Operation Flashpoint: Red River

 PC
User Score
4.9

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 115 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 115
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 115
  3. Negative: 54 out of 115
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  1. Gibsmoker
    Apr 26, 2011
    2
    Red River gives the illusion of a sandbox environment, but is no more than a corridoor shooter...You are channeled on a set path to complete the mission, step outside the invisible circle of death and your history...With Vehicles being completely removed, you do get to ride in the back of a jeep but have no controll over your character...These taxi journeys do run for a very long time,Red River gives the illusion of a sandbox environment, but is no more than a corridoor shooter...You are channeled on a set path to complete the mission, step outside the invisible circle of death and your history...With Vehicles being completely removed, you do get to ride in the back of a jeep but have no controll over your character...These taxi journeys do run for a very long time, combine that with the awefull voice acting and OTT foul language, by the end of the journey the first bullet you fire is the one you aim at your own head...Totally linear and very generic gameplay, average looking graphics and a healing system that comprises of you holding a school satchel infront of your face...Pretty much impossible to die, even headshots that explode your brain are fixable by the magic bag of tricks...Realistic NO, simulation NO, sandbox NO, Freedom absolutely NOT...All these attributes that made the original fantastic have been stripped to the bare bones, so what your left with is a totaly linear shooter with vast backdrops and a pretty skybox... very dissapointing… Expand
  2. Incorruptible
    Apr 29, 2011
    0
    Not only have Codemasters failed to address the evils of Dragon Rising, they have added in new problems - friendly AI on castor wheels who don't stay where you want them (and have a habit of shimmying through your firelane); terribly long, expletive ridden and highly boring diatribes by your Staff Sgt (who seems to mysteriously wield the same kind of authority as a platoon commanderNot only have Codemasters failed to address the evils of Dragon Rising, they have added in new problems - friendly AI on castor wheels who don't stay where you want them (and have a habit of shimmying through your firelane); terribly long, expletive ridden and highly boring diatribes by your Staff Sgt (who seems to mysteriously wield the same kind of authority as a platoon commander without the commission); and graphics that were last seem in UT '04.

    Not only this, but the lack of PvP and cookie-cutter scenarios will wear out quickly, and with little to no ability to mod the game, Codemasters has aimed lower and still failed to hit the mark. Avoid like the bubonic plague.    … Expand
  3. MAZMATT
    Apr 30, 2011
    1
    Disappointing. In fact, why does CM bother if it can't produce a game that is at least equal to other corridor shooters out there? It is a shame we can't get our money back any more as this is definitely a game to be thrown back to the keeper
  4. ODB_Mongoose
    Apr 27, 2011
    3
    Gave it second chance after being hugely disappointed by Dragon Rising.
    Hasn't changed much - very restrictive gameplay - and cant drive all vehicles.
    This game is dated by release

    Back to Arma
  5. eblevinda
    Apr 26, 2011
    4
    This game has Operation Flashpoint in the title I expected more, do not be confused with what it says on the box this is no open world game, it's very much a corridor shooter along the lines of COD without the special effects and scripting. and where on earth did they get the scripts from for Knox, the language is beyond a joke, constant shouting and swearing and not in a way that adds toThis game has Operation Flashpoint in the title I expected more, do not be confused with what it says on the box this is no open world game, it's very much a corridor shooter along the lines of COD without the special effects and scripting. and where on earth did they get the scripts from for Knox, the language is beyond a joke, constant shouting and swearing and not in a way that adds to the game.

    I had high hope for this game and i've been let down.    … Expand
  6. Zipper5
    Apr 26, 2011
    0
    My brother bought the PS3 version of this game, so I got to play it. Perhaps I should be posting this in the PS3 page for the game, but since there is 0 difference across the versions apart from a video options menu in the PC version, it doesn't make much of a difference.

    I'll preface by saying I'm a major fan of the creators of Operation Flashpoint, Bohemia Interactive, and I've played    My brother bought the PS3 version of this game, so I got to play it. Perhaps I should be posting this in the PS3 page for the game, but since there is 0 difference across the versions apart from a video options menu in the PC version, it doesn't make much of a difference.

    I'll preface by saying I'm a major fan of the creators of Operation Flashpoint, Bohemia Interactive, and I've played all of their games up until now with the most recent release being the DLC for Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead entitled Private Military Company. I will also say that I played Codemasters' previous OFP title, Dragon Rising, and while I really disliked it, I did not dislike it anywhere near the level that I dislike this game.

    First off, the game isn't realistic by any medium outside of bullets having the potential to kill you in one hit. You have a magical healing bag that was indeed in DR before this, but you had a limit as to how many times you could use it back then. Essentially it's just regenerating health seen in many FPS games nowadays without being automatic. The command radial is significantly simplified from DR, allowing for only very basic and fewer commands to be given to your AI squad mates. CM called this game a tactical shooter, and that would be true if you're someone who considers a game like Call of Duty to be a tactical shooter, but a tactical shooter in my eyes is something along the lines of the original Ghost Recons and Rainbow Sixes.

    The gameplay itself is nothing short of average. You can sprint (what's funny here is that it's still largely unlimited, like DR. You'll never have to sprint for as long as is needed to have the game force you to stop), you can quickly vault small fences, you have the aforementioned magical healing bag and simplified squad command system. There is little to no weapon sway and recoil, but a huge amount of dispersion from incoming fire, likely because the infamous "dispersion shield" programmed into DR remains in RR to make things easier. Your shots, however, are almost dead-on all the time. There is still no lean ability, no matter what platform you play it on.

    I won't go much into the campaign or the drivel that they've called a "story", because it's not worth doing so. In short, you're a badass Marine sent to badass Tajikistan under badass Sergeant McRacist, as PC Gamer aptly coined him, killing some horrible anti-freedom **** until there ain't none of them left. The writing in the game is so appauling that it gets to the point that you just can't help but laugh at it (and apparently the game's "Creative Director", Sion Lenton, who was the head-honcho for DR's development, wrote the script. So really, I'm not surprised here). Yeah, the campaign sucks and is ridiculously cliched.

    The AI are terrible, and this is coming from a guy well-experienced with difficult AI as a result of playing BIS' games. They do not follow your orders, they cannot hit anything, and they disregard all danger to come and sit immobilized to revive you if you go down. Playing the game in coop, a feature CM greatly pushed with this game, even with the "hardcore" mode on, is laughable if you have 3 other experienced players taking on these moronic AI opponents. The constant and repeating messages from headquarters will give you a headache, as will you and your allies shouting "Dead!" and "In the ground!" almost every time you kill an opponent. Finally, given how you have a waypoint every few feet when you're on a vehicle on a road, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the AI still can't recognize roads, just like they couldn't in DR.

    Also, the PC version has no mission editor and no mod support whatsoever this time around, even after the lacking-but-at-least-included presence of both in DR.

    In short, if you like wasting money average, nothing-special first person shooters that have so flooded today's market, then go ahead and buy Red River. Otherwise, don't waste your money. Taking out of the equation that CM are continuing to rape the OFP name and all it stands for, the game is even less decent than Dragon Rising before it, and that is certainly an accomplishment in my eyes.    … Expand
  7. JohnR
    Jun 12, 2011
    0
    This game has been out for a while now, and it is still not patched. It does not work with the Logitech G35 headset, and the long list of complaints about it on the CMS forums are being ignored by Codemasters. It is a mystery why they demonstrate good support for racing titles, but other styles of game are neglected, such as this one.
  8. WhiteRabbit
    Nov 29, 2011
    0
    I don't think points should be awarded for trying. This is probably the worst game I've ever played. In fact, that's probably it's one appeal. It's so terrible it's interesting to see just how bad it it. Though I was offered the game for free, the price does not justify the lost time it takes to see this games details spread over an obnoxiously long time. Clearly, there will be no sequel.
  9. Aussiebob
    Apr 26, 2011
    3
    I bought this game on day one after playing Dragon Rising and find that game somewhat fun, unfortunately so far Red River has been a let down for me, the draw distances and AI performances are not that good.

    This game has no PVP at all so what you are left with is very poor enemy AI who always spawn in the same places, you you attempt to move slight off the corridor where you need to    I bought this game on day one after playing Dragon Rising and find that game somewhat fun, unfortunately so far Red River has been a let down for me, the draw distances and AI performances are not that good.

    This game has no PVP at all so what you are left with is very poor enemy AI who always spawn in the same places, you you attempt to move slight off the corridor where you need to fighting you die, invisible walls of death spring to mind.

    Codemasters said they wanted to open the game up and make it more accessable, to do that they took away the ability to use APC/Tanks and Helicopters, reduced the tether limit, deleted the mission editor (Massive Mistake) and gave everyone an aimbot!

    All in all the game doesn't live up to the previous version, and you would really have to question the longevity of a game that has so few options.

    Lets all not forget Codemasters dropped support for Dragon Rising after 1 month! with DLC Red River will become boring fast and it doesn't bring anything fresh to the Market place.

    My advice await for BF3 and if you really need to get a copy of this game, get it for the PS3/Xbox360 in the bargin bin in about 2/3 months.

    Not happy Jan.    … Expand
  10. Redbackks
    Apr 26, 2011
    0
    DR was a great game even if the MP experience sucked because of the poor implementation of the netcode and no 'join in progress'.

    But wtf have they done! CM have deleted everything that was good in DR and taken it away for RR, total waste of money be warned you will be returning this game to the shop within two weeks if you buy it on console.

    The game is a souless mess.
  11. jazzif
    Jun 21, 2011
    2
    As soon as i was thrown into the game i was met by boring dialog and characters that couldn't spit out a sentence without swearing or saying something that just dulled the environment. I love Arma 2 and everything about it including the editor and REAL sandbox feel. Red River is vaporware so even if you do manage to play it without falling asleep there is no replay value other than theAs soon as i was thrown into the game i was met by boring dialog and characters that couldn't spit out a sentence without swearing or saying something that just dulled the environment. I love Arma 2 and everything about it including the editor and REAL sandbox feel. Red River is vaporware so even if you do manage to play it without falling asleep there is no replay value other than the lame skill system.

    It is all razzle dazzle as the graphics are pretty good but that's about all they seemed to care about with Red River. Bullet impacts aren't realistic though and ballistics are just a mess. This game is arcade through and through and corridor to the core. It is so corridor that most of the time you are riding in the back of a vehicle listening to useless banter by a character that just was boring. The AI walks out into the open and crosses firing lanes randomly, there is no cover system and objects that are shot simply explode into nothing instead of breaking apart. I shot a wagon object once and it just popped out of existence.

    So all in all this game was obviously rushed with no sense of imagination or invention. NOTHING is original other than its ability to quite possibly be the worst game I have every played in its genre. It is the first game i have ever bothered to take back for a refund and I will be very very cautious to ever purchase any other future titles.

    Once you make one amazing title and it sticks for years, why make Red River? Why not stick to what worked for you and continue building onto it? Save your money and time and buy pong or something because this title took a nose dive before the first package was opened.

    Jazzif
    Just some random gamer!    … Expand
  12. Simon1979
    Jun 28, 2011
    0
    Red river does not contain an editor, and the gameplay looks like to rename this game in Operation Flashpoint: Call of Duty Red River, i really don't like it, if i want to play an arcade i buy CoD or BF, for sure not ofp, i love military simulations this is the reason 'cause i buy these kind of game, dont like Red River like to i don't like CoD, my real rate is -10, very deluded
  13. Cyper
    Apr 23, 2012
    0
    I thought that Dragon Rising was the worst fake-sequel ever. Until I played Red River. Red River even makes dragon rising look good. Luckily - I did not buy the game and wasted my money again as with dragon rising.

    Operation Flashpoint: Red River removes everything that is associated with a flashpoint game; Realism, tactical combat, , non-linear levels, multiplayer, freedom, community    I thought that Dragon Rising was the worst fake-sequel ever. Until I played Red River. Red River even makes dragon rising look good. Luckily - I did not buy the game and wasted my money again as with dragon rising.

    Operation Flashpoint: Red River removes everything that is associated with a flashpoint game; Realism, tactical combat, , non-linear levels, multiplayer, freedom, community and modding. This is by far the worst game I have ever played, and as a sequel, its utterly disgusting. I hope people give me an apologize for not to writing anything more; this game barely deserves a review. If you have doubts, read other reviews, but most of all, play the game.

    If you wish to see all the lies told about this game by the devs check out RedRiverChannel on youtube.    … Expand
  14. FraserCDN
    Jun 8, 2011
    0
    This game is bad, buggy, game breaking bugs that make you restart the mission/ the game. I had to stop the single player because it was so broken/ horrible. Weapons sound like dragon rising. Not worth the money. Ill go back to ARMA2.
  15. Brand_ME
    Apr 27, 2011
    0
    Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising was a horrible game. And now we have a complete disaster - Operation Flashpoint: Red River. EPIC FAIL, dear Codemasters. You put Flashpoint title into a coffin.
  16. Masterblaster2
    Apr 26, 2011
    4
    not worthy of the Flashpoint name a step backwards from Dragon Rising (Which I still play!) the lack of mission editor was a massive mistake, lets hope CM at least give a few DLC's this time round
  17. Genome852
    Jun 16, 2011
    4
    The controls are very poor, and were clearly designed with consoles in mind. For example, looking around in a vehicle using the mouse is difficult as the camera constantly tries to revert to its default position (which makes sense if using an analog stick, but not with a mouse). There is also a substantial amount of mouse acceleration, making aiming extremely awkward and difficult. MenusThe controls are very poor, and were clearly designed with consoles in mind. For example, looking around in a vehicle using the mouse is difficult as the camera constantly tries to revert to its default position (which makes sense if using an analog stick, but not with a mouse). There is also a substantial amount of mouse acceleration, making aiming extremely awkward and difficult. Menus are clunky - console like - and are meant to be navigated using the arrow keys and enter instead of the mouse.

    Graphics-wise, the game is unimpressive, especially for a 2011 game. There is heavy pop-in of vegetation, low quality textures, and excessive amounts of blur.

    AI is dumb, especially your teammates which do practically nothing. They only come in handy when you get shot and need healing. The gameplay as actually quite linear, and not nearly as open-ended as it might seem. The large scale of enemy units in many cases can make for some entertaining shootouts, but by the end if actually felt much more like Call of Duty than a military simulator.    … Expand
  18. Xanifur
    Jul 7, 2011
    2
    Highly boring. Get this if you want a hiking simulator, because all you will be doing is running many miles along a road, killing waves of stupid AI enemies. Sure glad I didn't buy this. I had seriously low expectations from Code Masters since Dragon Rising, not surprisingly they lowered the bar yet again.
  19. Dethstar
    May 30, 2012
    2
    Got this game free with my Rampage IV motherboard so I thought I would give it a try. Registered it on steam no problem. But then..... OMG its another MS LIVE game. If I had noticed it I wouldnt have bothered with the download free or not. I buy a lot of games and rarely have an issue but for some reason, my every engagement with MS LIVE service is extremely poor.... But guessGot this game free with my Rampage IV motherboard so I thought I would give it a try. Registered it on steam no problem. But then..... OMG its another MS LIVE game. If I had noticed it I wouldnt have bothered with the download free or not. I buy a lot of games and rarely have an issue but for some reason, my every engagement with MS LIVE service is extremely poor.... But guess what!?........

    No, just kidding, this was terrible too. Firstly wont connect properly to live. Then gives me message about registration and will not register the CD key. Then wants me to open my security and change my router etc etc. Erm... No. Everything else I actually wanted works fine and I dont expect to make this much effort for one game. But I figure I better check out how awesome this game must be to justify lifting my skirts for MS LIVE to pry into my life. I guess I am not missing anything I tried to play this for a short while but it feels very old indeed. Boring tired take on a genre with many many better choices. Burden something like this with MS LIVE and you cant even give it away.> Seriously, I deleted it already. Agree with PC format on the intro...    … Expand
  20. lastfox
    Sep 26, 2018
    4
    As someone who enjoyed even the 'maligned' predecessor, this was more of a letdown.
    I liked the change of environment, it's too bad that it's never used to create a different experience like Dragon Rising.
    Unfortunately the campaign is very short (they get shorter with every game). The levels feel too repetitive because three of them play in the same area. They didn't make much use of    As someone who enjoyed even the 'maligned' predecessor, this was more of a letdown.
    I liked the change of environment, it's too bad that it's never used to create a different experience like Dragon Rising.
    Unfortunately the campaign is very short (they get shorter with every game). The levels feel too repetitive because three of them play in the same area. They didn't make much use of the geography. The game just ends on a whimper, with no feeling towards a big endgame or something important. Seriously the last level in this would have been a side mission or a mod in the old OPF.
    Most missions also consist of defending a base. There's very little in terms of dynamic gameplay or improvising on the spot.
    The whole thing felt too scripted, starting with the annoying banter between the sergeant and the soldiers. It's eye-rolling in the beginning and gets almost unbearable after the third chapter. That there is no option to either cut it short or to speed up time like in the predecessors. That is a huge factor why I don't like replaying this game.

    I know that OPF's priorities never were about story or story-telling, which in my opinion is a good thing, especially nowadays where the market is flooded with games who have only story and zero gameplay. But the story shouldn't become bro-talk like Call of Duty and have some sense of urgency.
    The command menu is altered to a detriment, it never felt intuitive and till the end I had to struggle with it, in retrospect I barely used it and always told my soldiers to follow me.
    Another flaw is the aiming and shooting which was pretty damn good on the previous game. Here they kind of changed it for no apparent reason. It's also annoying when enemies keep running at you even when you keep unloading, I thought we left this stuff behind in the 90's.

    It's a shame. This game had potential with the right level design and better controls.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 25
  3. Negative: 2 out of 25
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 20, 2011
    78
    Neither Flashpoint nor as bad as some say. It is fairly entertaining but surprisingly unambitious milsim light. [May 2011]
  2. GamingExcellence
    Jul 7, 2011
    50
    If you are into shooters, then there are definitely better titles than this one. Operation Flashpoint: Red River suffers from slow pacing and too much time not even taking part in firefights. It deals more with having you playing Nurse Nightingale healing yourself and your team than a death-dealing marine. If that sounds like your idea of a good time, then go nuts.
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  3. Gamer.no
    Jun 23, 2011
    70
    Operation Flashpoint: Red River manages to establish the franchise between the traditional adrenaline-based Call of Duties and the simulation-based gameplay from the Armed Assault series. It´s at its best as a co-op tactical shooter, and could have gained even more ground on its rivals with better visuals, a slightly improved AI and more variation in the level design.
    Read full review
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