Bruce Von Stiers

Codemasters is a game company that puts a lot of playing opportunities into each title they release. One of the better titles to come from them is a Cold War sim called Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis. It has a whole bunch of battles to fight and enemies to kill. Players get to fight it out with the dirty Commies without having to get dirty and strap on an ammo belt.

The game starts out in 1985. That was a good year for me. I got married that year. But that’s another story. Anyway, in the game, 1985 has U.S. armed forces sprawled out all over the globe. Somewhere in the Eastern Pacific are a couple of islands, Everon and Malden. They aren’t too awfully far from Soviet controlled land masses. These islands are occupied by U.S. forces. The local citizenry couldn’t really care less. That is until a covert military force attempts to invade the islands. Then it is up to the U.S. forces to fight these troops and kick their butts all the way back to Mother Russia.

When beginning the game you will set up an In-Battle Identity. This includes the name of the soldier you’re portraying, his physical appearance and voice. You should start out as a lowly Private barely out of boot camp and pretty green. By the end of a campaign, any character you portray will have a whole bunch of experience. Even a wet behind the ears Private will get his share of blood and bullets.

The game allows for up to 50 single player missions. There is also a multiplayer option so you can play against someone online. The multiplayer games are driven by GameSpy.

When in the single player campaign mode, the game can be done in either first or third person perspectives. You will have to get used to the keyboard and mouse controls. But if you are used to shooter games that utilize a lot of keyboard combos, this shouldn’t be a problem. Me, I can type 40 words a minute but am all thumbs when it comes to a speedy strafe of an enemy platoon. You will use both keyboard controls and your mouse. It can get really intense, so lightning fast reactions will be a real plus when playing the game.

The AI in the game is superb. You can’t just blast away at the enemy and come out the victor. Stealth and ability factors into the success or failure of a mission. You can easily lose if your character is over zealous or makes a tactical error. And your character interacts with other members of his unit, so his actions affect more than just himself. Your character isn’t Rambo, a couple of shots will put him down permanently.

Fly a helicopter, drive a tank or give cover fire on the ground. Some of the weapons that can be used include the AGM-65 Maverick surface-to-air missile and the M60 7.62 machine gun. Fly a Blackhawk or Cobra helicopter. Climb into an M-163 Vulcan tank and help out the ground troops. You aren’t limited to playing as a grunt in an Infantry platoon. Be a squad leader or a pilot. You can even become a force commander during the course of the game.

The game also comes with a mission editor for those players who like to make up their own scenarios. There is also a Mission Wizard that lets you tinker with existing missions to jazz them up a little.

Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis is just about the best war simulation that I’ve had a chance to play. I put it up there with Rogue Spear as a top notch combat sim.

The game did so well that Codemasters came out with an expansion pack for it.

Pick up Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis at retailers like Electronics Boutique and Best Buy. You can also check out the Codemasters web site at www.codemastersusa.com.