There once was a
game called Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis for the PC that becomes
something of a fan favorite for those who seriously enjoy the military shooters
that, much like the Tom Clancy-inspired Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six
games, offer realistic scenarios. It was a good game so when I heard it was
coming for the Xbox it was good news indeed. Having been delayed for a long
while, Operation Flashpoint: Elite is finally here and it even has online
multiplayer … among a few other regrettable features.
Taking place in
the early 1980s during the most volatile period of the Cold War, President
Reagan and newly appointed leader of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev are determined
to put an end to years of mistrust and finally see some peace. Unfortunately
there’s a resistance movement lead by a man named Victor Troska who sees these
talks as the beginning of the downfall of the Soviet Union and will stop at
nothing to restore it to power. Aiding the resistance movement is a hardened
Communist General whose methods and followers become a threat. This is where the
NATO Task Force comes in and as we assume the role of four Special Forces
members
The game’s main
campaign mode starts us off as infantry soldier David Armstrong who takes us
through a brief training exercise and finally entering enemy territory to take
the town of Regina overrun by the enemy. You’ll later take on the role of an
operative named James Gastovski, a tank commander named Robert Hammer and a
helicopter pilot named Sam Nichols. As you can see from each character’s
specialty you’ll be piloting a helicopter as well as drive different vehicles
from a truck to a tank. For the most part, though, you’ll be doing grunt work
and that’s were the game’s shooting elements come into play whether you’re
gunning down enemies with assault rifles or even sniper weapons.
Operation
Flashpoint: Elite
boasts a large number of missions and it delivers just that.
Aside from the PC Cold War Crisis campaign missions you’ll also unlock a set of
prequel missions known as the Resistance campaign. In one mission you’ll be
taking on a specific target using a sniper rifle while another has you taking
out an enemy convoy before it reaches its destination. The mission variety is
one of the game’s best features and it shows off just a little of how good this
game could have been but it hits a snag that takes the form of the game’s
controls and an assortment of other annoying flaws.
First, though,
I’ll get into the game’s good qualities. When you shoot an enemy from the
distance or nearby, his friends won’t just stand around and wait their own
deaths. They’ll drop and try to find where that shot came from while others
might scatter and find cover. When they fire back they really fire back, hardly
missing in the process. Thankfully, you’ll often be backed up by your comrades
that can fire clean shots as well but when you’re alone be prepared to die a
lot. You’ll sometimes die not having seen your killer and sometimes an explosion
might go off making you wonder if somebody chucked a grenade or fired a rocket
at you.
The bad news is
that the controls are awful. You have the choice to play the game as a
first-person shooter, leading to one of the most awkward FPS movements and
aiming seen in a shooter in a long time but you can also play the game in
third-person view. As a third-person shooter the game flows a bit better but not
by very much since your character looks like he‘s got serious back problems.
Once you see your character hustle up a hill you’ll know what I mean. The worst
part is that even driving vehicles like jeeps or piloting helicopters. The
driving aspect of the game is handled so badly that it feels like you’re driving
a clunky boat and keeping a helicopter from slamming into the ground will make
you wish you can skip these missions altogether.
All these things
add up to a game that will frustrate rather than satisfy the average and veteran
shooter fan. That’s too bad really because the game offers a mission editor tool
that allows you to pick a mission scenario and reposition insertion points on
the map. There are three basic game types like Target (where you eliminate a
main target); Basic (reach a certain destination point) and Defender (defend
your base until all enemies are dead). You can even share your created missions
online when you play against others. There’s Xbox Live support and the game
flows decently enough but you’ll spend most of the time hearing complaints about
the game’s poor controls.
Another major
letdown comes in the form of the game’s extremely ugly graphics. Really this one
does not resemble an Xbox game and the worst part is that the game’s character
movements will make you laugh. The environments try to portray the areas terrain
realistically enough but it does so without adding any real detail. The same can
be said of the character models, especially when it comes to the faces.
The game’s
soundtrack, on the other hand, isn’t bad and it’s joined by some rock tunes that
might seem out of place during some missions but they’re still good tunes. Then
we come to the game’s voice acting and you’ll want to mute it completely. It’s
not only performed amateurishly but during missions the radio communications
make them sound robotic. The sound effects don’t make much of an impact either.
Operation
Flashpoint: Elite
had all the makings of a solid action title much like its PC
original but it is so completely held back by its troublesome defects that even
fans of the genre won’t have much fun with it. The majority of the shooting
elements just feels so awkward and even with its impressive amount of missions
to complete most gamers won’t have the patience to see them through to the end.
Do yourself the favor and buy the farm more superior Operation Flashpoint:
Cold War Crisis for the PC instead.
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Gameplay: 5.0
Running in
first-person and third-person view just feels so clumsy that it’s no wonder
you’ll get killed very often during the game’s ample missions. The fact that
you’ll even get killed by unseen enemies will frustrate. Even operating vehicles
will prove to be a real pain. As for the game’s shooting bits, the action goes
from Ok to unrealistically awful.
Graphics: 5.0
Really one of
the most atrocious-looking Xbox games to come along in a long time. The
environments lack real detail and the character models look very unnatural even
when they’re running. There aren’t many death animations and explosions aren’t
spectacular. In short, this doesn’t look like an Xbox game at all.
Sound: 6.0
The game’s
soundtrack ranges from the militaristic marches found in most military shooters
but it’s also mixed in with some solid rock tunes. The voice acting, on the
other hand, is awful and they sound slightly robotic during missions. There are
sound effects but they, much like the graphics, aren’t impressive or
well-detailed.
Difficulty:
Hard
Operation
Flashpoint: Elite
is a hard game but not in the
boy-these-missions-are-wonderfully-challenging sort of way. You’ll be spending
most of the game struggling with the really awkward controls and the fact that
you can miss an enemy at point blank range won’t help matters either. Worse yet
you’ll be driving or piloting some really bulky vehicles.
Concept: 6.5
There’s a lot
to offer in terms of campaign missions and you can even edit your own missions
for single-player or multiplayer use. Xbox Live offers plenty of bang and it’s a
pretty smooth ride to boot. Unfortunately if you think this game is right up
there with the PC version you will be very disappointed.
Multiplayer:
7.0
Xbox Live
support adds a nice number of online missions (up to 50) and you can always edit
missions and insert you own set of rules for some really interesting matches.
The game also supports System Link for up to 14 players on screen so you’ll
definitely want to play this one online.
Overall: 6.0
It’s
unfortunate to see such a great PC military shooter turn out completely flawed
in design. Operation Flashpoint: Elite doesn’t rise above its various
imperfects nor will it satisfy even the most hardcore shooter fans looking for a
good shooter fix. Put simply: If you’re unfamiliar with the series by the PC
version but if you’re a fan then I suggest you rent this one first … or stay
away from it completely.
