Fall back or push the attack ?
Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising is a game that has it's ambitious and it manages to achieve about 70% of them, and in my opinion that is pretty good.
Setting: 7,5/10
So the game is set in a fictional island called Skira, which is
"based directly on Kiska Island, Alaska." - wikipedia.
and it's really a HUGE map, but the thing they never mentioned is that you never really have the need to explore the entire map, because in each mission you are set pretty close to your objectives (about 1km usually) and well why should you run around in the other 219km2? But the thing that never seizes to amaze me is that at all times the game has 35km draw distance, and this is pretty crazy if you ask me, so the next time you read about someone saying "the game has bad graphics" just ask them what other game has a draw distance like that. So for me the huge map and draw distance compensate for the average graphics. Only thing i have to complain about is the somewhat wierd color palette, sure it looks cool but at times it doesn't look "real".
Gameplay: 7.8/10
The gameplay focuses on "realism" and well this is true to a certain extent. It is way more realistic then say the CoD games etc. but it's as real as codemasters promoted. Sure one bullet can kill you, the bullets you shoot don't fly straight forward, you can bleed out, weapon models look real, AI chatter is believable, hardcore mode is really immersive, and all the weapons feel powerful and unique but that doesn't mean that everything else is real. Buildings only blow up if you use CERTAIN weapons, which is really weird. Trees can withstand a tank. And sometimes you need to shoot an enemy 3-4 times, i mean sure i'm using a M4A1 but i mean it should take someone down after the 3rd shot. The driving is really bad , you can't turn your head around while inside a jeep so you have to look STRAIGHT forward and if something/someone's behind you, you need to turn the whole jeep around (doing a 180) and the multi player is well pretty much non existent at this moment, there are no dedicated servers. BUT (and thats a big but) i just can't help to overlook the issues, because well this game is simply FUN. I can't help but feel like a bad ass when i shoot a soldier in the face with my barret at 600m away.
Sound: 9/10
One word, AMAZING! All the In-game sounds are simply stunning, all the weapons have a unique sounds to them, explosions sound (and feel) really powerful, AI chatter is believable, and well sound is just top notch.
Controls: 7/10
The controls were pretty OK i guess, but for some reason the aiming is weird it has a small delay (on the PC) and this doesn't really help when you are in dire need of a headshot. Only real thing i have to complain about is that there is no real tutorial, so you have to open the options and scroll through the controls manually. Other annoying thing is that when you use the radial command screen you can't move at all, so if you are in a firefight and you have to issue a flank left order to 1 guy and flank right to the 2 other guys WHILE trying to not get shot is a difficult task.
Conclusion: 7.5/10
Well to conclude I just have to say. Give it a chance, the demo will be out soon and well try it out. If you like somewhat realistic games you will like this one, if you are a pure fast paced shooter like CoD or CSS this will probably not be your type of game. (btw i play both those games a lot, so i don't really know why i like this so much hehe). I've also read on the forums that Codemasters are working on a patch as we're speaking so hopefully they will fix the little things and then i can give this game a 8 or maybe even 8.5!
Hope i gave you somewhat of an insight into Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising.