In the first of a planned series, key creative talent explain the philosophy behind the design of the game, many of its improvements and how the team have included feedback from fans in the creation of Operation Flashpoint: Red River.
The developer diary reveals some of the key features of the game. Executive Producer Adam Parsons explains, “As far as I’m concerned, Red River gets you as close as you can to being in the boots of a Marine.” This overarching goal informs the style and tone for everything that goes into the game, but Parsons also reveals that there are a huge range of additional enhancements and improvements, “We’ve addressed a lot of the criticisms from the community within Red River by putting in new features.”
Adam Parsons is joined by Creative Director Sion Lenton, Lead Artist Mike Smith and Principal Game Designer Tim Browne as they discuss the wide-ranging ways in which the game engine and gameplay has evolved and improved on 2009’s Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. Topics covered include the huge game world of Tajikistan, new insurgent enemies, improved gun play mechanics, immersive narrative, the new class-based Fireteam and player loadouts and customisations.
The developer diary features footage of the game in action, including the devastating effects of JDAM airstrikes. Marines are shown engaging insurgent enemies at close quarters, clearing them out of towns and villages and hunting them down in mountains. The overwhelming conventional might of the Chinese PLA is also shown with state of the art equipment, including the tanks and helicopters that make them such a formidable foe. The footage shows off the new setting of Tajikistan with its huge open landscapes which present unique and evolving tactical challenges as players are tasked with achieving objectives on their own initiative.
Operation Flashpoint: Red River challenges players to take up the role of one of four distinct and complimentary classes in a USMC fireteam. The Grenadier, Scout, Rifleman and Automatic Rifleman combine to create a fearsome fighting unit and offer unique gameplay perspectives, extending replayability across the scampaign mode and standalone Fireteam Engagements.
Up to four players can join in the experience across all game modes with drop-in drop-out co-operative play. Whether playing solo or co-operatively, players can build up XP across all modes to unlock weapons, skills and modifications for their class, customising their loadouts to suit their preferred style of play.
Operation Flashpoint: Red River is due for release in Q2 2011 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
