Operation Flashpoint: Red River Review

Operation Flashpoint Red River might be alot of the same, but with a lengthy story mode, this is a tactical shooter worth experiencing.

Operation Flashpoint: Red River takes place in Tajikistan , close to the Afghanistan border. You play as " Kirby"  the commander of four US Marine Corps. A Civil war has broken between China and Tajikstan. You and your fireteam are sent in to deal with the situation.

Whilst you automatically play as a Rifleman you can also play as any of the three marines in each mission. There's a  Grenadier, Scout and Automatic Rifleman and each have their own unique weapons and abilities. When you complete missions you will level up who ever you are playing as. Leveling up lets you unlock new weapons, attachments and equipment. As you level up you also earn points that are rewarded for Bronze, Silver and Gold medals at the end of a mission. Visiting the Player progress screen allows you to improve your characters performance. From Sprinting, Assault Rifle handling, Tactical awareness and more. The Player progression system and unlockables add a lot more depth to the game compared to it's predecessor and makes it a more rewarding experience.

Controlling your squad is solid most of the time, but a few problems occasional cropped up throughout my time playing. For example, I commanded my team to take cover at the top of a building. At least one of them would find it hard to get up the stairs and would takes ages or simply not bother. When your Firetam is near enemy positions and are being fired at they are very responsive to taking cover. But when you command them to a new position they can sometimes get stuck behind a corner wall etc, and can become a little frustrating. 

Roaming around Tajikistan looks great.

If you've played Operation Flashpoint before you will no it's not for everyone. The tactical shooter is extremely hard and is a very realistic experience. It can become frustrating when your getting hit by enemies you cannot even see. Commanding your Fireteam has to be done with some thought if you wish to keep them alive. There's many options you can give to your squad, from taking cover, holding a position, flanking an enemy or attacking an enemies position. When combat support is available you also get a chance to send in Air strikes, Mortas and other large explosives to help you clear enemy positions.

A lot of games have some swearing here and there but OF: Red River must feature the most foul language in gaming history. Even Grand Theft Auto doesn't have this much.  I have no problem with it occasionally in games but 
hearing a swear word every two seconds does becoming irritating after a while. It definitely goes on to far and feels inappropriate for most of the time.

 

You can drive vehicles but expect alot of walking.

If the AI is giving you a hard time you can always join CO-op. The whole campaign can be played with four friends over Xbox Live.  There's also four CO-op game modes available. (CSAR) which is a search and rescue operation, Rolling Thunder, where you must move convoy's to a location whilst protecting them. Combat Sweep has you clearing out enemies and ammo cache's throughout villages. And finally, Last Man Standing. Each Game Mode is great fun to play but I wish a standard Deathmatch or TDM mode would be available.

OF: Red River is a lot like it's predecessor but it's no bad thing. Despite the
occasional bugs and inappropriate dialog, there's an enjoyable experience to be had.

Review by Gareth Smith