I consider Operation Flashpoint one of the best first-person war simulators ever.
But I am not current on every new war game out there so I need your help. Is there a newer game that is as good as (or better than) Operation Flashpoint?
I also have Ghost Recon, but I never bothered to install it. Is it any good?
Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising is the closest I’ve seen to OFP. It’s not a hardcore sim and it’s really multiplayer only, but it’s still a lot of fun.
For single player, I think Call of Duty might be your best bet, though it’s really just a rail shooter.
I’ve not seen any game with the open-ended complexity of OFP, though. That one is going to be tough to beat, especially for the single player campaigns. You may just have to wait for OFP2…
EZ
Call of Duty. By far. I just got the ‘United Offensive’ expansion pack, and it’s just fantastic. The level of immersion and detail in this game is astounding.
Call of Duty is quite amazing. I loved the beginning of your career as a Russian in Stalingrad, what an amazingly cool sequence. But I dunno if I would rate it too highly as far as a ‘war simulator’, due to the scripted nature of the missions and whatnot.
Operation Flashpoint is probably still the best (flight sim portions aside), and there is a healthy community out there cranking out the mods and keeping it interesting. OFP2 is still a ways off, though.
Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising is great. While I do have some quibbles with the game (only 4 60mm mortar rounds? I know why did they this, but it still cheeses me. Also, I’d like to see a larger selection of weapons, such as the FAMAS and whatnot), it is a great game, with wonderful graphics and sound, lots of play options (sneaky sniper? Grenadier? Medic? Air Defense?). Bit of a system hog, if you want the eye candy turned on, and some of the island maps are somewhat tedious, but I love this game. I play it more than OFP, and will probably do so until OFP2 comes out.
My biggest problem with Ghost Recon, and any of that series of games, is the ‘death pod’ AI. Doesn’t matter if the AI enemy has nothing but a measly pistol, he will bean your ass from 200 meters if he sees you. The engine works well in the Rainbox 6 series, IMO, because of the closer ranges, but Ghost Recon just didn’t grab my attention.
Stay away from Soldner like the plague; It’s a neat concept, poorly impemented.
Dang, I gotta spark up some OFP now…
P.S.
America’s Army. It’s free and it’s good; what more could you want? I don’t play it much because IL2 Sturmovik and Hearts of Iron take up most of my game time, but it is a neat game. Well worth the download, if you are on broadband.
Thanks! I have Americas Army, but I’m stuck in one of the training missions where you are unarmed and have to go through an enemy camp unnoticed. Really tough sequence.
Have lots of free time (it took a long time for me to get through), and stay prone. They can get suprisingly close, but as long as you aren’t moving and are prone (stay near bushes as much as possible, but not in them, because the noise will give you away), you can do it.
I have to go through it again, I think. I finished all my training, qualified ‘Expert’, did the Sniper course, medic course, Special Forces, etc, but then I had to reload my machine. Dunno if the online profile keeps that info or not…
Ghost Recon is by far my favorite FPS. It is very realistic and the squad controls are very good. You cannot just run around guns blazing in that game and expect to win.
Great game.
GR 2 is coming out shortly though. Yeah!