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Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Review

David Brown never thought he'd enjoy being in the army
I never finished the original Operation Flashpoint. I got to a mission where I had to escort some convoy of trucks over a large distance, and singularly failed to do so. Believe me, I tried to protect my AI companions, but they just kept getting blown up. I can't even remember how they bought it - mines, rockets or merely plain old bullets - but they died, again and again. Again and again and again.

There was also that mission where you're told to escape to the beach. You start in a forest, bereft of allies and have to make it past the entire enemy army without getting spotted once, because if they saw you, BAM! you were dead. One shot to the face from a tiny set of pixels that had just appeared on the horizon sent you right back to the beginning. Or to the solitary save point you were allowed.

Flashpoint: Dragon RisingOfficial trailer
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Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising doesn't have save points, it uses checkpoints. Whoa there, hold on a minute. Don't go slouching off, grumbling about consoles and whatnot. It's not that bad. These checkpoints actually work. They don't always work, but they do the job better than the solitary save game in the first game did allowed. This is one game you'll actually finish before your hair falls out and you start looking longingly at cardigans in shop windows. If you want to keep it real and are into masochism, you can always just the game on Hardcore mode and not have any saves at all.

For those of you who are baffled by the words I've just written, let me elucidate. Dragon Rising is a game where you get to play as a US soldier in the liberation of the fictional island of Skira. The people you're booting out are the Chinese People's Liberation Army, who've decided that the oil reserves contained underneath Skira are worth killing for. They plonk their troops in, Russia gets angry, the US is called in, and Uncle Sam proceeds to kick some PLA ass.

Your first mission is essentially a tutorial, although it never once drags you by the pubes down certain routes. There's also no patronising "Press W to move forward, left-click to fire" either. It errs too much on the 'let the player get on with it' side of things, telling you the name of the command you need to issue, but not which key that corresponds to. A quick scan through the key commands list will sort you out, but it does interrupt the flow a little. This doesn't happen a lot, though, so it's more a minor little quirk than anything else. Nearly everything in the game is intuitive and easy to get to grips with, except perhaps the radial command menu.

This will probably get the most attention from irate fanboys. The deal is that you press Q and a radial menu appears. You then press one of the WSAD keys to pick a subsection, and so on. It's clearly designed for an analogue stick and can be a bit clunky, especially when you're bogged down in combat and all you want to do is tell your guys to defend a position or engage an enemy. A small number of commands can be issued on the map, but generally, if you want to tell your guys what to do, you'll use the radials. It takes time to get used to where certain commands are and how to get to them quickly, but once you do getting your comrades to do what you want is easy. Usually.

This is a game that relies heavily on AI, but sometimes it'll fall over. However, it's nowhere near as bug-ridden as its rival ArmA II was on release. There aren't amusing/frustrating moments like finding your CO's mangled corpse under his desk at the beginning of a mission for no reason. What'll happen instead is that maybe one of your guys won't duck down quick enough behind a wall and get his head blown off by a lucky shot.

Certainly, it's annoying, but unless you're playing on Hardcore mode, they'll get revived when you pass through the next checkpoint.
Unrealistic this might be, but it does mean your frustration levels won't boil over if your guys do something a bit dumb. It might offend some people's sensibilities, but it sure beats going back miles back to the last checkpoint.

Perhaps the best thing about Dragon Rising is how you feel challenged by a difficult game, yet never so frustrated that you throw the mouse down in anger and hurry for the uninstall button. Sometimes you'll get killed by a great shot from an enemy soldier, which'll force you to repeat a significant section of a mission. Yet instead of frustrating you, it makes you think of new ways of approaching that mission. If you're getting pinned down by tanks or vast numbers of soldiers, perhaps when you do it again you'll approach the situation from a different angle to see if that makes a difference.

This is a game of exploration and options, where the solution isn't just "go this way or not at all". It's challenging and hardcore, but always accessible. You'll almost certainly make mistakes and be cursing either luck or ineptitude (either your own or your allies') but you'll also be learning all the time, thinking about new ways to achieve the goal, and because it's virtually all driven dynamically with very few scripted events, each time the outcome will be slightly different.

This is probably true of most open-world games, but I don't think I've ever felt it as strongly, as innately, as I did when playing Dragon Rising. This same freedom of expression continues into the night missions, not all of which involve special operation types and silenced weapons. Indeed, the first one you embark upon is particularly tricky due to the fact you really have to keep that trigger finger in check. One shot and the whole place lights up and, given that the area is swarming with PLA troops, not to mention the deadly threat of patrolling gunships, it is crucial to be sensible in your choices. Going in all guns blazing will not only make you fail your secondary objective (don't be seen) but will result in your quick demise.

You might be able to bandage your wounds if you take a non-lethal hit, but that's not easy to do in the middle of a field with bullets kicking up dirt around your prone body. Speaking of healing, you've also got a medic as part of your squad, someone who can help in patching up your AI squad mates or just giving you a shot from a magic syringe. This replenishes the blood you've lost and is another attempt to make the non-hardcore experience a little less unforgiving. Again, if you crave realism, stick it on the Hardcore mode.

Missions themselves are reasonably varied, both from the start of the game and in how they develop. There are the aforementioned stealth missions where you'll have to secretly blow up a fuel dump or some anti-aircraft guns, plus you've also got rescue, beach assault and capture-and-hold-location missions. They all involve shooting a load of PLA troops, of course, but often you'll be sufficiently intrigued by the objectives of the next mission to bring in the whole "one more go" factor.

The military fetishists out there are going to be a little disappointed with the range of guns, weapons and so on that are available. While there are enough different types of gun or vehicle to keep a layman like myself satisfied, those who have an interest in military ordnance, ArmA II has the edge.

And you can't be a sheep or a cow in Dragon Rising either. The mission editor won't be as comprehensive as the ArmA II modding toolset Bohemia recently released (which is on this issue's DVD, in case you're interested), but there's certainly sufficient depth, especially when you start getting involved with the LUA scripting language to create elaborate scenarios. Whether you'll be able to create those amazing night battles so prevalent on YouTube, we'll just have to see.

Another direct point of comparison with ArmA II is performance and issues thereof. Because Dragon Rising is, to be blunt, more of an game than Bohemia's effort, it also runs a hell of a lot better. Let's face it, awe-inspiring in terms of depth and complexity ArmA II might be, it sometimes forgets it's actually a piece of entertainment, not a military training simulator. Dragon Rising never once forgets that it's ultimately meant to be fun, but any issue of it being dumbed down can be dismissed by all but the most obsessive realism nuts. Indeed, it's actually difficult to see how this game will succeed on the consoles.

Concessions are made to the use of pads - radial menus, checkpoints that revive your comrades, and so on - but if you're willing to look past these things, it's a difficult game. This is a game that requires patience, a quality most console gamers, it's fair to say, don't have in abundance. This isn't just your PC snob talking here: Dragon Rising never really feels like it has been co-developed for any armchair gamer - whether on the PC or a console - unlike so many big-name games released nowadays. It's a great relief to be able to write those words as so often we're left pandering to the perhaps-unfair belief that console gamers can't handle anything remotely complex, having to suffer the lukewarm button-mashing tedium-fests that are sloppily ported over.

Also Dragon Rising doesn't crash (at least, it didn't for us). Even running on maximum graphics setting - one gripe would be the lack of advanced graphics settings to tweak - we never ran into any frame rate or performance issues. The graphics are good without being anything spectacular, so it should run well on the majority of reasonably specced machines.
The original Operation Flashpoint had a reasonable multiplayer element. While it wasn't great, it was fun for a while. It was also bollockingly hard. Dragon Rising's take on this should be better. As we're playing the game before the game goes out on sale, nobody else has a copy of it, so trying out the multiplayer function is effectively out of the question. We'll take another look at it in a future issue, once the game is out on general release and the multiplayer servers are populated.

What we can tell you about is the campaign co-op. This is superb fun. We all know playing with other people is great and Dragon Rising doesn't buck the excellence trend. It's pretty much exactly the same as the single-player experience, just with the added bonus of idiot human players mucking about.

While ArmA II had the potential to be superb Dragon Rising actually is, because it doesn't suffer from all the technical issues of the former game. Helicopters don't land on your head, they don't refuse to land if you to do something a little out of the ordinary, and you don't have to chase important NPCs over several kilometres because they got spooked by a bit of gunfire. (All of which we've seen happen when we've played ArmA II.)
The only problem you might have is an AI driver (of any vehicle) not having great pathfinding if you're in the commander's seat giving move orders. Usually they're fine, and this applies to the single-player as well. But sometimes trees can confuse drivers a bit, so they ignore the plants and plough through.

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising has achieved the singular feat of being a military simulator that's actually fun to play on more than just a "Look how much stuff is here!" way. Codemasters have remembered that the most important thing for a game to be is fun. At the end of the day, if your CO disintegrates for no reason and you can't proceed with the mission, it doesn't matter how accurate the spark plugs are on the vehicle you're driving, you'll get fed up and sack it off. What you want to do is be given an objective, go there and shoot some baddies, without any weirdness occurring.

Dragon Rising makes this activity challenging but always pleasurable. It might be helping you out a bit too much at times with its life-giving checkpoints and magic syringes, but sometimes a bit of assistance isn't a bad thing. Some people will doubtless hate it, saying it's not a par on ArmA II, moaning about how it isn't realistic enough or that the PLA don't have accurate uniforms, but I advise you to ignore the naysayers and play the game. It's not perfect, there are little problems and niggles that can be found if you look for them, but none of them spoil the game or ruin the playing experience.

This might not be the proper successor to the original Operation Flashpoint, but as a game in its own right, it's a stormer.

Buy the latest issue of PC Zone and get it delivered to your door here.

PC Zone Magazine
// Overview
Verdict
Operation Cashpoint: Sales Rising
Uppers
  Great fun
  Hard but fair
  Co-op campaign
  More of a game than ArmA II
Downers
  Some console touches
// Screenshots
// Interactive
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Read all 46 commentsPost a Comment
As a dedicated console lad who likes to give PC boys the respect they deserve, I do get a little bit annoyed with comments like "console touches" - as if this is a bad thing. If this game has console touches, then why don't you just play it with a console controller - or is this just not on?
will7476 on 2 Oct '09
Thank the heavens this got a good review, I hadn't heard much about it and had begun to fear the worst.

I'm a little annoyed by the suggestion that we console gamers don't have any patience, I've been waiting for a more tactically minded game like this for a long time to reach a console. We're not all 13 year olds who get cranky when we haven't shot an alien in the head in the last 30 seconds you know.
GTCzeero on 2 Oct '09
didnt think (or at least hoped) codemasters would build the PC version like the console versions. Checkpoint systems will infuriate the hardcore PC gamers and a PC game tht doesnt have advanced gfx/sound settings is a defo console port.

You can say all you want abt it being more fun but less of a sim and all tht crap but the real fans will just say stop playing and go back to smthg like cod because you certainly dont understand how its meant to be.

I was going straight into hardcore mode (which actually should be its normal mode) but you cant save at all? I dont want all this hud and arcady things attached to the normal mode but I would appreciate some sort of proper save system.... guess I'll get some kind of trainer for this.

Had it on preorder but ive lost a bit of excitement (not enough to cancel) and will probably not take friday and sat off as i was planning. Arma is buggy as hell but at least it does what its meant to.
Sleepaphobic on 2 Oct '09
....I prefer consoles to PC...my reasoning..because they dont feckin break down (generally) and I dont have to upgrade as often, I agree with the posts we console players aren't always 13.
Me v You Round 2 on 2 Oct '09
"If you want to keep it real and are into masochism, you can always just the game on Hardcore mode and not have any saves at all."

Don't you proof read your reviews.

I've got a pre-order from Shopto for £28.99 for the 360 cant wait the only thing that is a let down is there is no mission editor on the consoles even the original on the xbox had it as my PC would die if I tried to play this on it.
pp82 on 2 Oct '09
i had vegas 2 for my ps3. i now have it for my new pc.

playing with the mouse has made it twice as good. its so much better - and i really enjoyed it on ps3 to begin with.


will be picking this up, looks great.
svd_grasshopper on 2 Oct '09
I'd love to pick up a copy of this. If I thought it'd run on my PC I'd much sooner take this than MW2. But sadly my machine is really showing its age right now, so console gaming is the only way I can play new stuff.

I'd take a copy of this if it appeared on 360 or PS3 though, in a heartbeat.
Dajmin on 2 Oct '09
Seems like a good review but the thing I liked especially is that he said it runs better than Arma 2, I was afraid my PC couldn't play this but since it can play Arma 2 on normal/high then i'll be able to play DR.
trooperdx3117 on 2 Oct '09
I'd love to pick up a copy of this. If I thought it'd run on my PC I'd much sooner take this than MW2. But sadly my machine is really showing its age right now, so console gaming is the only way I can play new stuff.

I'd take a copy of this if it appeared on 360 or PS3 though, in a heartbeat.

Its coming out for both consoles, I think its out on the 6th October.
bevoboro on 2 Oct '09
Sounds promising...but the meat of the game will always be the multiplayer, and there is no mention of it in the review (difficult I know before release)

The only downer is that I'm hearing that the multiplayer is limited to 2KM square and 32 players.
Paradaz - UK on 2 Oct '09
Shame the reviewer couldn't just stick to the actual review instead of a few anti-console aimed comments like 'some console touches'(as if thats a bad thing)and console gamers lack of patience, which is totally untrue and just laugthable really.

Anyway I was a bit skeptical about this one as I havn't heard anything about it for a while and was also worried it will be more of a simulation than a game. I'd still like to try a demo though before buying, although I think Codies are reluctant to make one going by what they said in an earlier interview, which is daft as it would only cause more people to make up their minds and maybe buy a game they otherwise wouldn't have bothered with.
sonic_uk on 2 Oct '09
Shame the reviewer couldn't just stick to the actual review instead of a few anti-console aimed comments like 'some console touches'(as if thats a bad thing)and console gamers lack of patience, which is totally untrue and just laugthable really.

I agree with the comments this is a review of the pc version if i wanted to play with a pad i would buy it on my 360.

the fact the menu uses the Q which in FPS is used for leaning and the WASD keys for the menu screws us over from the outset who the hell wants to be stuck with no movent because they are trying to bark an order.

as far as im concerned console qirks belong in a console pc in the pc and to be fair i play my 360 alot not as much as my pc but there are alot of console gamers who just trash it for everyone which is why i dont bother with a live sub anymore.

and anyway you want to cut it checkpoints magic healing syringes and dead comrades that respawn smacks of console design.

The original flashpoint was an amazing game if they decided to take a name and base a game around the original it should at least be like the original.

deffo no buy here until a demo at the least. arma 2 til then.
calanorn on 2 Oct '09
I've been gaming on a console for over ten years now, I'm very excited for Dragon Rising and yet I'm dissapointed to see the reviewer try and masquerade his own 'PC Snobbery' and yet proceeds to idiotically mark down a game due to it's console refinements, I guess this is just another factor which can be used to explain the steady decrease in PC gaming quality.

Oh and

MegaMan > CSS.
Conor 419 on 2 Oct '09
I'd just like to say i am 15, or at least will be by the time this game comes out, also i am an console gamer. As much fun as COD is, and believe me it is A LOT OF FUN! I find it kinda to easy. I am standing up for console gamers here. I play COD 4 on veteran for fun, because frankly i like doing things perfect. Now i have researched Op Flashpoint 2 a lot and have put my preorder in, because i would love to play a really hard game without re-spawning eniemes on my CONSOLE. So to hear this review say "it has been console-fide" offends me. Ok most kids play games on their consoles instead of on a pc, and most of them just like blowing a load of s**t up. that does not mean we all do, there is a minority of console gamers like myself who prefer the hardcore games (Op flashpoint and i would play Arma except my pc SUCKS!!!). I know i am kinda dragging on a bit, but i hope you see my point. We console gamers should have the same respect as PC gamers. If i could i would also buy a awesome PC, but frankly being 15 i can not afford a decent one. So yeah, anyway i hope this makes you think of console gamers in a different light, and I CAN'T WAIT FOR OP FLASHPOINT 2. One last thing, does anyone know why it is coming out on the 15th in Australia Confused and why it is coming out on the 6th in the USA Sad
jules686 on 3 Oct '09
I've been gaming on a console for over ten years now, I'm very excited for Dragon Rising and yet I'm dissapointed to see the reviewer try and masquerade his own 'PC Snobbery' and yet proceeds to idiotically mark down a game due to it's console refinements, I guess this is just another factor which can be used to explain the steady decrease in PC gaming quality.

Oh and

MegaMan > CSS.
you can play whatever you want man and tht doent matter, the big problem is that they (codemasters in this case) are not following traditional PC game design but are going down the console route. Do whatever you want to make the console version better but do not do the same for the PC version making it inferior for the PC platform in both terms of game design and control scheme. Now as they have been going down tht route I can imagine there isnt any button mapping either Evil or Very Mad
Sleepaphobic on 3 Oct '09
i have been really excited for this game for a while now.
but that it does not have save points comment has really worried me.
if im spending hours redoing a part because i died this is going back to the stores day 1.
i absolutely HATE!!!! that with games, gets kinda frustrating doing the same s**t over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.
why cant consoles be like PCs and let us save a game wherever we want.
best, most useful thing ever brought into video games!
blind_fools on 3 Oct '09
@ blind fools: There r auto save points but thts only if u play the game in normal mode. If ur wanting hardcore mode though then u and i r both screwed man.

There have been console games tht allow any time saving such as chaos theory
and alone in the dark (funny mention tht 1) so it can b done. Its inexcusable for pc though as practically every game can and has done this

now aside from this im wondering if bullet physics are altered by wind speed and direction. The reviewer did mention the need to compensate for bullet drag/gravity but thts it.

I may sound like a little b1tch but i have waited for this game for a very long time and i wanted it to b perfect.
Sleepaphobic on 3 Oct '09
i hope the 360 version is a good port,ive been waiting for what seems forever for a hardcore war sim
Mar27w on 3 Oct '09
i hope the 360 version is a good port,ive been waiting for what seems forever for a hardcore war sim
Mar27w on 3 Oct '09
Nice review, some great points there.

To all those people attacking his opinions on console ports and consoles, please research your information before you start bitching. The plague of PC Gaming today is poor console ports, it shows poor effort by the developers as the PC is a more complex gaming system than consoles, yet gets the same treatment. In my opinion, console gaming is much more simple and less serious than PC Gaming. PC Gaming has always been more complex due to its multitasking nature. Don't get me wrong, console gaming can be fun, but it lacks the accuracy and skills you find in PC Gamers. Alot of people i know hate console ports, each system has a different control scheme, it just doesn't flow or work well when ported! The core reason why developers are aiming at consoles now is because they see them as aimless mindless customers who will buy anything for gamerpoints/trophies/action no matter how good or bad. If you release a poor game with good advertising on the pc and console, i bet you 90% of the time it will sell more on consoles.
So when you start complaining about consoles being simple, well its because they are! And due to that PC gaming is suffering. Red Faction, good fps, originaly made for the pc. Latest one is fully console dedicated, poor pc port comes out 2 months later. This is beyond the stereotypes, sure the majority of console gamers are minors, but so is the WoW community on PCs. Age doesn't come into this.
Consoles and PC's are different platforms, they need to be treated this way.
Stylex on 4 Oct '09
stylex i do believe your talking tripe,i have a PC and a 360 and play my console far more than my computer,PCs are only good for RTS and shooting games using a mouse+keyboard is easy enough but really unsatisfing not to mention nowhere near as comfortable as sitting on your sofa with a pad in front of your large screen TV,nothing beats pulling a trigger to shoot,as for console games lacking the skill and accuracy needed for PC gaming ho ho what daft statement,i have no doubt me and many of my friends on xlive would annihilate you playing on either
Mar27w on 4 Oct '09
consoles are great fun man but they cant come close to the versatility of PC's. If you prefer a pad for shooters for whatever crazy reason then you can always use whatever pad you want with a PC. If you dont want to buy a nice chair but lay on the couch and play on a TV twice the size of most gaming monitors but have a lower resolution you can always hook it up to a TV, so what's all the fuss abt?
Sleepaphobic on 4 Oct '09
Exactly Sleepaphobic. I find playing on my computer much more entertaining and relaxing. If i want to i can buy mice that have triggers on them or other cool stuff like the Novent Falcon, yet 360 and the like are restricted. Why? PC = PERSONAL Computer. Console = Play games on a box. If you want to be your own person and play how you want to play, PC is the most versitile platform. Because its so versitile developers get lazy making games for an audience that 30% pirates their copies of games. That can be understandable if they don't release game demo's and such like they used to. Pre-360 and PS3 PC's had MUCH more dedicated developers, yet come the new generation and they just sell out. More profitable to sell their product to people who don't understand game mechanics. This is all pretty sad as 80% of console gamers don't know their game was actually made on a PC.
Stylex on 4 Oct '09
Exactly Sleepaphobic. I find playing on my computer much more entertaining and relaxing. If i want to i can buy mice that have triggers on them or other cool stuff like the Novent Falcon, yet 360 and the like are restricted. Why? PC = PERSONAL Computer. Console = Play games on a box. If you want to be your own person and play how you want to play, PC is the most versitile platform. Because its so versitile developers get lazy making games for an audience that 30% pirates their copies of games. That can be understandable if they don't release game demo's and such like they used to. Pre-360 and PS3 PC's had MUCH more dedicated developers, yet come the new generation and they just sell out. More profitable to sell their product to people who don't understand game mechanics. This is all pretty sad as 80% of console gamers don't know their game was actually made on a PC.

Ignoring the other inconveniences of power consumption, boot times etc. - you have to pay a substantial premium to get your PC to be able to play games in as comfortable an environment as that of an out-the-box console, let alone to customise it to how you want it to be.

And that's before we look at the time and effort of getting your set up "just so". When I buy a console, I spend a few hundred pounds and within 15 minutes of it being through the door I'm playing in HD and comfortably on my sofa.

I used to play games solely on the PC, so I can understand the appeal, but having seen the pros and cons of both sides I know which side suits me the best.

What if I want to go round a friend's house and play a co-op or multiplayer game with them I can just take my controller, sign in with my account and play split screen. Setting up LAN parties is a massive pain in the backside in packing it all up, finding space for people, setting it all up, network issues etc. Because it's so difficult, they rarely occur and as such PC gaming can be a fairly solitary pursuit, in my experience (playing with people over the internet doesn't count). As a student it was a bit easier when there's a few of you living in the same house all networked together, but once you move into the real world you realise it's a little bit lonely.

I find it quite difficult to believe that gaming will be so important in my life that I end up spending a thousand (or more) every 5 years or so and a decent chunk of my time setting it all up. It's just not worth it, in my opinion.
altitude2k on 5 Oct '09
yes those can be real problems for some people but I actually like all tht tinkering and upgrade every year.
Smthg tht does annoy me though is how devs just overlook key things and games crash all the time. Im not using hardware made by argos but top of the line stuff and it seems they still dont test for them. It doesnt happen all the time but enough tht I have a 2nd sound card always installed.

Btw any1 else get l4d crashing after launching it post crash course update?
Sleepaphobic on 5 Oct '09
consoles are generally better for gaming.

but when it comes to shooters, pc wins easily.

i had COD4 and vegas2 on ps3. i now have them for my pc, and the console versions dont compare - as fun as they were.

the precision for aiming is what makes the pc so much more fun. you dont realise how horrendous the joypad is for shooters until you play the same game with a mouse.
svd_grasshopper on 5 Oct '09
Really glad they pulled this off - hope the sales do it justice.

Must say I am shocked by the amount of typos in the review. Standards have really slipped since the glory days of Future Gamer...
jimjiber on 5 Oct '09
Altitide2k said:

Ignoring the other inconveniences of power consumption, boot times etc. - you have to pay a substantial premium to get your PC to be able to play games in as comfortable an environment as that of an out-the-box console, let alone to customise it to how you want it to be.
And that's before we look at the time and effort of getting your set up "just so". When I buy a console, I spend a few hundred pounds and within 15 minutes of it being through the door I'm playing in HD and comfortably on my sofa.
I used to play games solely on the PC, so I can understand the appeal, but having seen the pros and cons of both sides I know which side suits me the best.

Your arguments are weak.

1 - PC’s don’t need be upgraded every year, it’s nonsense. If people upgrade a lot, then they simply didn’t build a good system to begin with. I run a Quad Core and 8800GT for 2 years and have yet to find a game that doesn’t run on high or semi-high settings.

2 – It’s nonsense that people need to fiddle for hours to get things going. If you keep your drivers up-to-date, then 95% of the games will run just fine from the start. These are not the old days anymore!
The other problem is that a lot of stubborn people stick to XP with its DLL hell issues and limited support for multi core processors or lots of memory. If you run a game on Windows Vista/7 64 bit and 4 or 8 GB of ram then you’ll have almost zero issues. I’m not making this up, this is based on installing close to 75 recent games without issues!

3 – A console is just what it is; a console. What you are doing is comparing a price of a console with the price of PC. It doesn’t work that way, because everybody who has a console ALSO has a PC, so basically you’re paying twice, most people are so clueless that they don’t see that! Like I said; a console is just that, it doesn’t allow you to run Photoshop, edit videos, use Office, etc. If you would have invested what you’ve paid for your console on a PC upgrade, then you would have had the benefits of both worlds!

4 – PC games often offer extras, like hacks/mods, NODVD or like with this game and an advanced mission editor. Basically you can run any games on the PC, there are no limitations. Try to run an RTS or advanced simulation on a console...

5 – Don’t act as if a good PC has to cost $1000.
For $600 you can build a Quad Core system with 4GM of RAM and a 8800GT which runs most games at high. For $750 extra you can have a system with a better graphics card and you should be good for years Also remember that most quad cores can easily be over clocked on air up to 25 and that not ONLY your games will benefit from this power, also ALL your PC applications!

6 – Your games cost money. On the PC you can use pirated games or stay on the side of the law and use excellent free games like the ones listen at Wikipedia under “List of freeware first-person shooters”

7 – Technically the PC offers faster and better graphics, is easier to upgrade and easier to fix if you have the knowledge. Also a PC is like an extension of your identity, the way the computer looks, what kind of themes you use, etc. A console is nothing but a lifeless ugly thing.

8 – PC offers better management. If hardware fails, you can fix it yourself if you have to the same day, especially when you have a good computer store nearby. With consoles you have hard drives that can fail, but you won’t have a backup. If my hard drive fails, I can get it running again in 10 minutes, since I have 3 backup drives with always a backup that is not older than 6 hours. Can you do the same?
Do you need the DVD always in your drive? PC users can use NODVD files. What happens if you have a console like an Xbox with a poor drive? I can replace it within an hour, can you?
And I can go on and on about this...sigh
jdonner on 6 Oct '09
Yeh you could go on and on about how superior your pc gaming is to us inferior console owners but as an ex-PC gamer of several years you can stick your gaming PC where the sun don't shine. The original argument put forward by Altitide2k sums up the huge advantage consoles have over the niche PC gaming market in today's era of HDTVs and next gen console tech.
zakrocz on 6 Oct '09
i own a 360 which i bout about 18 months ago. then 12 months ago i bought a new pc. iv completed every game i have for my 360 and iv completed none for the pc.i paid £200 for a 360 (elite) and a game, and £660 for my pc. i bought a pc because my m8 had 1 and was sayin how they are far superior, and they just aint because the pc gaming world is a little confusing to start off with which does put people off (not myself), also it takes longer and is much more complex to get a decent online game which did put me off. and now with developers realizing that more money will be made in console gaming, the all platform games will have a pc version with half the effort put into it. pc gaming is an ever shrinking world, thats why im sticking to the consoles.
con_xd on 6 Oct '09
con_xd

Your comment failed 4 lines in you bought a pc because your friend had one?? let me guess you got something from dell etc paid a huge premium for nothing??

what made me laugh was all the people saying console gaming is far better apart from RTS and FPS.

Am i missing something?? FPS are the biggest selling games on the market.

I have a 360 and a ps3 i use the ps3 for ps3 only and the 360 for 360 only games and games the devs cannot be bottomd to put effort into on the PC.

everything else is on my pc and for those of you comparing cost.

These days you need to update your pc in full once every 4 or 5 years graphics cards every 2 years or so if you want highest settings. although medium settings is enough to wipe the floor with consoles check out bioshock on the pc on medium.

so your 360 is 200 quid a decent home built pc 600 - 800 quid.

so with a pc your out of pocket a max of 600 quid but get the benefit of all theo ther apps associated with the pc.

so if those extras are not enough to convince you how about the cost of the games??

360/ps3 games are 40 quid a pop pc 25 quid a pop

so say you buy 100 games in a yr

360/ps3 games = £4000 pc games = £2500

so yea in a year your 360 has cost you £4200 and my pc cost me £3100 now which is cheaper??

I prefer my pc for this reason and a better control system on my keyboard i can map my controls for leaning and such on a console i have a choice of mabe 3 setups.
calanorn on 6 Oct '09
@will7476

You simply don't understand what "Console Touches" means. We play with a mouse and keyboard, so it's OBVIOUSLY bothersome when a game has certain features that feel uncomfortable for a M/K. In this case, it's the radial menu. How would you like to move a mouse cursor around the goddamn screen with your analog stick? You wouldn't complain about it? I would. Console games are great for consoles, but I want my PC games on the PC and properly made/ported.
dozerking on 6 Oct '09
Yeh you could go on and on about how superior your pc gaming is to us inferior console owners but as an ex-PC gamer of several years you can stick your gaming PC where the sun don't shine. The original argument put forward by Altitide2k sums up the huge advantage consoles have over the niche PC gaming market in today's era of HDTVs and next gen console tech.

where the sun don't shine? How about this, you take your post and shove it up your ass(just sounds better).

Some of you people are EXTREMELY defensive about any remarks eluding to consoles in a negative light. Get over it. PC Gamers DON'T want poorly optimized console ports, even if it is a sloppy radial system that doesn't belong with a mouse that's far more versatile. Console games would be bitching about the same goddamn thing if it was reversed.

As much as I enjoy consoles(for racing,fighting,tps, exclusives) and my HDTV and comfy couch, nothing beats playing an FPS/RTS on a PC in a comfy chair, mouse, sweet gaming rig, and a beautiful 24" monitor.(that's been HD gaming since the 90's). Of course, it's about what you grow up with, and unfortunately, lots of kids are growing up with gamepads instead of ever experiencing the PC as a gaming platform. Shame really. The more platforms the better, and I still can't understand all the hate on the PC as a platform. It's no wonder we're a crabby bunch.
dozerking on 6 Oct '09
so if those extras are not enough to convince you how about the cost of the games??

360/ps3 games are 40 quid a pop pc 25 quid a pop

so say you buy 100 games in a yr

360/ps3 games = £4000 pc games = £2500

so yea in a year your 360 has cost you £4200 and my pc cost me £3100 now which is cheaper??

What an amazing argument! Who the hell buys 100 games in a year?! I probably only buy just over a quarter of that each console generation. If you're going to be buying 100 games every year then yes, you'd be stupid not to get them for the PC. But then you'd have to have far more money than sense in the first place Laughing
altitude2k on 7 Oct '09
Of course, it's about what you grow up with, and unfortunately, lots of kids are growing up with gamepads instead of ever experiencing the PC as a gaming platform. Shame really. The more platforms the better, and I still can't understand all the hate on the PC as a platform. It's no wonder we're a crabby bunch.

I grew up with a PC as my only gaming platform and kept building gaming rigs up until about 5 years ago. But I have long since moved over to consoles for all my gaming needs. There's got to be a reason for that.
altitude2k on 7 Oct '09
@will7476

You simply don't understand what "Console Touches" means. We play with a mouse and keyboard, so it's OBVIOUSLY bothersome when a game has certain features that feel uncomfortable for a M/K. In this case, it's the radial menu. How would you like to move a mouse cursor around the goddamn screen with your analog stick? You wouldn't complain about it? I would. Console games are great for consoles, but I want my PC games on the PC and properly made/ported.
AT least they could have but some kind of radial menu like in crysis which was ok but no, they take a PC game and bastardise it into some console port.

BTW talking abt sh!T PC ports any1 here play bionic commando? The tutorial and move set was displayed only in freakin 360 controls ( A, X etc) and the only way to know what the fu(k you were doing was to go into options and see which moves were mapped to which keys, every single time. After that I was happy to see grin die out because that is just inexcusable and the kind of stuff we have to deal with when crashing due to poor coding doesnt.
Sleepaphobic on 7 Oct '09
P.O.S CRAPPY CONSOLE PORT, NOT WORTHY OF MY CORE I7940 AND 2 X GTX260(a mans gaming rig).

gimmie arma/arma2 anyday

Oh and my rig is hooked up to my 46" aquos tv and the sound is run via hdmi to my onkyo reciever, and i lay on my big comfy sofa, so i get miles better gfx..sound..playability..multiplayer and all the rest,,whilst taking the only advantage console gamers have, away from them......namely being able to play their poor mans console game from the comfort of their sofa or arm chair.

SUCK ON THAT

CONSOLE CHUMPS.
ITSTHROBBING on 7 Oct '09
so if those extras are not enough to convince you how about the cost of the games??

360/ps3 games are 40 quid a pop pc 25 quid a pop

so say you buy 100 games in a yr

360/ps3 games = £4000 pc games = £2500

so yea in a year your 360 has cost you £4200 and my pc cost me £3100 now which is cheaper??

What an amazing argument! Who the hell buys 100 games in a year?! I probably only buy just over a quarter of that each console generation. If you're going to be buying 100 games every year then yes, you'd be stupid not to get them for the PC. But then you'd have to have far more money than sense in the first place Laughing

Actually you would be suprised i know loads of people who buy practically every game that comes out. 25 games every generation?? depends by what you mean if you mean since the "console HD generation IE 360 and ps3" fair enough I consider a new generation as NEW technology since pc HD gaming has been around since the 90's consoles are seriously lagging.

hell this month ive gotten Risen, OFP2 next month its dragon age origin.

45 quid saved right there by getting it on the PC. It all adds up and can easily bridge the price gap. i dont know anyone who buys less than 10 games a yr probably closer to 20 games a year.

so ive saved on games more than the cost of a 360.

and im not a student with more money than sense gaming is a hobby so yea i spend a fair bit on gaming a year with the money i earn. but im not about to spend more money on the same games which look and run worse.

(side note) so glad i got risen on the pc lol
calanorn on 7 Oct '09
Okay this debate is actually never gonna end, does it matter what you play it on as long as you enjoy it?
im gonna be playing it on a 360 cause i like playing my 360 and ive never really been a PC gamer sure people have told me its better but its just the money issue and the whole issue of getting the right setup for a good performance, 360 out of the box plugged in and your basically away PC takes a tad bit longer. either way who gives a dam what your gonna play the game on Smile
BashersAsh on 7 Oct '09
The old Console vs Home Computer argument! I've used a computer for gaming since back in the 80's. ZXSpectrum, Commodore64, Amiga (Way ahead of it's time) then finally on to a PC. I'd agree that up until about the original Xbox & the PS2, consoles were a poor comparison to computers. (Back in the days of the Sega Saturn & original Nintendo, games were dumbed down & mainly aimed at the younger gamer). I now own a 360 & a PC. I hardly buy anything for the PC now. It's just too expensive to keep upgrading. I find the 360 with a 40" HD screen & no hassle to set up is a far easier option. (Agreed the 40" screen isn't exactly cheap either, but it's for more than games) Obviously RTS or games like Civilization are really only an option on a PC. Developers should make these games for consoles & have a mouse peripheral for the console. Sadly the games market as a whole appears to be moving towards consoles only - I hope the more complex games are still developed in the future market. Not all console gamers will simply buy an EA sports rehash every year. Looking at Flashpoint 2 it appears the developers are now giving console gamers the kind of games worth forking out £40 for. The 1st Flashpoint was amazing on the PC but completely crap on the XBox. I'm just disappointed the mission editor is only on the PC version - this was one of the best features. I'd happily pay extra for this as a future XBox live download. Or perhaps they could release an editor to run on a PC but save the mission in a format suitable for the console - 360 has USB port, so no problem saving to a memory stick from a PC. If you've got a PC that can handle it & bags of time to develop missions, go for that. If you want to experience the amazing atmosphere & tactics of Flashpoint but have less time on your hands, buy the console version. Either way this game looks fantastic on both formats. Waiting eagerly for my 360 version to drop through the door...
DrDeath500 on 7 Oct '09
consoles are $hit for FPS, end of thread, move along
lmimmfn on 8 Oct '09
I must say i have had a console 360 well a few times cus of the 3 red light thing but i must say when it worked it was good for some games.
I also own an i7core setup pc and love it for gaming and really dont see why people are slapping each other over whats better cus who fooking cares lol.
This is ment to be about flashpoint not whos c**k is bigger Very Happy Fps for me pc 3rd person such as gta4 console.

Flashpoint im hoping will keep me bisy a few weeks as i been waitting a long time Smile
rogers009 on 8 Oct '09
consoles are $hit for FPS, end of thread, move along
i like your approach Laughing

@rogers you do know you can use whatever controller you want on the PC right?
Sleepaphobic on 10 Oct '09
Why bother creating a huge island when all the missions require that you sprint to each objective? Military commanders do not send tanks in on a arbitrary timeline and rely on a small team to take out 30 ppl before they get there.

I wanted to love this game, but I actually hate it. Wish I wouldn't have purchased.
cheynep on 15 Oct '09
I never finished the original Operation Flashpoint. I got to a mission where I had to escort some convoy of trucks over a large distance, and singularly failed to do so. Believe me, I tried to protect my AI companions, but they just kept getting blown up. I can't even remember how they bought it - mines, rockets or merely plain old bullets - but they died, again and again. Again and again and again


It's ashamed to see that you only got to the half way point of the original OFP.

The trick in this mission is to scout ahead in the apc, 400 to 500 mtrs or so at a time, leaving the convoy stopped in a safe place before periodically calling them forward when the path ahead is clear of any enemy, as you will find otherwise, the convoy will be destroyed by foot soldiers that you havn't spotted patrolling off to the side of the road.
Usually the gunner in apc will spot and take them out but sometimes wont engage so you usually have to get out of apc with your M16 or switch to gunner yourself to kill them or you can simply run them over.
Also stay clear of the villages as they have a heavy armoured presence as well as infantry.
The safest way is the longest route but you will encounter 1 BMP so have an AT weapon on you.
Enjoy the rest of this awesome game.


Or to the solitary save point you were allowed.


In original OFP, you can save as many times as you like when you want by cancelling out your last save with a little bit of messing around as follows.

While in game, pick an ideal time when your not about to get annihilated.

Hit Ctrl - Alt - Delete to desktop

Close Task Mgr

R/Click Start
L/Click Explore
Open Local Disk
" " Program Files
" " Codemasters
" " Operation Flashpoint
" " Users
" " Owner
Click on "Save" folder then delete.

Leave Explore window and folders open so you can easily access them everytime you want to save.
Click on game icon on task bar to bring game back then immediately hit escape and you will find a new save has appeared in menu screen.
Use the save straight away as the previous save no longer exists, so if you make the mistake, like I have, of not saving and you get killed, you'll find yourself back at basic training at the start of the campaign.
This same process for saving applies to Flashpoint Resistance as well.
Enjoy the rest of this great game some time.
nosub4original on 16 Oct '09
Shame the reviewer couldn't just stick to the actual review instead of a few anti-console aimed comments like 'some console touches'(as if thats a bad thing)and console gamers lack of patience, which is totally untrue and just laugthable really.

No, what is laughable is you and your co-whinging console-tard fan bois reaction to what is a PC review.

The reviewer goes out of his way to say, it's refreshing to be able to type that it doesn't feel like a co-developed title (my words: that has all the dumbing-down, gamepad proof, retard pleasing features of a console game. )

However, negatively, for a PC game, PC game, PC game (sorry, got caught in a loop there) it has console touches.

It didn't say "Negative: console touches, because everything about consoles is bad including the douches who play them" did it? However, I am...
geejayoh on 25 Nov '09
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