By Greg Giddens

The original Operation Flashpoint became famed for its uncompromisingly realistic simulation of war, and the way it presented that formula to the masses with great success.

Dragon Rising is different. Instead, it offers up a flawed but still enjoyable shooter that brings together elements from both the traditional and simulatory FPS sub-genres. Beneath the hype and hope is a good game with great potential, but when compared to the lofty ambitions of its predecessor, it’s potential that’s unfortunately not fully realised.

//Close but no cigar
In a near-future world, and in the context of a conflict between Russian forces and The Chinese People’s Liberation Army, you play as several different squad leaders in the US Marines, leading small fireteams to objectives on the island of Skira to re-capture it and potentially prevent a full-on war between Russia and China.

Dragon Rising’s literature boasts of an open-world battlefield, but while the entire 220 square kilometer island is theoretically open to exploration, each mission sees you and your team extracted and then redeployed to a different location on the map.  So while the vast play area is indeed there, you’re forced to play through each mission in a much more linear fashion. The lack of a fully open world is slightly disappointing, but each mission does allow you to approach its objectives in any way and order you want, and going off-mission to deal with other threats or personal objectives is mostly unrestricted, apart from the occasional time-sensitive goals that require a more immediate response.

Because the open-world mechanic isn’t fully realised, it’s almost not worth including in the game at all. The expansive environments and the sheer scale of the game world is certainly impressive, but each area of operation is essentially a different level, so while the environment remains persistent, the benefits of its inclusion ends there. Exploring the map is a difficult and often pointless task, with nothing much happening outside of the set objectives, and the scale works against you if you can’t find a vehicle. Ultimately, the huge map feels unnecessary, which is the last thing you want in a game that prides itself on such an addition.

Open-world arguments aside, Dragon Rising is largely fun to play, taking you through eleven missions ranging from skirmishes to infiltrations and hostage rescues. There’s a decent amount of variation in the missions, both in the objectives and the weapons provided, which keeps things fresh and engaging for the six to eight hours it will take to complete.

Each weapon is appropriately lethal for both you and the enemy. Often no more than two shots is enough to score a kill. This time, if you catch a non-lethal round, you can bandage yourself up to proceed with only a slight hindrance – such as not being able to run if shot in the leg, or a reduction in accuracy if in the arm. A lethal hit, however, and it’s back to the last checkpoint.

At each checkpoint you reach, any damage received to your limbs is removed, allowing you and your squad-mates to function at full fighting strength. While this detracts a fair bit from the realism Flashpoint frequently strives towards, it does make the game a little more compromising, and therefore more accessible to a wider audience. Still, for fans of the original game’s ruthlessness, it’s an alteration that could well disappoint.

//What does the ‘I’ stand for?
A disappointment that fans of the original and newcomers will both share is the incompetence of the AI. Your computer-controlled squad-mates and the enemy often suffer from extreme stupidity, your squad ignoring orders or failing to shoot enemies at close range, while the enemy responds in a similar fashion. These failings with the AI aren’t always present, but they occur often enough to spell concern. It’s a real shame, because the presentation as a whole is good – and when the AI is working, the experience comes together is a very organic way. But maintaining this state of play is crucial to a game’s success, and with Dragon Rising, the inconsistencies spoil what could have been a great experience.

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