Operation Flashpoint: Elite

When the original Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis was released for the PC in 2001, I eagerly sought out a copy. I had played a demo of the game, which amazed me with its immersion factor. The PC game exceeded my expectations. When I heard that they were planning a version for the Xbox, I was intrigued. I waited for three long years, but finally it was released. After a long search, I located a copy around Christmas time.

Operation Flashpoint: Elite includes the campaigns from both the original game and the "Resistance" expansion pack. The campaigns depict fictional unrest following Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to Soviet leadership in the 1980s. The main campaign depicts a conflict in the fictional Malden Islands Group, where an old-school communist general, who refuses to accept Gorbachev's authority, has designs on the independent republics in the group. It just so happens that one of the republics has a NATO base on it. So, the crisis begins.

During this campaign, the player takes on the roles of an infantry grunt, a tank commander, a helicopter pilot, and a special forces operative. In the "Resistance" campaign, the player assumes the role of Victor Troska, an ex-special forces soldier. During both campaigns, the player also uses and controls many vehicles, such as helicopters, planes (A-10s, Cessnas), tanks, trucks, cars, jeeps, and patrol boats. The player uses a variety of period appropriate weaponry, from assault rifles and machine guns, to anti-tank and anti-air rocket launchers. The individual missions range from hostage rescue to "attack the convoy" to "capture the village."

The missions also vary from infantry-based to vehice-based. Most missions are a team effort, where the player is accompanied by many other allied soldiers who can hold their own. Early on, it is possible for a mission to succeed with very little action on the part of the player. As well, complete mission success is not always necessary.

For example, during the first hostage rescue mission, it is not vital for the hostages to survive for the player to advance to the next mission, as long as they were initially rescued. This allows for branching missions, which actually enhances the game's immersion factor. The game also features multiplayer, as well as single player quick missions. There is a single/multiplayer mission editor as well.

The game is meant to be a military simulator. It succeeds on that front. The gameplay, even on the "easy" difficulty setting, is fairly unforgiving. Your character needs to be shot just once in a vital area for him to die, although getting shot in the legs or arms only injures the player's character. This requires the player to use tactics to advance in the levels. The vehicles behave similarly; damage to a vital system renders a vehicle useless.

The HUD has no health bar, although there is a vehicle hitpoint bar. There are menus for communication, weapon selection, and actions. Recent team communications and field orders appear in the lower left of the screen, with orders involving the player being highlighted. This allows the player to keep aware of the situation on the field. Waypoint markers appear in the field of view, along with the location of the current team leader. The HUD is set up extremely well for this type of game. My only criticism about the HUD is that the communication menu is too small to read on most televisions. The action menu, by contrast, is the perfect size.

The graphics appear very dated, especially when compared to Halo 2. The characters are very blocky, and trees and grass appear to be 2D sprites. Vehicles fair slightly better, as they are more detailed 3D objects. The terrain is quite smooth, with very little jaggedness. The textures are not the most detailed, especially for the roads.

Those criticisms aside, the objects in the game are recognizable. In truth, for this type of game, the visuals are usable. I just wish that the game looked a bit better.

The trade off for the poor graphics is the size of the game levels. Calling the levels "huge" is an understatement. Each area is a medium-sized island, with villages and small towns dotting the many roads. On some of the islands, there are airstrips and military bases.

The controls are all over the place. Your character can lay prone, kneel or stand up straight. This control scheme is good, but not perfect. Moving a kneeling character will cause him to travel slowly, which can be good, as his footsteps will be quieter. However, the player must cycle through the settings in order to be able to run quickly enough to evade enemy fire.

Vehicle control ranges from near perfect to horrible. The helicopter controls are very intuitive, making flying them a real joy in the game. On the other hand, the airplane controls are terrible. The player needs to keep pressing the left thumbstick forward the entire time to keep the plane in the air. This prevents the player from using their left thumb for anything else, and limits the movement of the entire hand. It would have been better if the thrust controls were metered instead, with forward movement of the thumbstick increasing the amount of thrust. Thankfully there are few missions that require the player to control an airplane. The tank and truck controls are adequate, but they do take time to get used to, as they also require the use of the left thumbstick to accelerate.

The audio in Operation Flashpoint is mediocre at best. The voice communication between NPC team mates is jolty, with pauses between words. For example: "One ... go to ... truck." Fortunately, you can turn it down. Also, when an NPC is speaking to you in a vehicle and you turn towards him, the sound alternates between the left and right channels, which is unpleasant. The sound of the explosions is the same no matter what has blown up. If you run too long, the character will begin to breathe heavily, with the panting increasing with every step. This effect is annoying at first, but actually helps to keep running out in the open as limited as possible, which enhances the feeling of the gameplay.

The editor and extra single player missions are a great addition to the game. The extra missions can provide great practice for the campaign missions. Like the campaign, the extras feature a mix of infantry and vehicle-based missions. The editor can be used to create multiplayer and single player missions. There are three general mission types to choose from: "Basic," in which you simply need to get to the final destination; "Target," in which you must take out a primary target and, optionally, secondary targets; and "Defend," which has you defending an area from attack.

Using these mission types, you can create almost any scenario you can imagine. You can create a mission in which you must go from the top of an island to the bottom, encountering battles between the "west" and "east" along the way, and you can chose whether or not to participate. You can place any vehicle you want anywhere you want, on or around the island. The editor is not as powerful as the one that came with the PC version, but it is one of best I have found in a console game.

The game also features multiplayer through System Link and over Xbox Live. You can choose to either play cooperatively with friends, or against one another. You can play either prepackaged missions, or play missions you have created. This is pretty standard online fare, with very few differences compared to other games. The vehicles do add to the experience, but can create an imbalance.

Overall, I liked this game, especially when playing missions that I created. The enjoyable aspects, like gameplay, overcome the non-enjoyable aspects, like the graphics and sound. I recommend this game to anyone who enjoys tactical shooters and wants a challenge.

Ian Have is a student enrolled in the Video Game Design & Development program at the International Academy of Design & Technology.

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