I have been crying out for a realistic shooter for quite some time and eagerly awaited the release of Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising which promises a level of realism not found in other titles. This has been a long time coming and I was left feeling frustrated since the screenshots and videos were sporadic.

Some reviewers have had a little moan about the graphics in this game and I advise you to ignore them as those individuals are talking out their ass. Apparently one of the biggest gripes is with how the trees look. My advice for those people is to get a grip. The trees look fine. They look like trees. I think some reviewers need to keep in mind the graphical limitations when you have hundreds of objects on screen at once. There are a hell of a lot of trees in this game but something else those reviewers need reminding of is that this isn’t a game about trees. I would understand and share their concerns if this game had a title of “Operation Lumberjack: Redwood Rising” but that is not the case.

This is a fantastic looking game. From the few screenshots and videos I watched prior to playing the game I thought it looked pretty good but having been fooled by early visuals in the past I was taking nothing for granted. The visuals are similar to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare which is a very good thing as I found many parts of that game stunning. I am impressed with the smoke effects in the game as they look really nice and are especially satisfying when seen pouring out of enemy vehicles.

I feel that sound effects play a vital role in any gaming experience but sadly many people tend to overlook their importance. The sounds in this game are fantastic and add so much to the sense of realism. From the whistling of a bullet as it flies past your ear, and you know the Sniper’s intended target was but a few inches away, to the less subtle heart jumping moments during a barrage of explosions thanks to a nearby gunship.

A nice little feature of this game is the ability to see the statistics of your fellow players on the multiplayer screen. This differs from the likes of Call of Duty 4 which required you to access a separate screen in order to look at the kill/death and win/loss ratio of your friends. Helpful little touches such as this are often overlooked but I appreciate their inclusion as it makes things much easier.

At the time of writing this review the online servers have been something of a disgrace. I have yet to connect to a single ranked match because to date the search feature has pulled up nothing. A few of us in a party decided to test the search feature by taking turns at creating a match and have the others do a search. The result each time was that none of us could find any matches at all let alone the one our friend had created. It is likely we will be saved by the cavalry in the shape of a patch but online connectivity should be the first item on the list during the testing process for this type of game. I would much prefer a publisher to hold back the release date for a couple of weeks and explain the reasons than force a game out which requires to be patched up. Since this title had already been delayed so much I find it bizarre that Codemasters did not take the more sensible approach. (Update: It now appears that Ranked multiplayer is running more smoothly)

Another thing which bothers me about the otherwise highly enjoyable multiplayer is the lack of maps and modes available at launch. I am aware that downloadable content is intended on a monthly basis but it remains to be seen whether or not the DLC will be free. Even if the monthly DLC freely provides a lot of additional content it’s a risky manoeuvre as Modern Warfare 2 is just around the corner and I have no doubt that title will come with many more maps and modes straight out of the box. On the other hand the co-op is great fun and there is nothing quite like the tension of playing the campaign on hardcore difficulty with a few friends. You’re constantly aware that you could lose a team-mate at any moment but this tension is balanced by the elation as HQ informs you that the mission was a success.

I expected this game to have lots in common with Battlefield Bad Company, given the enormous maps, but I mostly found myself comparing this to GRAW 2 and Call of Duty 4. I didn’t review either of those titles but if I had I’d have given a score of 7.5/10 to GRAW 2 and a huge 9.5/10 to Call of Duty 4. It often doesn’t feel right to compare games when awarding a score but while playing this I certainly found it better overall than GRAW 2 but not as good as Call of Duty 4. I enjoyed playing through the campaign and it’s especially good in co-op on Hardcore setting but while I loved the enormity of the missions this didn’t have anywhere close to the variety found in Call of Duty 4. I am also marking this down because I enjoy the multiplayer side of it but the tiny number of maps and modes is simply unacceptable. For those who are undecided I would suggest waiting a month to find out what the DLC is like because at the moment the multiplayer is a work in progress. However, if realism is your top priority in an FPS game then you owe it to yourself to purchase a copy of Dragon Rising.

8/10

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