Operation Flashpoint: Red River is not Call of Duty. Hailed as a tactical, fire team based shooter that requires more thinking than trigger pulling, Red River aims to bring reality to gamers that are used to being able to get shot a dozen times and still direct a danger close air strike, all from the comfort of their own couch.  Having just returned from beautiful Helmand Province (sarcasm yes, however, it does have its moments), Afghanistan, I was naturally drawn to this game simply because it’s modeled directly off Operation Enduring Freedom (even though they say its “Tajikstan”).  Now that I’ve got a little over five hours on the books, I feel it’s the right time to spew out some initial thoughts, and hopefully address arguably the two biggest questions surrounding Codemasters’ latest shooter: Is it realistic, and is it actually fun to play?

Does Operation Flashpoint: Red River deliver on the realism?

Red River is a realistic shooter like reality television is real life.  In many ways Red River reaches authenticity, but much like reality television, it still has to leave out much of the mundane stuff in order to not only keep the game fun and entertaining, but to simply sell copies; after all, they’re in it to make money.  It’s absolutely authentic in that the game play is driven around the proper employment of suppression: knowing how to do it, and what to do once you achieve an effective form of it.  One of the biggest learning points that I’ve instructed to young or new infantry Marines is that, “Suppression without maneuver is a waste, and maneuver without suppression is deadly”.  Red River, in the small amount of time I’ve experienced so far, has actually achieved that, and in quite impressive fashion.  The only other video game that brought that level of realism to a war game was the Full Spectrum Warrior series, which is hands down the closest similar title on the market (good luck finding a copy, however).

Speaking of the mundane stuff, the gaming community’s general cripes seem to be centered around your platoon sergeant, Staff Sergeant Knox, who tends to talk.  A lot.  Folks, that is pretty damn realistic.  Not necessarily from a platoon sergeant, but from Marines in general, because they all have off the wall, ridiculous stories that they love to tell.  Over and over again.  Another shot from the Internet’s gaming flank is the “unnecessary movements up hills/over long distances”, and sitting around in the back of Humvee’s waiting to reach the next objective.  Both of these complaints made me laugh, simply because you cannot get any more realistic than that.  The Onion’s “Modern Warfare 3” preview video can back me up here: as funny as that is to watch, they are dead on on the realism front.  In Red River’s second mission, your fire team is tasked with establishing an overwatch position 500m away, and on top of a giant-ass hill.  Your platoon sergeant, SSgt Knox, will bitch at you until you get your team up the hill and overwatch is established, just like real life.  I enjoyed the fact that as you push your fire team up the hill, you slow way down, likely to simulate the fact that you’ve got around 75lbs of fun strapped to your chest.  That is real, folks.

What isn’t real however, are little things like running out of a screaming CH-53D helicopter after a helo-insert, only to look around and see not one blade of grass moving, nor any trees moving at all.  Seriously?  Or how about how a Marine in your fire team for whatever reason, likely for the “CDI (Chicks Dig It) Factor”, isn’t wearing his Kevlar helmet.  Yeah, this ain’t ‘Nam.  That shit doesn’t fly.  Or how you can throw a suppressor on your M4, that one made me laugh too.  The only grunts that get to play with suppressors are scout snipers and Recon/MARSOC; if you see one in an infantry battalion, it was “acquired” – not issued.

Maybe the biggest tactical oops I’ve seen so far is the obstacle vaulting system, or lack thereof.  Red River’s second mission culminates with the task of clearing a children’s two-story school.  I have to tell you, it was awesome telling your fire team to suppress the first floor while I ran up intending to breach through the window, only realizing that the game won’t let you.  No, they make you either go through the front door, or up the fire escape stairs, both equaling suicide missions.  Are they deal breakers?  The visual stuff no, but the vaulting thing comes close.

So is Red River actually fun to play, or should I stick to CoD?

If you expect this game to be a Modern Warfare clone, you will be sorely disappointed.  And by disappointed, I mean severely pissed off.  Operation Flashpoint: Red River is not Call of Duty; it is not even close.  Operation Flashpoint: Red River is fun to play though, and I’m only about a third of the way through the game.  Is it worth $60?  I can’t quite answer that question, but right now I’m leaning towards yes.

To shed even more positive light on this title, Red River was clearly designed with co-operative play in mind.  I have only played through on my own, and I’m having a blast, so I can only imagine how much more enjoyable Red River would be with three friends, a case of beer, and some headsets.

The game’s presentation is awesome, especially with the intro movie which really set the tone and makes this game fun.  Oh, and this might be the first game to actually use a legit name by saying “Al Qaeda”; how that got around the Medal of Honor “Taliban” fiasco is beyond me, but it just adds another dose of realism to an already very realistic, and fun game.

Red River Final … Initial Thoughts

Realistic, a lot of fun, and so far a pleasant shooter that’s a nice shift from the typical Call of Duty run-and-gun.  Mid-game thoughts to follow.