Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis

Operation Flashpoint
Composer(s)	Ondrej Matejka, David Lagettie
Engine	Real Virtuality Cold War Crisis: 1.00 - 1.46 Resistance: 1.75 - 1.96
Version	1.96 (April 21, 2004)
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Xbox
Release date(s)	Windows EU June 22, 2001[1] NA August 30, 2001 Xbox EU October 28, 2005 NA November 8, 2005
Genre(s)	Tactical shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ELSPA: 15+ ESRB: M OFLC: MA15+
Media	1 CD-ROM
System requirements	400 MHz CPU, 64 MB RAM, 16 MB video card RAM, 8X CD-ROM drive, DirectX 7.0, 450 MB available hard disk space, Windows 95
Input methods	Keyboard, Mouse

American infantry preparing to seize a Soviet-held village.

Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis, sometimes shortened to Operation Flashpoint, and abbreviated OFP, is a tactical shooter and battlefield simulator video game developed by Bohemia Interactive Studio and published by Codemasters. The game uses the same engine, Real Virtuality, as the military simulator VBS1. It was released on June 22, 2001 in Europe and August 30, 2001 in North America.^[1] Set on a group of fictitious islands in 1985, Operation Flashpoint puts the player on one of three sides in a hypothetical conflict between American and Soviet forces. The Resistance is the third playable faction. Two expansion packs were released; Gold Upgrade, which included Red Hammer, a campaign from the Soviet perspective, and Resistance, which introduced various new features and improved graphics and sound effects. An Xbox port was released in 2005 under the title Operation Flashpoint: Elite. Operation Flashpoint was praised for its attention to realistic combat.

In 2006, Bohemia Interactive released a sequel called ArmA: Armed Assault. It is based on an improved Flashpoint engine and it was released under the title ArmA Combat Operations in the United States on May 1, 2007. ArmA: Armed Assault's successor ARMA 2 was released on June 19, 2009.

A game titled Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising was released in October 2009 by Codemasters. This game was not developed by Bohemia Interactive, who claim that they reserve the exclusive right to develop sequels to the original Operation Flashpoint, and further claim that "it is not right to promote this game as the ‘official sequel'."^[2]

Gameplay

Operation Flashpoint's gameplay varies significantly depending on the player's role, but the game is best described as a tactical shooter with significant vehicle elements and minor real-time tactics elements. OFP's gameplay is largely team oriented and the player spends much of the game with a squad of up to 11 AI controlled members, either as a member of the squad or as its leader. On-foot gameplay and the vehicle elements are blended seamlessly and the player can get into any available vehicle at any time, orders and mission conditions permitting. Whether on foot or in a vehicle the player can view the action from both first and third-person views, as well as an additional 'command view' available to squad leaders which gives the player a limited birds-eye view of the surrounding area. At the start of each mission the player is presented with a briefing explaining the situation, describing the player's goals in the mission and, often, providing further information in the form of notes. Once in-game the player is provided with a map, compass, watch, and a notebook. Depending on the mission the player may be required to participate in and complete a variety of tasks, from simply driving a truck or guarding bases to attacking or defending various objectives, patrols, reconnaissance and sabotage behind enemy lines, air support, or any combination of these and more.

Once the player is given command of a squad, he can issue them orders to move, including the designation of priority targets, control over squad formation and tactical behaviour.

Multiplayer

OFP's multiplayer features several gameplay modes. The game mode is determined by the mission chosen by the server administrator.

• Deathmatch - In which the players spawn in an arena and fight each other with a variety of weapons and vehicles found in the map, the player with the most kills at the end of the round wins.
• Team Deathmatch - A game mode similar to deathmatch, in team deathmatch players join one of two teams and must kill players of the opposing team to earn points.
• Capture The Flag - In Capture The Flag, players must steal the flag and take it to a designated location, while preventing opposing players from doing the same. This mode may be team based, or free for all with no alliances.
• Domination - In Domination, one or more objective is marked with a flagpost. The two teams must war for control of the location. Whichever team holds the objective for the longest amount of time gains the most points and wins the round.
• Demolition - One team must protect an objective from the other team, which must destroy the objective. Whichever team prevails in their goal wins the round.
• Cooperative - In which one or more teams of allied human players work cooperatively to accomplish a variety of objectives.

Operation Flashpoint also includes an in-game mission editor which can be used to create anything from single missions to entire campaigns.^[3]

Weapons

Operation Flashpoint features a large arsenal of Cold War-era weapons, all of which can be used by the player, depending on availability in any given mission. Available firearms range from standard-issue military assault rifles such as the M16A2 and the AK-74), machine guns, and more specialized weaponry such as sniper rifles and suppressed submachine guns, all of which have iron sights or telescopic sights that the player can use to aim. Reloading can be done at any time, though if the current magazine is not empty, it will be preserved for a later reloading; this means that the player will eventually end up with several partially loaded magazines.^[3]

Synopsis

Setting

The game takes place on three different islands: The island-states of Everon and Malden, and later in the game, on the barren Russian island of Kolgujev which is the staging point for the renegade Russian forces invading Everon and Malden.

Plot

The year is 1985, and Mikhail Gorbachev has come to power in the Soviet Union. While his Glasnost and Perestroika reforms are welcomed by western governments, there are communist hardliners in his own government that are unsympathetic to his cause.

Aleksei Guba, a renegade general, is determined to bring down Gorbachev and make himself the next leader of the Soviet Union. Guba commands an army on the island base of Kolgujev. Guba invades nearby Everon, crushing the militia-force there, and secretly plans to take the war to the Americans.

The NATO presence on Malden, under the command of the American Colonel Blake, moves in to investigate the loss of contact with Everon, and reports an invasion by an 'unknown hostile force'. When a helicopter of troops sent to investigate doesn't return, Blake orders a full scale invasion of Everon, not knowing about the Soviets.

Though the NATO forces manage to take control a portion of the island, the Soviets eventually counterattack, not only reclaiming Everon but pushing onto Malden as well. Blake receives an ultimatum from Guba but at the same time he is informed by Washington that a full carrier group is on route at flank speed to lend assistance. Time is of the essence as both the US and Moscow denied that hostilities broke out on the islands to prevent panic but at the same time the USSR began a full-scale mobilization, allegedly as a military exercise. General Guba is in possession of a nuclear-tipped SCUD aimed at Malden.

During the campaign players take the roles of one of four characters:

• David Armstrong - A determined Private in the United States Army who is training on Malden when the fighting breaks out, he lost his squad on Everon after a botched retreat attempt. Due to his performance, Blake promotes him to Lieutenant and assigns him to frontline combat, spearheading NATO advances.
• Robert Hammer - An inexperienced tank commander who has been called into service due to a shortage of tank crews. He is eventually promoted to platoon commander.
• Sam Nichols - A Black Hawk pilot who is called on to fly helicopter gunships, and eventually an A-10 Thunderbolt.
• James Gastovski - A retired U.S. Special Forces soldier, Gastovski is called out of retirement to carry out sabotage and scouting missions.

Development

This section requires expansion.

Reception

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Operation Flashpoint has won critical acclaim for its realism of simulating military conflict situations on PC, even to the extent where the game's technology has been adapted for real soldiers to use as a special combat training application VBS1.

Partial listing:

• PC ZONE Classic Award
• IGN Editors Choice Award
• Simulation Headquarters Best of E3 2001
• Gamespy: Best of 2001 (PC Action)
• Computer Gaming World's Editors Choice Award
• The Adrenaline Vault: Seal of Excellence Award
• ECTS winner
• The Wargamer: Award of Excellence
• Gamestar.de Award
• PC Gamer Awards
• COMBATSIM.COM: Best Integrated Battlefield Simulation 2001

Expansions

An add-on campaign Red Hammer, which was developed by Codemasters, depicts the same conflict, but places the player in the role of a Russian soldier, Dmitri Lukin, rather than an American soldier. During the course of the campaign, Lukin switches from his steadfast fight against American forces to battling his own countrymen in order to pave the way for an American take-over of the island. There are a few vehicles added, including the AH-64 Apache, BMP-2. The save game system was altered significantly, making reverting to a previous level impossible. Lukin had been a Spetsnaz in Afghanistan but was demoted to Private and shipped to the regular army for insubordination. During the course of the Red Hammer campaign he is put in command of a squad, promoted to Sergeant, drives tanks, flies helicopters and eventually gets promoted to Lieutenant and assigned back to Spetsnaz.

Resistance, an expansion, featuring updated graphics, sounds, and multiplayer mechanics. The storyline takes place three years before the events of the the main storyline. The player takes on the role of an ex-Special Operations soldier, Victor Troska, who has returned to his homeland of Nogova after years in exile serving with British Special Forces. During the first introductory mission to the campaign, the island is invaded by the Soviet Union. Troska is aproached by Nogovans who are resisting the Soviet Occupation and asked to join them. Initially, Troska refuses to have any part in the fighting and rebukes them. Later, a wounded guerilla-fighter being pursued by Russian soldiers takes refuge in Troska's shed, and Troska is forced to join the guerrillas after he picks up arms to fight off the soldiers.

See also

• Armed Assault
• ARMA 2
• Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
• VBS1

References

External links

• Operation Flashpoint's Official Site
• OFP Community Wiki