Satisfying as a sim but crosses the fine line between 'Impressively realistic' and 'Painfully real'
With that in mind.. How real do you really want real to be? For example, you want Grand Theft Auto to be have a realistic city with realistic cars but do you really want to have to stop and get gas after you steal a car that's already running on empty? Probably not.
Enter Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising.
This is real folks and if we know one thing about real life: It stinks and at times it's downright miserable. So while you'll have moments in OF:DR where you'll marvel at the realism you'll mostly spend your time in misery for hours on end wondering if you should've put your money somewhere else.
OF:DR starts by giving you very little story building and no character building. You get a little cartoon with cool music but that's it. Somehow you're expected to go into battle feeling passionate about something but in reality you're wondering what you're about to risk it all for. If a game is supposed to be realistic then the feelings you have during it should be realistic also. Not with this game.
One of the games supposedly neat features is the open world layout. You approach a target from wherever you want and use whatever tactic you think will work. It doesn't work so nicely, however, because soon you'll find yourself running for twenty minutes only to get killed with a headshot. After that happens a few times then you'll just use the direct approach. Let's get one thing straight: You will do A LOT of running and walking in this game. You wanted real? Well you got it - in the form of miles to be covered.
The difficulty of the attacks can't be complained about. We're wanted real and in real life one shot can kill and if it doesn't then it will at least result in bleeding. This was accurately pulled off in the game though the medic's magical needle that always stops your bleeding doesn't quite fit into the whole 'real' thing.
One of the worst aspects of the game is commanding your squad. The menu is clumsy and frustrating and you can expect to die a few times while trying to issue commands. Don't make the mistake of thinking "I'll learn the command menu well so this won't be a problem" because you know what - it will be a problem and you better lower your expectations now.
It's a pain to aim your weapon. Even aiming perfect usually results in a miss. I guess you wanted real but I would like to think in real life you're more trained with a weapon than this game seems to give you credit for.
Graphically OF:DR is very lacking. Perhaps its better on the PC, but on the PS3 its plenty 'jaggy' and enemies are ugly block pixels from not too far away. OF:DR is definately too large for the capabilities of modern consoles and its a sad truth we have to accept.
A big downer for gamers is this fact: OF:DR is far behind in successes than the Delta Force series seen in the late 1990's and early 2000's. The graphics in Delta Force: Black Hawk down, a 2003 PC game, leaves OF:DR in the dust. The maps in the older game were larger and maintained a crisp image even at far distances. There was also a small cover/lean system in the old Delta Force: Black Hawk down game. We're talking about a 2003 game in this example. I realize this comparison is a bit random but it brings to light that OF:DR isn't revolutionary compared to other realistic shooters and in some places it's actually taken a step back.
Online is sort of useful but with a huge map you sort of expect more than 4 v 4 action. The PC allows 16 v 16 but even that is questionable in 2009. To use Delta Force: Black Hawk down as an example, 16 v 16 was happening in 2003 with no problems at all.
So is OF:DR worth the money? If you're a big realistic shooter fan then take a stab at it. If you like planning, and (sort of attempting to try) controlling squad mates is your thing then you might like it. However, if you're the type of person who is saying "I like Call of Duty, I just wish it were a little more realistic" then stay far away from this. Its much more real than you have in mind and you'll end up more frustrated than impressed.