I’m sorry baby, just 1 more turn!
Your respective loved one will be hearing this said from you a lot once you start playing this game. Its highly addictive & the only thing stopping me playing it more is that I’ve completed it!
This brilliant game by Codemasters (operation flashpoint) is basically a WW2 RTS BUT with a major twist. You can control the soldier directly. Select a soldier, press ‘end’ and you’re in control mode. Wherever you mouse will go, he will aim, whenever you press the button, he will fire. It is possible to play the entire game without this feature, but there are certain situations when it’s a must to use it. For example 10 infantry units & 1 tank are storming your position, it would be much more efficient to take control yourself & lob an anti-tank grenade, run back to cover & start finishing off the infantry.
There are 4 campaigns (English, German, USA & Russian) with about 7 missions in each.
I found the best missions were when you start out with 1 man with a knife lost behind enemy lines & you build up your armory by stealth fully taking out guards & pillaging their weapons. Finally escaping in a stolen German tank.
Heres my P&C’s
Pros:
*Unique RTS game play. Direct unit control. I’ve never seen this done in another game and it works beautifully!
*Realistic units & limitations. Tanks main gun can shoot 100’s of meters while a Tommy gun is only effective up to 50 m. Tanks have strong armour up front & weak in the behind. Machine gun units are very powerful, watch their rounds tear through morter turning houses into ant hills which is quite realistic.
*SALVAGE!!!! My favorite aspect of this game! With many weapon type & characteristics it pays to salvage, you never know what you’ll find on that dead body.
*Great use of real life tactics. Use your men to cover the flanks while you push up ahead. Throw grenades just before storming a building & watch the enemy pore out!
*Completely destructible environment. Know theres a tank on the otherside of that building!? Well start firing! You’ll get him eventually.
* Armored & infantry compliment each other perfectly. In some games (eg C&C) you can just build up an army of tanks & win the game that way. Not in this game! One anti-tank enemy can ruin your tank commanders day! Thus is pays to have a few infantry with sub-machine guns trailing behind the tanks in case some sneaky krouts get through with a pazerfast.
Cons:
* Not enough missions! Could also do with a random mission generator.
* Breifing & mission discription is a bit confusing. Take careful notice of the mission brief at the start!
* Game not fully realized. I say this meaning this game has amazing potential & with bigger maps, more objectives & more game options this could truly be the ultimate WW2 RTS game.
Conclusiong:
Even though ive finished this game, I still find myself playing it, which for me is a very good sign that this is an amazing game. If you like an RTS with more depth & fulfillment than your standard RTS, grab this game!