Metacritic Games

Operation Flashpoint: Elite (Xbox)

For the first time in an action game, the player controls and commands not just soldiers and squads of all levels but also land, sea and air vehicles – both military and civilian - from cars, to APCs, to tanks and even military helicopters. 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 neighbouring US force against the Soviets. Additionally, a prequel campaign titled Resistance, set years before Operation Flashpoint's Cold War Crisis, has been added. Resistance creates an additional 100km2 island and casts the player as Victor Troska, an experienced ex-Special Forces soldier forced to lead the ramshackle Resistance effort against the Soviets before the invasion of the Malden Islands. [Codemasters]

Codemasters
First-Person Shooter, Action
Players: Multi
M (Mature)
Developer: Bohemia Interactive
Released November 8, 2005

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

64 / 100

Critic Reviews

92 Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
A few minute irritations can't prevent us from declaring this to be nigh-on perfection. Good price too. [Xbox World 360]
91 BonusStage
The solid single player game is long and demanding, the multiplayer offers more depth than what’s available currently over Xbox Live and the mission editor allows for endless creative opportunities.
90 Xbox World Australia
It is an unsurpassed military simulator with the kind of refined controls and gameplay that only comes from years of productive development time.
90 Boomtown
It's been an utter delight to play the game again, especially as the conversion to Xbox has been handled so well. No self-respecting Xbox Live player should be without this game.
87 Pelit (Finland)
Looks dated, but offers unprecedented freedom on the battlefield. The combat is fabulously realistic as are the environments. Minor problems and a handful of bugs creep up every now and again. [Nov 2005]
80 Total Video Games
Despite the fact Operation Flashpoint is over four years old it still remains fresh to this day. The game packs depth, authenticity and immersion in place of traditional gaming elements such as fun, leaving a simulation of war that’s deliberately different to others out there.
80 Electronic Gaming Monthly
If you're looking for your next "Halo" fix, make no mistake, you will hate this game. But if you're looking for something different and challenging, Flashpoint is it. [Jan 2006, p.124]
80 Computer and Video Games
One of the most engrossing, realistic and downright challenging squad-based shooters on the Xbox, and if you've ever wanted to know what real war is like - but don't fancy running the risk of having your intestines shot out - it's by far your best, and safest, bet.
80 Computer Games Magazine
Mirrors its PC version so closely that you could own just one version without missing much. [Feb 2006, p.88]
75 Official Xbox Magazine
Hardcore realism and all kinds of cool real-world weapons and vehicles. [Holiday 2005, p.83]
75 Electric Playground
While this game's lackluster graphics will turn off most gamers, there is a deep military simulator underneath.
70 Worth Playing
On purpose or not, it’s that unbalancing sensation of being a bit lost and of being put in jeopardy by superpower machinations you don’t quite understand, that makes Operation Flashpoint: Elite worth a sliver of attention despite its age.
70 Eurogamer
It may test your levels of forgiveness, and stretch the boundaries of your patience, but if you want a game that delivers something close to the unforgiving challenge, tension and confusion of real warfare, then give it a try.
63 TeamXbox
Very slow moving and occasionally frustrating is the best way to describe the gameplay in Operation Flashpoint. The vehicles feel entirely too clunky and hurt the otherwise functional gameplay.
60 GameSpy
It would be best to describe Operation Flashpoint: Elite as a simulation instead of as a game, since the essential elements of video games have been overlooked in this PC to console release.
60 GameZone
Operation Flashpoint: Elite doesn’t rise above its various imperfects nor will it satisfy even the most hardcore shooter fans looking for a good shooter fix.
60 G4 TV
So it ain’t pretty, and it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But Operation Flashpoint: Elite is still a fairly compelling military sim.
57 Next Level Gaming
A sad excuse for a clone of the decent PC shooter that bares the same name that came out long before this title.
54 GameSpot
Almost a straight port of the original 2001 PC game, complete with a now-ugly graphics engine and sound effects that are completely primitive by today's standards. The game simply hasn't held up over time.
50 Game Informer
It's a pretty loaded disc, but how much do you want to eat at a buffet where everything tastes like crap? [Feb 2006, p.109]
50 IGN
The Resistance campaign and Xbox Live aren't enough to breathe life into this game. It's time for a true sequel.
50 Digital Entertainment News
Maybe for the casual gamer who likes to spend their Saturday mornings doing firearms drills on the front lawn.
40 Play Magazine
An extended session with Misters Been There Done That. [Dec 2005, p.66]
25 Game Revolution
Operation Flashpoint: Elite is simply an old, crippled vet that should have been left to its episodes of Judge Judy and servings of lime Jell-O in the gaming retirement home.

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