Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising

Hear Codemasters roar...

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Huddled in a back room at Games Convention isn't always the best place to get an eyeful of the latest videogaming epic, none the less, this is where I find myself; already sticky from the hustle of the meeting room hall at the Leipzig conference centre, ready to see what progress Codemasters have made on the long-overdue Operation Flashpoint 2.

Clive Lindop, AI designer on the action-strategy sequel, is here to tell us about his team's work, affirming to the assembled press that this sequel will be "the game we wanted to make back in 2001". There seems to be a certain honesty around the series, the game makers recognising that while the original Operation Flashpoint pioneered so many ideas and features; that it wasn't a fully realised and totally exploited proposition.

Now, however, Codemasters have invested years in the sequel, and seem determined to deliver the ultimate "vehicles, landscapes, infantry" title, as Lindop puts it.

The designer reveals to us that the technology behind Operation Flashpoint 2 has been in the works for some years - those behind the project reportedly waiting for technology to catch up with their design ambitions. A big-budget three years in development, OF2 will offer a greatly expanded experience: bigger, more detailed landscapes, more foes, more infantry, realistic AI, lifelike weaponry, et al. In other words, we're promised the complete package.

There's quite a weight on the development team's shoulders, then, but what we're told about demonstrates an attention to detail that borders on the obsessive. Vehicles will handle and move as they would in real-life combat, while weapons will accurately simulate their real-life equivalents. This a 'grubby' first-person shooter, with gritty, real situations (more on this soon), featuring dirty, battered vehicles and lashings of authentic atmosphere. Real life veterans have been consulted, Lindop directly mentioning the present Iraq conflict as a source of inspiration.

The premise could be out of a Tom Clancy novel, and perhaps this is a reasonable comparison given the nature of the competition the new Operation Flashpoint will face. Set on an island to the north of Japan, we're told the archipelago is now under Russian control since the end of WWII, a situation no one seemed keen to contest. Until the event's of the game, however, with the world's last untapped major oil field discovered beneath the disputed territory. This kicks of a gigantic struggle for resources, which will eventually see the People's Liberation Army taking on the USA for dominance in the region.

Realism being at the heart of the experience Codies are hoping to engender, you won't be surprised to learn that OF2 will feature 220 square-kilometres of rich and varied terrain, what's more, the team's work on the engine should result in vistas in the region of 35km. Which is quite a view, when you think about it. Gone are the barren forests and disused buildings of the 2001 original title, instead we're promised lashings of detail, which will have gameplay application in terms of the cover options open to the player.

This new cover, it is hoped, will also encourage a more 'deliberate' style of play, focussing on 'attrition'. Apparently, a typical soldier serving in Iraq will only actually 'see' the enemy twice during a six month tour. Thus, those duking it out in OF2 will be harder to kill; enemies diving for cover at the first sign of gunfire; combatants employing long-range weaponry, air-strikes, night vision goggles and more to help keep the enemy at arm's length.

Real-life HUDs have been created for the game's myriad of weapons, Lindop drawing attention to a scope he was particularly proud of, and citing authentic recreations of mini-guns, Javelins, et al. These weapons will even fire at the correct rates and speeds; coming with many of the attachments real-world soldiers employ. There won't be a "magic pocket", either, so players will only be able to use what they can realistically carry, Codies even going so far as to recreate real military uniforms complete with rank. This apparently also has gameplay applications, players able to target key officers and the like in the heat of combat.

Unparalleled quantities of motion capture will also enhance animation realism, the developer's not only noting the way combatants run and walk, but also the way they open doors, climb into vehicles and the like.

Some 50 vehicles will apparently be included in the game, and once again authenticity isn't being shirked. Thusly, we're offered lavishly detailed interior views, and subtle touches like helicopter rotor-blades that flex as in the real world. During the preview session, I'm taken on a brief mission as the US forces, who are attacking a hill-top position controlled by the PLA. Lindop assures that the AI approach taken means missions will vary greatly. Under mortar-fire, allied tanks might not reach the summit, but if they do then they'll help you in combat. Likewise, the Chinese response is unpredictable; sometimes the PLA will sneak up on you, while other times they'll be less aggressive, and more likely to try and hold their positions.

Certainly, as the mortars rain-down, smoke filling the air as the cries of soldiers can be heard, I can see where Codemasters want to be with this new title. The level of detail is certainly noticeable, and given the focus on co-op and modding it is obvious this a title designed to please hardcore fans of the series. Still, given the pre-alpha nature of the code, and "the seven-years of sequel pressure" endured by the team, it is understandable that there are jitters. That said, if OF2 can make good on Lindop's obvious passion and enthusiasm, we're very much looking forward to a few fresh flashpoints come spring 2009.

By Luke Guttridge