Retro review. Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (2001)

Gambling already 20! We are pleased to recall how it all began, and for the first time we publish on the site the main reviews from the very first gambling rooms-in a special rubric "Retro-review". We transfer all articles from the magazine in its original form, without bills and corrections (except that screenshots in old numbers are painfully bad quality-they had to change in some places).

Review of Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis was published in number 8 for 2001. Pleasant reading!

Gambling team

Similarity:

Delta Force

Science fiction writers naively assumed that the third world (WW3) would take place using blasters, lasers and the like. They were wrong. WW3 will not be at all. Because she was already. It was carried out with the help of diplomacy and espionage. And it was called differently: Cold War.

Someone's performance

War. War Never Changes.

From the screensaver Fallout.

My hands are trembling. When I just agreed with the editor that I would write about this game, I naively believed that everything would go as usual: for three or four days I will go through the toy, I look at what, where and how, after which I quietly painfully painted how It is fun to play it, what are the modes there … and put an assessment to the best of my harmfulness.

I was deeply mistaken.

Because the Operation Flashpoint is much more serious than Serious sam, And much more real than Real War. You can’t play it. You can only fight in it. For Operation Flashpoint is nothing more than a perfect simulator of an ordinary (in this case, NATO).

More precisely, the simulator of a soldier of almost any military.

War must die, but this is a war

The plot founding is an alternative story, due to the development of which in 1985 the same restructuring arises (and a ban on the sale of alcohol is introduced). Gorbachev has political opponents who seek to return their native communist system. Among them are Russian General Ivan Vasilievich Guba (tyrant with Mania of Greatness), who takes the third army subordinate to him and captures several European islands (fictional): Kolguyev, Malden and Everon. In his misfortune, on Malden there was a NATO base ..

General of the lip puts the ultimatum command of NATO forces.

The campaign goes on behalf of four characters: David Armstrong (infantryman), Robert Hammer (tankman), James Gastovsky (Blackps – NATO special forces), Sam Nichols (pilot of the helicopter and aircraft). Each of them is an absolutely original character, regardless of the rest, pushing into various kinds of problems (Armstrong is associated with the rebels, Nichols is captured and so on). Each mission takes place with the participation of one of them, and this is necessarily the mission that requires specific skills. If you see the name “Sam Nichols” in a briefing, this means that today you will fly on a helicopter/aircraft, and in the case of Gastovsky, get ready for sabotage operations.

Accordingly, the first level for each is training in how to manage with oneself or with subordinate technology. Unusual and pleasant. The rare game where the tutorial does not bother.

Before the start of a sudden attack, it will not prevent the situation.

The queen of the fields

In the Operation Flashpoint you can also run on your two and manage various means of movement. This is the main line of, so at each segment we will dwell in more detail.

Playing for David Armstrong (about half of the missions), it is easy to draw parallels, for example, with Hidden & Dangerous. Behind the rifle, grenades on the belt, your enemies, like you, die from one or two shots (especially if in the head). You run, hear a shot, and … a newborn: aims and tries to get the enemy in bursts. Veteran: automatically falls to the ground, puts a rifle on single shots and scans the surroundings. Typical errors: when they shoot, you need to hide the body to the maximum, and you should not forget about saving cartridges. “Kalash”, despite all its popularity, the poor replacement of M16 (the characteristics of some weapons models, by the way, do not coincide with real ones). So to hole the air – death is like.

The rebels beat hostages from the third Red Army in order to deliver them where should. They should be delivered to the commander of the rebels. The lip will be very angry.

You have to get used to the fact that not here Doom. Do not play here, you need to fight here.

By the way, any infantryman can drive military equipment with a minimum control complex (armored personnel carrier, jeep, truck and so on).

Thank God that at first it is not necessary to think. Where they say – we run there. They ran, heard the first shots, lay down, sight, countdown 1-2-3-4, shot in the head. They were convinced that the enemy was killed, stood up, ran to the next shelter, heard shots ..

This is really not a game. Because it is a war. And in war as in war. The developers limited the game one or two auto-preservations (and even then not for every mission) plus a one-time sail for personal use.

The armor is strong, and our tanks are fast

Robert Hammer. Tanker: hot head, the helmet is not smoking. It is especially felt in the first mission where you play for it and where you need to get to a certain point. You will probably be at least one tree. Thus, the commander who speaks according to the script, they say, Hammer, you are rummaging again, will be right.

The tank crew is a mechanical driver, a shooter and a commander who gives orders to both. Robert Hammer by default commander, so you will not be able to transfer to a driver's seat. The command of the tank is elementary and consists of phrases such as “go to point A” or “shoot at the T-80, which is right”.

The task of the crew commander of the tank is to coordinate the actions of the mechanic driver and the shooter. The first must indicate where to go (or slow down), and the second must be given orders for shooting. In particular, now I commanded to stop and shoot at T72.

A considerable pleasure will give a finger from a large -caliber gun by cartridges Sabot (anti -tank) or heat (anti -personnel). Ba-bam-m-m-m! And one or two soldiers remains from the enemy detachment. B-bam-m-m-ba-bam-m-m! And from the T-72 there is a burning minced meat, stuffed with the remains of the crew. A blank put on a tank, you understand ..

Natural problem – infantry. Which is not as easy to get as a technique. It is necessary to carefully examine the surroundings in search of the racket that shies into your tank for the third time ..

First of all, the first thing is helicopters

Aircraft is represented by helicopters and aircraft. On the side of the Soviet Union, the combat Mi-24 (“Lan”) and the Mi-17 transporter are found, while the NATO have an An-1 (“Cobra”), UH-60 (Blackhawk) and-pay attention! -A-10 aircraft ("Lightning"). “Lan” is in Africa “Lan”-two types of missiles, a 55-mm gun and eight passengers, but American helicopters are narrowly specialized for hostilities and transportation, respectively, respectively. I met Blackhawk a long time ago, back in LHX: Attack Chopper, and I just saw Cobra now. Funny thing.

However, it is much more funny that the fact that flying on Lani is much more fascinating, but you will only be able to play for Gastovski.

Helicopter management, despite the apparent simplicity, is unusual. You have to get used to it. Do once: turn on the engine and auto-hover. Do two: click the button on which the move up Zabindil. Do three: turn off the auto -sobbing and fly where the darling wishes.

As soon as they flew – everything is the same, but exactly the opposite. Eight hundred meters to the target, we turn on the auto -slip (the helicopter is aligned), as soon as the speed drops to a minimum, do two: fall off. Having decreased, do three: turn off the auto -slip and engine. It seems difficult, but you will get used to the third mission – I promise.

But on the A-10 it is difficult to fly. From birth, reactive aircraft were distinguished by uncomfortable aiming due to too high speed. It is good that only one mission passes with the participation of the A-10, and even it ends with a forced catapulting over enemy territory, followed by capturing.

“Gastovsky. James Gastovski "(c) game

The second most popular soldiers in Operation Flashpoint. A guy combining the profession of a spy, a demolition and a driver of technology of all stripes. It can hide the bodies (it looks very funny – the corpse smoothly goes underground), it can lay bombs (both with a timer and with a remote fuse), but most of all loves to sit in a tank or helicopter and go crazy about the annihilation of everything else that is still. Trying to move.

Given the specifics of the profession, James, if it drives technology, is most often enemy. There are almost no differences, except for the fact that the same “doe” is technically better equipped, and almost any type of troops can be carried out with a “wool”.

Almost all missions (except the last two) pass at night. Get used to night vision points, you can’t get out without them without them.

Last evening in the rebel camp. Russian punitive detachments are already on the way.

But the armored personnel carrier, passing three meters from the lying Gastovski, will not notice it under any conditions. I remember the situation was: the first mission for James, crawling along the enemy base. Crapped a hundred meters to the nearest bushes, decided to hide from sin away. Hid, turned around and opened his mouth: two meters from me a enemy patrol walked, which then turned further. I later tracked his movement – it turns out he followed me at least fifty meters. And I didn't want to see me point blank.

“We will deliver you to the commander of Glory” (c) game

I move to the most main line of the Operation Flashpoint. Command Administration.

After a few missions from the beginning, you have to go through the level where you will manage not only your favorite, but also a small detachment of WinOMania sister sites armed associates. Management is carried out using commands, of which overgrown amounts. Thus, the game turns into something between Counter-STRIKE And Battlezone 2.

Armstrong can manage a detachment of soldiers specializing in the removal of certain goals. For example, AT Soldier shoots self -assembled missiles that are ideally suitable for the destruction of enemy equipment. Sniper perfectly understands the individual units of the enemy, who are too far from the zone of defeat of ordinary weapons, while Machinegunner easily finds a common language with the horde of imperceptibly suitable soldiers. There is also Law Soldier – shoots rockets equally well affecting infantry and enemy tanks. And the most important unit is Medic, which can bandage even heavy wounds in the field.

You can order almost whatever you like. Climb into a certain means of transportation to the place of the driver, equipment or passenger, run to a certain point, go on the left or right, stay in place, take a certain position or find a shelter, attack – open fire for a specific goal or shoot at will, perform a certain action – For example, go to heal with a medic, take a certain formation (this is already on the whole team).

Russian paratroopers can always be identified by a characteristic emblem on the patch.

The art of management requires tenacious memory and quick reaction. Suppose a tank appeared on the horizon. What needs to be done? Quickly look at the panel at the bottom, on the icon and the figure on it to determine what type of soldier we need (Law or At Soldier), press the corresponding functional key (that is, if the soldier is registered with the number 5, then you need to press F5), indicate the tank and press the tank and click The left mouse button. Keep in mind that in a fighting situation all these actions should be performed in a split second, otherwise your detachment will be smashed to shreds.

The second hero, managing several units, is Robert Hammer. Somewhere after the middle of the campaign under your leadership there will be several tanks. Managing them is much easier – formations, method of movement, attack. In fact, you, by and large, do not need them for nothing but to cover. For example, while you are attacking a couple of T-80, you can order them to deal with a large infantry, and who dreams of tearing your tank to small tanks.

And finally, the third “commander” is James Gastovski. Units under his leadership are no different from him. They work cool when you leave them, and then crawl forward. For what? Suppose Gastovsky saw the enemy. But you did not see him on the monitor. Further two options: if your team has already been shot, then you will crawl up until the soldier opens fire. If at least one member of the team is alive, then Gastovsky is obliged to give him information: "Such and such there". This information is needed not so much by a partner as you.

You call it "beautiful"?

Look at the ratings and pay attention to the parameter "Graphics". Why is there so little against the background of everything else? Yes, because it does not reach the general level of the game! Games that are so really simulating everyday life of the NATO soldier that such beauty is slightly spoiled. On the other hand, read the calculations of my colleague:

“Simple arithmetic: for example, in the player’s model one and a half to two thousand landfills (something like this), multiply about fifteen, add the surface (three to six thousand polygons), plus another technique (at least two thousand landfills). The fact that the game manages to go to P-III 450 and Riva TNT can be considered a feat of developers ". (TNX, WBRR)

I have nothing to add to this. In addition to the game on Voodo3 and GeForce3 looks different. I played on V3-perhaps I missed something.

The top of heroism is to break away from the platoon and quietly go to the rear of the enemy.

And the rest of the Real Virtuality engine is just super! Physics that allows a helicopter when sliding from the hill to roll over to a large screw and explodes almost immediately; models of players, reflecting damage not only externally, but also “gameplay” (the line in the legs means that the soldier will now have to crawl) is really real virtuality.

Du Yp Speak Rashn?

Once again I urge you to look at the ratings and be a little surprised. The sound also earned his "ten". The fact is that it is fully consistent with all the events to which. Machine gun lines sound like machine -gun queues, the cries of the wounded make the heart shrink, and the soldier who runs around the hundred meters and himself, sitting in a chair, breathe heavily. To the beat.

A machine gun is the best means of defense from superior enemy forces.

The music of the Australian alternatives SEVENTH, which, among other things, create the soundtracks for games, wrote the music for the music (CS Theme from Counter-Strike did not hear? I recommend). And you thought in Australia only Silverchair play heavy electronics?

By the way, the video on the engine in front of the mission “Return to Eden” looks just super -via. Literally clip for decide composition.

Voice voice acting helps to pull out the sound at least because this is the first game in my memory (except JA), in which Russians speak Russian. Although with a very easy accent. But-in Russian. Only the phrase “Good evening … we carry a little vodka to the officer dining room, do not want to remove the sample?»Sounds five with a plus. Because the perfect voice and without unnecessary acting pathos.

Czech Republic is not only a good beer ..

… it is also Bohemia Interactive Studio , which made a game for almost five years, which few years ago few. And now she went out and made a real splash. In the UK, two days after the Operation Flashpoint, the top sales top took off to the first place.

Isn't that fine?

And then, the Operation Flashpoint is the only version of the army in which you do not have to leave the house for two years. It would always be so.

Gameplay: 10

Graphics: 9.5

Sound and music: 10

Interface and management: 10

Novelty: 10