Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

Overview

Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising is a hardcore military simulator in which players carry out the roles of real soldiers in combat zones. Operation Flashpoint 2 is the first sequel from Codemasters; the original developers of Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis, Bohemia Interactive, broke up with Codemasters and released another game, Armed Assault, with a different publisher. Both Operation Flashpoint 2 and Armed Assault can be said to be sequels to the original Operation Flashpoint.

The game takes place on a Chinese occupied fictional island in the East China Sea called Skira. Though the island is fictional it takes its landscape from the real island of Skira as well as architecture from real islands in the location the game is set. In the game you play as part of the United States Marine Corps tasked with retaking the island. There will also be Russian forces that are allied to the Marines on the island.

The game originally was supposed to let the player explore over 120 square miles of land which takes four hours in real time to traverse on foot, two hours to cross in a vehicle, and twenty minutes to cross in the fastest aircraft. The environmental damage was supposed to be persistent - any damaged or destroyed buildings, infrastructure or even equipment will remain in its state throughout the course of the game, but was cut from the game.

There were originally supposed to be over 50 vehicles and over 66 infantry weapons in the game, but the majority of the weapons and vehicles were cut from the game so that Codemasters could release them as small DLC packs. They are modeled after real-world military equipment. Codemasters intended to show a great attention to detail, with weather affecting the performance of the vehicles and weapons, and weapons wearing down over time, but never did. The game will also feature an in-depth scenario editor for making maps and objectives on the PC version, this feature was intentionally removed from the console version so that Codemasters may exploit console users with small map-packs and mission-pack as DLC.

Operation Flashpoint 2 is running on Ego, a modified version of Neon - the engine that powered recent Codemasters racing games, GRID and DiRT.

Story

The entire plot of Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising and all of its details have so far not been released, but the main backstory to the game has been revealed. The story for Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is based on a conflict between China, and the United States over a small Russian owned island on the East China Sea. When petroleum is discovered on the small Russian island of Skira, the Chinese government decides to take over the island, and so it is invaded by The People's Liberation Army. The Chinese quickly take over the mostly undefended island causing an international uproar. In light of these events, the United States decides to send the U.S. Marine Corps to help Russian forces take back control of the island. This marks the beginning of a territorial war between China, and the United States with their Russian allies.

Setting

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising will be based entirely on a semi-fictional island in the East China Sea called Skira (which is directly based on the island of Kiska.) Skira is 130 square miles in size and will present a variety of environments, in which the player is free to traverse at his will. Skira is a Russian owned island off the coast of Japan on the East China Sea. A variety of environments will be present, including locations such as beaches, woodlands, farms, an oil refinery, and even volcanoes. The landscape and climate will change depending on factors such as, altitude and the presence of human activity. It has been confirmed that the island will feature a full day, and night cycle, and dynamic weather conditions, further increasing the number of different environments. Skira will be the setting for the entire game.

Gameplay

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a first person, open-ended, military shooter. The two most defining gameplay features for the game are the open-ended sandbox design for the entire game, and its realistic simulation-like feel. The open sandbox for the game will be a 130 square mile island with a diverse, and challenging environment. To traverse this huge landscape the game will present over 50 drivable vehicles, including land, sea, and air based vehicles. As part of the invasion force the player will be given missions to complete. The player may choose from a range of options before engaging on a mission, like what weapons to use, what vehicles to drive, and even how many men will accompany him. The open world will give the player a variety of possibilities when approaching your objective, adding a strategic and tactical element to the game. There will be time limitations for missions since the player is part of an active invasion force. The player may also choose to leave the mission area and explore the island where he may run into enemy patrols, human settlements, and even full-fledged ongoing battles.

The game will be a realistic/simulation military shooter, which means it will contain realistic health, reasonable A.I., and real-world weapons and environments. The player will have a realistic health system, meaning that he will not survive five bullets to the head. the health is based on ballistics and were you are hit so if you are hit in the arm with a 5.56 round you won't die until you bleed out but your aim will be affected. The player must be cautious of not only his health but that of his fellow soldiers. It has been confirmed that the game will contain over 66 real-world weapons, and tons of customizable options. Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising will present a wide range of environments coupled with innovative, yet realistic game play. There will be dismemberment and multiple of map supports.

FTE Missions

The game also offers additional standalone, cooperative missions that you can unlock via codes entered in the Extra section of the menu. These missions can only be played cooperatively online, and are much smaller than the regular campaign missions. They take about 10 minutes each as opposed to the 30 you need to accomplish a regular mission. They usually involve simply clearing out enemies from a given area which means they are generally easier and more action-oriented. The codes can be found below:

• Unlock FTE Mission Mode - BLEEDINGBADLY
• Night Raid - RaidT18Z
• Coastal Stronghold - StrongM577
• Ambush - AmbushU454
• Close Quarters - CloseQ8M3
• Encampment - OFPWEB1
• Debris Field - OFPWEB2

System Requirements

Minimum requirement

• Operating system: Windows XP SP2 or later
• GPU: DirectX 9.0c GPU: Shader 3.0 (GeForce 7900 GT / 256 MB VRAM or higher)
• Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
• 1 GB Memory: 1 GB
• 8 GB Hard disk: 8 GB
• CPU: Dual Core CPU 2 x 2.4 GHz
• DVD-ROM DVD drive: Dual Layer DVD-ROM

Recommended System

• Operating system: Windows XP SP2 or later
• GPU: Shader 3.0 (GeForce 8800 GT / 512 MB VRAM or higher), DirectX 9.0c
• Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
• Memory: 2 GB
• Hard disk: 8 GB
• CPU: Quad Core CPU
• DVD drive: Dual Layer DVD-ROM