Bruce Von Stiers

Hot on the heels of their combat sim, Operation Flashpoint, Codemasters has released an expansion pack for the game. The title of this expansion pack is Operation Flashpoint: Resistance. It is a welcomed addition to an immensely popular war game.

The storyline for this expansion pack is pretty interesting. A man named Victor Troska is living on the island of Nogovna after spending years as a Special Forces soldier. His life is fairly peaceful until a military force invades the island. Now Victor has to lead a group of people in a militia action.

The game has three modes of play. There is the Campaign mode, Single player missions and a multiplayer option. The game provides a brand new 20 mission campaign. There are also 5 new single player missions.

As this is an expansion pack, you will have to have a copy of the original game, Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis in order to play this new one.

Some of the added features in this expansion pack are the ability to scavenge weapons from enemy soldiers and you are able to bring your weapons and equipment forward from one mission to the next. That makes it real handy if you happen to accumulate a bunch of nice toys that will give a nasty surprise to the invading forces. There are also a bunch of new maps and some enhancements to the GameSpy multiplayer connection.

Playing as Victor, you will lead your troops into excursions. At times you won’t be doing much more than directing your men in their fighting. Other times, your character will be wading in hip-deep. Switch between an overhead command view and a first person view of the action.

The graphics have been beefed up here as well. There are new hi-res character and texture details. The foliage and landscape is somewhat sharper than before. The landscapes have been smoothed out somewhat, making them less blocky. The faces of the characters have a more realistic look to them.

This expansion pack is well worth getting. There are enough missions to substantiate it and the graphics are a lot better than before. The added elements like scavenging and carrying over weapons has a definite impact on how the game can be played. The multiplayer options have been enhanced and you now have more weapons and vehicles to choose from.

Operation Flashpoint: Resistance is available at stores like Best Buy, Electronics Boutique and Circuit City.

For more information about the game, visit the Codemasters web site at www.codemastersusa.com.