Operation Flashpoint 2…War has never felt so real to me

November 26, 2009 in News, PC, PS3, XBOX 360

As I spawned into the world of Skira, I looked to my left, then to my right to discover I was surrounded by a 3 man team. As I was given my objective, I made my way to my objective. Now here is when I started to get sucked into this world. I was encapsulated by the vast terrain I had to trek through, 134 sq miles. Even though this world was so big I found myself compelled to reach my target. As I reached 600 metres from my target I was spotted. Now. I’ve played many shooters in my time and NEVER have I experienced such a realistic experience of modern warfare. I had not set up my squad for a firefight and at this stage did not appreciate the folly of running in weapon drawn, the HUD quckly updating the damage that I had sustained. I decided to run for cover, but unlike many FPS there is not a plethora of objects waiting for you to dive behind. A second later I heard “1 is down” (that was me), what happened next created a distinction between this game and the many fps games I had played before. A tap on the directional pad prompts a call of “Medic”! Iexpected to see or hear the medic rush to rescue me but, no such luck, I repeatedly called getting more and more desperate and then it started .. my heartbeat became more and more audible first racing and then slowing. As it slowed the screen vignetted and slowly faded to black. A visceral and unnerving ending and the begining of a new respect for my adversaries. The pace of the game is ‘actual’ by this I mean it takes a while to reach the objectives but the real challenge is not just at a specific point on the map, rather the entire map, traversing the hills, not getting seen, deciding your route, spotting the patrols, organisiing your squad and the list goes on.