMC fighting force pitched against guerrilla insurgency and the might of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. With vast open environments, stunning and varied terrain and dense suburban areas, Red River refines the flashpoint formula into the most intense modern infantry experience ever.
[Build the perfect fireteam]
In addition to the fireteam leader role, players can select from one of four classes of soldier – Grenadier, Rifleman, Automatic Rifleman and Scout - each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Players can pick their favourite class and become a specialist as they progress through the game, earning and spending XP on upgrades and working together with their friends to create a fearsome fighting force. Extending replayability, players can choose to play the game as different characters with multiple load-outs to experience war from the different perspectives of each of the fireteam’s specialists.
[A personal vision of war]
Players experience war from the perspective of real-life Marines with authentic battleground chatter, equipment and objectives. The series’ fastidious attention to authenticity remains intact and is made even more believable by visible ‘distressing’ and customisation of weapons and equipment to reflect sustained deployment in a combat zone. Soldiers will add taped labels to their equipment, wear their own shades, and improvise dust covers on their necks and shoulders. Weapons will be scratched, dirty and will sport customisations and modifications to suit the role of the soldier. Vehicles will have taped up cracks in their windows, welded patches in their armour and peeling paint as a result of attrition in the harsh conditions.
[Bring out the booms!]
Red River introduces a whole new level of combat support available to the player. Gamers will be able to call on air support much more frequently than in Dragon Rising but will require greater skill and tactical proficiency to maximise its effectiveness. The all-new A-10 close air support lets you bring down the booms on your enemies but watch out - they might just to the same to you!
So yeah, we're a bunch of lazy bastards for just cutting and pasting all that in, but honestly, there's a lot that's being added. Four-player drop-in/drop-out co-op? An XP system? More story? Better AI? A way to actually learn all about the new stuff in-game? More variety to that stuff once you have learned it and an inventory system that won't drive you mad? Yes, it would appear Codemasters was listening to all those reviews of Dragon Rising, and the result seems... intriguing.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Codies game without some "target renders," but if we've learned one thing about the EGO Engine, it's that it can get damned close at times to the kind of gritty, atmospheric presentation style seen in the four mock-ups you'll see there up at the top of the page under that Screenshots link. Clearly the same sense of scale is in place, but the addition of close-quarters combat and the tight integration with actual Marines tactics means it'll be less about kicking down doors while spraying entire clips and more about bullet penetration and breaching techniques -- or at least that's what we hope.
Thankfully, Codemasters seems to have this whole slow-drip-of-info thing down, so we're guessing we'll hear plenty more (and likely play more) soon. As soon as that happens, we'll be sure to update you with all the goods. For now, though, peep those screenies. They're purrrrdy.
