Operation Flashpoint: Elite Member Review for the Xbox

There's a reason the army uses this...

I give my compliments to this game. It's the perfect simulation of military combat. And this is coming from a veteran. Five years in the service chums, Persian Gulf and Bosnia UNPROFOR. This game is done well enough that it can even give me the creeps. Granted, the game is what, three, four years old; it can still hold it's own as a reasonably decent port.

My initial compliments go to it's portrayal of the ground-pounder. All small-arms are authentic down to the screws. They even sound for the most part like they did in real life. Trust me, I've heard a Vulcan firing from 30 yds. away. That sucker hurts. Aiming a top notch. It's never steady, unlike the average shooter; going down on a knee helps more than you can know. It all goes to show how worthless shooting from the hip is.

Viechles are also done right. I love to listen to a strafing Hog. Gatling guns are the best[On the other hand, as a former Armored Division vet, I can tell you, I'd never, ever, want to go up against one...]. Tanks are shown properly to be either the infantryman's best friend or worst fear. T-80's were the US Army's boogeyman during the eighties... and rightly so.

The fact that they did away with the health bar gains instant respect in my opinion. No soldier has a health bar. This is on of the few games to show what happens when you try to sprint across an enemy's line of sight- they give a quick burst from thier AK and it's hit the floor or die. And this goes both ways. Your enemies aren't overly powerful. It's a well balanced system.

They AI could use work, but remember, this is a four year old port. I'm expecting more from both BI and Codemasters with AA and OF: II in the future, so I'll keep quiet about the AI.

Overall? B+.