As I write this on Christmas morning 2009, my 14-y.o. video-game-loving son has opened Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising, played with it (or really just sat there and explored, because he couldn't figure out what to do) for 30 minutes, and then discarded it in frustration. No directions, no clues, no tutorial, and confusing gameplay. The reviews here slamming this game are 100% correct. He's now much happier, playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, which he also got for Christmas.
Don't waste your money on Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising.
Reading some of the negative reviews and then playing this game I almost wonder if we're dealing with the same piece of software. Yes a few more save points would be nice but apart from that I really feel this game is something close to a masterpiece. No COD MW style scripting where you sit back shooting enemies by the dozen until you cross a magical line on the map and they all of a sudden disappear. In this game if you come across a squad size enemy unit then that's what you're faced with - not an infinite supply of bad-guys appearing at windows. And the tactical situations genuinely require you think things through and come up with a plan - do you try and quickly roll up the defensive position using nearby woods as cover or do a large flanking manoeuvre that will take longer but give you the best chance of success?
Most of the engagements take place in the 100m+ range (as they would in real-life in this sort of open landscape) and so it can be tough to a) see who's shooting at you; and b) be sure you've killed them. Contrary to what some of the reviewers say an enemy cannot take large numbers of hits - generally a couple of 5.56m rounds within 100 metres will do the job, sometimes 3-4 at longer range. Often you can see dust kicking up near the target which might make you think you're scoring hits but you're not - again, this is entirely as you would expect small arms fire to behave at longer ranges, with not all rounds hitting the exact same point.
So in short if you want realism and a game that requires you to think as a junior battlefield commander and offers a level of realism that in my view is completely unprecedented then buy this game. If you want to kill 130 jihadi in your first battle then probably best to look somewhere else.
After reading all of the negative reviews about this game, I began to wonder if anyone even realizes this is a 3rd installment to this game. The original, and add-on, was based on a fighting a war against the Soviets.
This is a thinking man's game. Not a doom/delta force knock off. If thinking is too much, look elsewhere. This game is as fun as the original. I do not regret buying this at all.
"I bough this game as a gift for christmas for my husband. He really liked it."
"For someone who likes more realistic shooters, this is one of the best. The multiplayer is sweet."
