Got the framework but not the gameplay

User Rating: 6.5 | Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising PC
This game is trying have the success of the original OFP by mimicking the framework and by having the title in the name of the direct sequence of OFP. Unfortunately, the more I play and more I see they don't truly understand what makes OFP so successful - gameplay. They have removed many fun ingredients but added some annoying elements within the gameplay. Gamespot's review is already generous.

1) There are simply too few vehicles and the ones available to use are too boring to play. Their sole purpose is to be the public transport, in case you want to need to go faster.

2) Fallen soldiers will be disappeared is a NO NO! One of the key fun factors in OPF is the ability to scavenge from dead soliders. It provides you the opportunity to have some exotic weapons/ ammo, which allow you to beat some tough enemies. It is extremely fun to counter-attack the enemy tanks which you are supposed to flee away from, and it is equally entertaining to alter the course of the mission because of that. In addition, being able to scavange gives you the reward for risking to go out of the targeted area. Unfortunately, the fallen soldiers will only remain there for a certain time until it disappears. Therefore, you always need to check their body in time and you in case you already have too much load, you won't be able to come back later on. What's more, the graphic just makes the dead soldiers so hard to see, even you heard your camrade said "body found". At last, without being able to see the body of all the soldiers you have killed also deprives certain "achievement satisfaction", and it decreases the overall sense of being in real combat.

3) Friendly armors and choppers are your burden instead of your assistance. One thing I dislike the most is whenever there are friendly armors/choppers, you have to "babysit" them first before they will help you. You have to beat the enemy AT team within a certain time limit or the whole mission fails. Yes, in real life that may be the case but being realistic is only the mean, not the end. I would suggest that for instance, if you can't beat the enemy AT team on time, you simply will not have tank support, period.

4) Too many checkpoints have time limit. It seriously reduces the opportunity to explore the map, and therefore jeopardizing one of the the most entertaining parts of the game. You rarely have the time to dig out the "treasure" (hidden chopper/tank) which allows to experience the fun of altering the course of mission. In case you do have the time, you won't be able to find any treasure. this game just completely destroy the brillant idea of the orginal OFP. The time limited checkpoint system makes me feel under pressure to rush from point A to B, much like my daily life at work that I need to rush for completion of project. Once project A is done, project B will follow shortly. Same here.

5) For technical issues, the control of vehicle and the camera angle have seriously issues by today's standard. Also, the distance you can see is inferior to what is expected. In addition, the AI is poor. Finally, there is no jump so you can get stucked by a small rock.

Overall, the gameplay design just doesn't grasp the right formula yet. It imposes lot of restrictions for you to be able to truly explore and enjoy the opened world environment. It is sad to see that after so many years of waiting, a supposedly great sequence isn't even able to retain what is fun, but instead just moved backward and made many mistakes as an inexperienced game designer.