Video Gaming News - August 2005

New York, NY (August 30, 2005) - Codemasters announced today that Operation Flashpoint will launch in November for the Xbox as Operation Flashpoint: Elite, and will include online play over Xbox Live.

From Codemasters:

Developed by Bohemia Interactive Studio and specifically adapted for Xbox from the PC original, Operation Flashpoint: Elite lets gamers experience the award-winning title on Xbox. The game retains all the depth and immense content of the original and takes players into the heart of a gripping Cold War conflict between NATO coalition forces and a renegade Soviet Red army faction.

The game’s intense campaigns and solo missions deliver deeply believable military situations and gives players complete freedom to handle any flashpoint on his or her own initiative. Operation Flashpoint: Elite is powered by Bohemia’s technology which is also used in real-world training by various military organizations around the world including the U.S. Army and U.S. Marines.

“This is not another run-and-gun shooter; Operation Flashpoint: Elite simulates modern warfare on a level never seen before on any console, providing a totally new playing experience,” said Marek Spanel, Bohemia Interactive Studio’s Director. “You’ll need brain power as much as quick reflexes; act before you die, think before you act, and find cover before you think.”

“We have adapted and improved the game for Xbox while keeping the sheer scope and complexity of the gameplay. The visuals have been recreated specifically for the format with map sizes and draw distances ultimately more impressive than anything seen on a console.”

The scenario is modern warfare: It is 1985, in the midst of the Cold War, and Gorbachev has been elected to power, bringing with him policies of glasnost and perestroika. However, resistance Soviet groups are opposed to the new wave and are refusing to serve the new regime in Moscow.

One group has taken control of an island community, and is using it as an armed stronghold for the old order. Operation Flashpoint: Elite opens with the player joining the neighboring U.S. force against the Soviets. Once past the mission briefing stage, it’s the player’s decision how the overall mission or campaign is tackled.

For the first time in such a military simulator, players control and command soldiers and squads of all levels in more than 40 authentic land, sea and air vehicles – both military and civilian. Players will control individual soldiers, command squads, drive tanks and troop carriers, pilot military helicopters and take on the role of a sniper.

This variety also allows players to experience a huge mixture of strategic action gameplay and, thanks to the artificial intelligence applied to the game’s infantry, they think, move and act as troops do in a conflict situation. The open environment of the game is massive, covering four 100+ Km2 battle zones, and players can go anywhere at anytime – they’re not limited to playing in mission-specific ‘walled’ areas – and anything can happen.

On Xbox Live, Operation Flashpoint: Elite brings conflicts alive with players engaged online in more than 50 multiplayer missions. Operation Flashpoint: Elite also features a user friendly Mission Editor. Accessed from the main menu, gamers simply enter map view, select an area and build up a situation using any of the troops, weapons and mobile units from the game.

Tons of bonus content can be unlocked in the game, including an additional 15-mission campaign called ‘Resistance’, which casts the player into the role of local resistance leader Viktor Troska and the forms prequel to the storyline of the main Cold War Crisis campaign.

Atmospheric and immersive, Operation Flashpoint: Elite works on so many levels thanks to its open, expansive environments and its run-the-mission-the-way-you-want gameplay. Prepare to experience war like never before on Xbox, when Operation Flashpoint: Elite is published in November by Codemasters. Join the Cold War online for more from the game’s website at www.codemasters.com/flashpoint 

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