Sept 26, 2007

The year isn’t 1985 any more. The time is now. The place is an island, rich in oil, off the coast of Russia and Japan, of contested ownership between the Ex-Soviets and China. Supporting commercial interests are American Marines, who face an invasion. You’re part of a Rapid Reaction Task Force, trying to stop this flashpoint turning nuclear-hot.

The background to this sequel of famed soldier sim Op Flash is even more complicated than the plot. Since the sequel isn’t coming from the team that made the original (those guys are busy over at Bohemia making Armed Assault 2, the “spiritual sequel” to Op Flash), fans will have to trust Codemasters to stay true to the game. It’s worth remembering that Codemasters’ contribution to the creation of Flashpoint has often been overlooked in the past. They’re not just publishers; they’re a formidable design team, and Flashpoint 2 is their biggest game ever. “Over the years we kept talking about this game, where we wanted to take it, and the things we wanted to do,” says Brand Manager Andy Wafer. “It’s only really been in the last couple of years that we were confident of meeting that bar, in terms of the technology and the scope we wanted to include.”

We’re talking about an enormous game, set on 220 square kilometers of highly detailed war zone, with over 50 infantry weapons alone, plus all the vehicles we’ve come to expect from a Flashpoint game. And these vehicles are a huge step forward from what we’ve seen, building on the technology developed for recent racer DiRT.