With the original series creators working on Armed Assault, Codemasters picks up the reins of the Operation Flashpoint franchise with Dragon Rising, but will its console debut have crossover success or will it remain a niche hit?

Realistic; Satisfying Combat; Four-Player Co-Op Campaign; Extremely Challenging On Higher Difficulties

Only Eleven Missions; Useless AI squadmates; which also plagues console multiplayer; Frustrating Checkpoint System

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising puts aside the modern conveniences of the shooter genre, but isn't able to propel it forward and can't recapture its former glory.

...Call of Duty 4 was too easy; ...The words "military sim" make you smile; ..

...Call of Duty 4 was perfect in every way; ...Realism has no place in video games; ..

Join Chris Watters in this review of Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising.

Realism creates a great sense of tension; Good variety of weapons and vehicles; Long; challenging missions; Entertaining multiplayer modes

AI makes notable blunders; Assorted bugs and hitches

If you have an internet connection, a PlayStation Network account, and a microphone, you have all you need to drop into the battle with your friends. Multiplayer isn't as grueling as the campaign since human intellect is still superior to computer A.I.

The realistically brutal simulation; The wide array of weapons; The long missions and large maps

The grinding difficulty at some points; The initially unwieldy controls; The abnormal learning curve

In 2001, Bohemia Interactive Studio and Codemasters released Operation Flashpoint: Coldwar Crisis . Touted as a tactical shooter/battlefield simulator, it garnered critical acclaim for it's realism and artificial intelligence, largely due to its use of the Real Virtuality engine, which at the time...

I was one of those people who was on edge waiting for the new Operation Flashpoint to come out. I played the original in 1991 and it was amazing: an open battlefield where literally anything was possible.

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is the man's man of tactical first-person shooters. This hardened sequel is a burly fellow, one that has no need for shaving cream, eye protection or seat belts.

Ultimately, I think Codemasters has got a lot of great ideas and gameplay elements in OFDR, but it just needed more time. There are too many rough edges here to make this easy to recommend to everyone.

It's been years since Operation Flashpoint first cooked up a Cold War Crisis in 2001, but now the franchise is back on track with its first true sequel, Dragon Rising. It's looking to take the tactical sim to the next level, upgrading its Cold War tech with new weapons, new tactics, and a new...

Something tells me that a lot of people are going to be surprised by Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. Codemasters has loudly proclaimed that their new game will take players "as close to war as they'll ever want to get," but secretly part of me doubts whether most gamers will know what they're...