Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

59%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,565 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Game Cover
Looking for a brutal war experience? Look no further than Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising.
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Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a tactical military shooter set on the fictional island of Skira. Players engage in battles against enemies with various military equipment. The game features a wide-open world with a day-and-night cycle and dynamic weather, providing a realistic battlefield experience. Cooperative multiplayer mode allows up to four players to complete missions together.

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

59%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,565 reviews
story76 positive mentions
stability40 negative mentions
  • The game offers a realistic military simulation experience with challenging gameplay.
  • The graphics and sound design are impressive for a game of its age, creating an immersive atmosphere.
  • The mission editor allows for extensive customization and replayability, enhancing the overall experience.
  • The AI is often unresponsive and can lead to frustrating gameplay, making it difficult to rely on teammates.
  • The game lacks multiplayer support, which significantly reduces its replay value and community engagement.
  • The controls can feel clunky and unintuitive, particularly for new players, leading to a steep learning curve.
  • story528 mentions

    The story in the game is generally considered one-dimensional and lacking depth, with many players noting that it feels underdeveloped compared to other tactical shooters like Arma. While the campaign features a variety of missions and some engaging moments, it often suffers from bugs and frustrating gameplay mechanics, leading to a sense that the narrative is secondary to the mission objectives. Overall, players appreciate the immersive nature of the missions but express a desire for a more compelling and coherent storyline.

    • “However, the story is fantastic, the level of detail put into talking you through your loadouts and supporting forces is brilliant and the extent to which you're given freedom to play each mission as you wish is impressive.”
    • “I love the singleplayer/campaign games with a nice story behind and..this Dragon Rising has a nice story, which captures you in the game.”
    • “The story is quite good as well and given current geopolitical events transpiring right now this is a good preview to combat operations involving U.S.M.C.”
    • “The campaign storyline also makes no sense.”
    • “The story and missions almost feel like if nobody tried at all.”
    • “The story for this game is lacking any depth and easily gets forgotten about making the game purely about killing the enemy and never about saving the day.”
  • gameplay152 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its realism and tactical elements, while others criticize its clunky mechanics and slow pacing. Many reviews highlight the fun and challenging aspects of the campaign, but also point out bugs, a lack of polish, and frustrating AI behavior. Overall, while there are enjoyable moments and unique mechanics, the gameplay experience can be hindered by technical issues and design choices.

    • “A little jank, but once you got the game down from a gameplay perspective, you might just get hooked.”
    • “Is solid, the levels are huge and fun to traverse, there's a great deal of content, and the shooting mechanics are phenomenal and satisfying.”
    • “The gameplay is fun and challenging, and the sandbox battlefield is fun to run around in.”
    • “But gameplay itself is baaaaaaad.”
    • “Take the realism level of a battlefield game, but replace the polished fluid gameplay with the clumsy sluggish feeling of a milsim, and you get this abomination.”
    • “The mechanics are clunky, the missions are poorly thought out, the AI is dim-witted on both sides, gameplay unsatisfying and the save points are infuriating.”
  • graphics141 mentions

    The graphics of "Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising" are generally considered dated, with many reviewers noting that they resemble early Xbox 360 titles rather than what was expected in 2009. While some players appreciate the game's aesthetic and find it acceptable for its age, others criticize the graphics as unplayable or lacking compared to modern standards. Overall, the visuals are seen as a mixed bag, with some praising their realism and detail, while others highlight significant flaws and limitations.

    • “The game's overall aesthetic is very cool even to today's standards and holds up today.”
    • “Stunning visuals and cinematic audio make this game quite intense.”
    • “Graphics looked beautiful, I liked the physics even though sometimes I hated how slow I walk and FOV bothered me sometimes but I could just sit and play this game for hours, having fun in the mission editor and exploring the island.”
    • “This game at best looks like some of the initial released Xbox 360 games in late 2005 vs where the graphics should have been in 2009.”
    • “The graphics are so bad it is unplayable. I've played Flashpoint Red River, thought it would be nice... and surprise surprise - it sucks. Graphics are so bad (I had it set to the highest possible) it's an unplayable mess.”
    • “Terrible graphics and video glitches take you right out of any realism they were going for.”
  • stability42 mentions

    The game is widely criticized for its numerous bugs and glitches, particularly in mission triggers and AI behavior, which detracts from the overall experience. While some players find the technical issues amusing and manageable, many agree that the game's stability is lacking, making it less enjoyable, especially in multiplayer settings. Overall, it is described as a "buggy mess," with varying degrees of tolerance among players for its imperfections.

    • “It runs great, plus it's the best war experience (on foot marines) I have ever had in video gaming. I have played many war games, from the old Delta Force games to the present.”
    • “It runs great, plus it's the best war experience (on foot marines) I have ever had in video gaming. I have played many war games, from the old Delta Force games to the present.”
    • “Mission 6 is buggy as others have pointed out; you will complete the mission and are supposed to be extracted via the helicopter, but sometimes the ending doesn't trigger and you are left in-game free to roam around the map but unable to progress.”
    • “Not recommended, it has too many bugs and glitches.”
    • “What a buggy piece of crap.”
  • optimization20 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is praised for its ability to run smoothly on a variety of hardware, including older systems and the Steam Deck. While the engine is well-optimized, some users noted issues with keybindings and interface design, particularly for gamepad use, suggesting that the optimization may have been more focused on console performance. Despite these concerns, the game maintains consistent performance and visual appeal.

    • “I must say that I'm impressed how optimized the game engine is.”
    • “This game looks gorgeous, yet it runs smoothly even on older hardware.”
    • “At least it runs pretty well even on a potato, and performance is also consistent.”
    • “I believe most of these issues are because the game was optimized for console release.”
    • “The result is a bit hit and miss, due to unforgiving difficulty, a tightly scripted experience on an open map, and clunky interface that was not even optimized for gamepad.”
    • “Keybindings and optimization were wack.”
  • music14 mentions

    The music in the game has received positive feedback, particularly for its unique tuvan throat singing main theme, which resonates with many players. While some reviewers noted that the overall soundtrack may not be extensive, they appreciated the quality of the menu music and sound effects, contributing to the game's classic feel despite its dated graphics.

    • “However, the tuvan throat singing main theme strikes a chord with me; if you don't dig the main menu music, then don't even @ me, mate.”
    • “I love the challenge it brings, and despite every animated soldier looking the exact same, and the graphics in general being 'some years old', the soundtrack and the various missions make this into an FPS classic.”
    • “Music and sound effects are great.”
    • “The story is decent but don't expect a lot of music.”
    • “I love the challenge it brings, and despite every animated soldier looking the exact same, and the graphics in general being 'some years old', the soundtrack, the various missions, etc. makes this into a FPS classic.”
    • “However, the tuvan throat singing main theme strikes a chord with me; if you don't dig the main menu music then don't even @ me, mate.”
  • humor12 mentions

    The humor in the game is derived from its absurd design choices, such as a hilariously narrow field of view and clunky controls, which often lead to comical moments, especially when interacting with the AI. Players find joy in the game's shortcomings, sharing laughs over ridiculous scenarios and the game's failure to compete with more successful titles. Overall, the experience is enhanced when played with friends, turning frustrating moments into shared comedic relief.

    • “And I haven't even mentioned the AI; it's okay for the most part, but will occasionally make me burst out laughing at how dumb it is.”
    • “It is much more fun to go through the pain of the game with a friend, bragging about how you just hit three guys several yards away with your tube grenades and laughing about how you just turned into some meaty, gory chunks from an explosion or insulting the AI partners you're given.”
    • “Multiplayer is long gone due to server shutdown, and funny enough, the sequel, with more emphasis on multiplayer, isn't even for sale on Steam.”
  • replayability8 mentions

    The game offers high replayability, particularly due to its expansive content and gameplay style that encourages player creativity and tactical freedom. While the original Operation Flashpoint set a high standard for replay value with its realistic mechanics and large maps, subsequent iterations like Dragon Rising do not quite match this level of engagement. Overall, players find significant replay value in the original game and its expansions.

    • “All in all, this is one of my favorite war games that I've played and has offered me a ton of replay value over the years.”
    • “The original Operation Flashpoint GOTY game was one of the greatest 'realistic', tactical, sans-health bar FPS games of all time, with two fantastic expansions which both added huge amounts of content to the game and a wonderful gameplay style that gave the game tremendous replayability and allowed the player tremendous scope to imagine the world around them.”
    • “The original Operation Flashpoint led the industry in map size, replayability, freedom, difficulty (if you so desired), and scope.”
    • “These advantages are real and enjoyable, but none of them represent industry-leading iterations of the features - the original Operation Flashpoint led the industry in map size, replayability, freedom, difficulty (if you so desired), and scope, but Dragon Rising doesn't really set the world alight in any one way.”
    • “The original Operation Flashpoint GOTY game was one of the greatest 'realistic', tactical, sans-health bar FPS games of all time, with two fantastic expansions which both added huge amounts of content to the game and a wonderful gameplay style that gave the game tremendous replayability and gave the player tremendous scope to imagine the world around them.”
    • “Replayability: high”
  • atmosphere8 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is described as atmospheric and immersive, characterized by slow-paced tactical action set in expansive maps. Players appreciate the charm and engagement of the battlefield experience, although some feel it could benefit from elements reminiscent of Arma 3, such as improved sound design and visual fidelity. Overall, the atmosphere is a strong point, enhancing the tactical strategy gameplay.

    • “Atmospheric, slow-paced tactical action with big maps.”
    • “Maybe it lacks the capacity of Arma 3, but I still feel weirdly charmed by its atmosphere.”
    • “I liked the very atmosphere of the game, because this is a tactical strategy with your full participation, and from the first person seeing the battlefield of fighters.”
    • “It lacks the capacity of Arma 3, but I still feel weirdly charmed by its atmosphere.”
    • “It's not bad, but it would be more interesting with a few elements of the original Arma, like ballistic mechanics, weapon sounds, color spectrum, vehicles, and... atmosphere.”
  • grinding6 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often requiring excessive time and resources, particularly due to limited ammo. The awkward control system further detracts from the experience, overshadowing the game's potential.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “This can get a little tedious, and costly in terms of ammo (which is very limited compared to more casual shooters).”
    • “Frustrating, tedious, and an awkward control system ruins the awesome potential this has on paper.”
  • monetization6 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with users reporting misleading advertising and the shutdown of multiplayer servers. This has led to disappointment and a sense of failure surrounding the game's overall execution and longevity.

    • “This and Red River were just cash grab attempts by CM (who have since shut down their FPS studio and are probably going to be shutting down their racing one too soon).”
    • “It is a huge shame that this game failed, and while some admirable advertising almost convinced me to give Red River a go, it was apparently even worse than DR, and as such sadly I fear we must lay this game to rest.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    The emotional response to "Flashpoint: Red River" is overwhelmingly negative, with players expressing frustration and disappointment due to poor graphics and overall gameplay experience. Many feel let down by the game's failure to meet expectations, leading to a strong aversion to revisiting it.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

77% average critic score

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Play time

12hMedian play time
15hAverage play time
4-30hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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