Try this game
It's finally that time of the year when we console gamers are less than a month away from Modern Warfare 2. There are quite a few games coming out before 11.10.09 that could hold your time until that day. Some of those games rise to the top, and I think Operation Flashpoint 2 is one of them.
Based on the fictitious island of Skira, you take the role of a U.S. Marine team leader set out to take on the Chinese Army, or the PLA. As with most other games I play, the story doesn't really matter, as long as it strings you along from A to B well enough. Thankfully Flashpoint delivers. The island of Skira is completely open-world, it has a "go anywhere, do anything" feel and each mission can be played and replayed in multiple different ways to achieve the same outcome. The game consists of 11 missions and each can take anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour to complete.
The first thing you'll notice when you set foot on Skira is close quarters combat is almost nowhere to be seen. Battles are comprised more of sneaking around cover to take out an opponent upwards of 400 yards away, than it is running through a corridor and blasting dozens of mindless opponents. This range is one of the games biggest strengths and helps set it apart from other modern day shooters. Taking out an enemy 300 yards away with a rifle enhanced by night scopes while adjusting your aim for bullet drop is unmatched and hitting that target while he's moving is even more satisfying.
The game reaches it's high point, for me, when played in "Hardcore mode". In this mode all HUD elements are stripped away and you must rely on your eyes and ears, in conjunction with your squad and some possible help by night vision and additional soldier tech, to find and destroy the enemy. The difficulty of the enemy doesn't change, though, which is great. It also removes all checkpoints, so if one well aimed shot scrambles your brain-pan, you'll be teleported back to the beginning of the level, losing a half hour or more of progress. Most other games make their higher difficulties consist of less health and ammo for you and more for the enemy; not so in Dragon Rising.
Overall I was very happy with the game. Like any other game it has it's issues, and not having played online, I can't speak for the whole of the game. It's a nice change of pace from the run and gun tactics from other shooters and the strive for realism by Codemasters really shines through. I'm really looking forward to future DLC releases to add more missions and weapons, or even game modes. Now, I just picked up a copy of Dead Space, time to set my focus on that until November 11th.
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