1. StigHunter

   10

   I specifically signed up on metacritic just to submit this review. Red River is a significant improvement over Dragon Rising. I even reinstalled DR just to be sure. I DO miss the editor, but even that was not great in DR compared to ARMA 2. The movement and control of your people is much more accurate and just feels better then in DR where I feel like I'm walking around in mud. The re-playability is terrific and makes you want to try the different soldier classes just to be able to unlock more weapon options. The tracer ricochet effects are well done as are the echo effects of the guns firing. There are some annoyances however such as: you can't skip the long ingress or egress of the missions where you have to listen to Knox rambling about his 10 rules to live by while riding in the back of your transport, be it a chopper or truck. You CAN skip the campaign intro movies however. Another issue and perhaps the biggest in the game (yes even after the latest patch) is the trouble of your AI constantly walking in front of you while you are engaging the enemy. I wish the dev's would/could make it so that if you are aiming, the squad AI wouldn't move in front of you. They HAVE fixed the issue with your squad AI not taking cover when being attacked. At least it's significantly better then before the patch! I find the best option when playing with AI controlled squad-mates is to just tell them to hold position at a nearby wall or structure. That seems to keep them safe'ish and out of your way! The scenic vistas are well done as is the heat effect coming from the ground. Really makes it feel more believable. I even like the banter between the different company's: Alpha, Bravo (you), and Charlie. The real focus of the game is the multiplayer, in which case you don't have to worry about the issues I mentioned regarding the AI. If you want to take a break from the fairly lengthy campaign missions there are a number of Fire Team Engagements for you to test your skills in both single and multiplayer. Sometimes it's a nice change, and the missions for the most part are much shorter, but you can still level up you character! Almost every time I play the game I see something new that impresses me. You'll see enemies come to the aid of others who are down but not dead, and you're own squad mates will actually USE a grenade launcher if so equipped to take out a vehicle or whatnot. It's really quite impressive when you see them switch to their secondary weapon to clear a building if it's more appropriate. There are still some issues that need to be addressed, but for someone who likes an FPS with a modern combat focus this is a great option.… Expand

   • Helpful? 2 of 6 users said Yes.
2. PC-Gamer-Fan

   8

   Never played the other OpFlash games or BF/Arma series so cannot say how it compares to them. All I can say is that its a pretty solid squad based game which is highly playable in SP with 3AI squad mates but as with most games there are some very minor AI path glitches you just repeat the command again or move slightly or wait for the AI to sort itself out (which is does at all times). Its designed more around 3 Co-OP squad mates than SP anyway & all the MP is Co-Op based you just start a match & invite friends or let randoms join you decide how & can select plenty of other MP options to kick/host private matches etc etc.
   
   As a game this plays like a cross between: Ghost Recon & Rainbow Six Vegas but set in the Afghanistan hills/villages. No QTE's whatsoever in this game anywhere for once you the player get to chose what you do gameplay wise but there are set objectives for each mission & some need doing within a reasonable time limit (the ingame pace is slow/careful most of the time anyway). If you stray too far away from the mission area you get warned by text & the screen starts to distort giving you enough time to return otherwise you fail the mission. In each of the 10 Campaign missions you get a bunch of sub goals to achieve before it will be complete. Some missions take well over an hour to complete as well its all about squad tactics & the right weapon at the right time if you go in all guns blazing thats not always the best way to do this so unlike most recent games you actually have to use your brain a lot!!
   
   I would say it has at least twice the gameplay of Crysis2+CODBlack Ops combined!!! (not hard I know!! LOL).
   
   Ignore most mainstream reviews as well they were not paying attention especially all the BS about controls not working at all or units not responding duh that's because in some missions you cannot just call in air/ground support strikes from copters/planes/tanks/AA guns until you get the radio messages to say so its not like you have unlimited strike calls only in some missions & only when the time is right like you knocked out the ground AA so the jets can launch missiles etc etc. This is a game you have to pay attention in to hear the audio messages as it does not guide you on rails or hold your hand much (although it does generate ingame markers to the next objective).
   
   The gfx are reasonable. It uses the EGO engine again and is DX9 only. Plenty of graphical options to adjust (2 pages worth) but its very well made so runs a constant 60FPS @ 1920x1200 with max everything including x8MSAA. For some reason it only supports Trilinear x8AF & as with most recent PC games there are several low res console textures but they are not that noticeable & no worse than other recent games. The big thing about the gfx are the size of the battle field its absolutely massive (not quite Fallout3 but bigger than any other PC FPS I can think of) & there is zero ingame loading (even the between missions loading is minimal anyway).
   
   Audio is passable & the ingame troop banter is full of swear words especially Sgt Knox (played by the actor Al Matthews who played the squad sgt in the movie Aliens in 1986!!! he is also quite funny & well OTT. The tone of the game is Team America vs Insurgents!
   
   Controls are pretty flawless. Keyboard + Mouse are fully configurable it also supports both the wired/wireless X360 controller. There was a day 1 patch (takes less than 2 mins to update/download) which fixes some very minor issues.
   
   There are several menus for customising your character class & other game aspects like ingame menus/positions etc etc. If you play it on hardcore you get no ingame onscreen menus at all so need a good memory for all the commands but will struggle to survive unless you have 3 decent human Co-Op players. It obviously uses GFWL for LIVE achievements/Co-Op but thats pretty seamless nowadays just make sure your using an online profile & your good to go for Co-Op.
   
   Not the best game ever made by far but also not the worse & pretty solid & bugs/glitches are very very low & unusually for a 2011 PC game you have to think for yourself & not just hit a single button to progress! I would give it 7.5/10 overall if it had ultra high res textures then perhaps a little more but you do not notice the low res ones that much anyway.… Expand

   • Helpful? 2 of 6 users said Yes.
3. j4xkc

   6

   Unlike some, I have no affiliation or bias to any developer, I tried this game at a friends house, playing for 6 hours which I consider fair to post comment. (PC version). It's got elements that make other games rethink their approach and it's got elements that are totally wrong. Cm claim open world, squad based coop play, also this is available on all platforms unlike other games that are not cross platform.
   
   Over complex? NO in fact it's too simple, the game modes are restricted to coop only NO PvP, the control is good but the AI are average on both your side & the enemies. Cm focused on authenticity & look (as claimed by themselves in YT videos), but this is flawed because the mechanics of the game has problems, primarily due to the game engine itself restricting key elements that are needed for this type of game (tether free & long draw distances). The players are still locked into a prehistoric distance tether which means your squad are limited to the distance they can move from each other (game engine restriction). The look is good and scores well but games are not all about looks, Cm seem to think they are but they forget, games are about function, the ability to do what they claim and RR falls down on many occasions with this problem.
   
   Overall I rated RR 6/10 simply because it was entertaining/ fun, it looked good and it does function well most of the time, but it is also frustrating with average/poor AI (no replacement for real players), bugs in some basic controls and restrictive play (funnelled) although Cm claim open world by their definition.
   
   OFP 3 RR is worth a buy when it hits bargain bucket but not at full price.
   
   They need to focus on throwing out the restrictive play and make the game feel more open. Cm don't listen to their community much as they have been saying for along time, make it open world, make it tether free, make it PvP, Cm did the exact opposite, still on console there is nothing close.… Expand

   • Helpful? 8 of 9 users said Yes.
4. Gibsmoker

   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, 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

   • Helpful? 11 of 12 users said Yes.

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