Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising

Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising, supposedly the direct sequel of Operation Flashpoint 1, probably the first all round war game simulator has absolutely nothing in common with its predecessor. It covers a fictional near future conflict between the United States of America (USA) and The Peoples' Republic of China (PRC).

Decent graphics and authentic weaponry aside, the Artificial Intelligence of the enemy and allied soldiers have no brains and mindlessly shoot at each other 300 meters from each other on full automatic fire. For those unaware, any weapon on full automatic fire will fire continously once you squeeze the weapon's trigger; the resulting recoil will make it impossible to hit your intended target at any range other than at point blank. This means the player will most likely have to kill most of the enemies encountered while your squad merely serves you as human shields who occasionally hit their targets. The same goes for the enemy but they are so numerous and have a tendency to always target you once you are in sight makes it necessary to take cover and take carefully aimed return fire or flank (attacking the enemy's from the side or rear) them.

Criticism aside, the refreshing take on China's new advanced army is realistic and believable. despite the apparent ease the Americans boot them off the battlefield. In fact, due to the long ranged combat most often encountered in the game, some of the Chinese soldiers are better equipped than the US Marines who wield the standard issue US M16 rifles which comes without a zoom scope, making it a necessity to loot Chinese rifles from dead enemies; which makes it perplexing how the Chinese could lose in the first place. However, such illogical inconsistencies are most likely due to the developer's ineptness or lack of time to produce a campaign that can match or come close to the original's gripping tale of a deadly skirmish between US and Soviet forces in the 1980s that almost escalated to a full scale war.

Verdict: Either wait for it to go to the bargain bin or borrow from a friend but play for pure fun (it is satisfying to catch enemies unawares and blow up a few heads; plus taking out deadly enemy tanks with rocket launchers that take forever to set up is a commendable acheivement) and much silliness during combat situations (for all its problems, it is still much easier than the original, almost feels like an arcade game shooter). Serious, hardcore war gamers beware, it may whet your appetite for awhile but may frustrate you as the simplicity of the campaign is gradually revealed.