Right now, modern combat simulators don’t come better than Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. Straddling that golden middle ground between uncompromising hardcore realism and fun accessibility, Codemasters has struck an excellent balance to create a challenging and entertaining war simulator.

Set in the not so distant future, you assume the role of a US soldier in a conflict between the Russians and the Chinese; two superpowers battling for ownership of a small island called Skira. With the global energy crisis reaching boiling point, the Chinese have invaded after overhearing rumours of untapped oil deposits, leading the Russians to call in the Americans to help them. So ensues an epic conflict between the superpowers as you and your team, along with the rest of the US army, attempts to wrestle the island back from Chinese occupation.

Visually, Dragon Rising is exponentially superior to the graphically dated and ultra hardcore ArmA II. Whipping out a pair of binoculars and panning across the rolling landscape reveals hills, trees, villages and rumbling armour that kicks up plumes of dust. In the distance, you can spy other strike teams battling the enemy while Gunships buzz through the air. This is a warzone that feels truly authentic, one which becomes even more believable and visceral the closer you get to the action.

Further enhancing the sense of place is some top quality audio that truly brings the world around you to life. Run for too long and you start sucking air with increasingly hungry gulps, go prone and you can hear the crickets in the swishing grass and the distant boom of anti-aircraft fire. Even the menu screen soundtrack is majestic, melding orchestral pomp with captivating oriental themes.

Each mission is an open world, free for you to explore and dotted with enemy patrols and armour columns. How you approach each objective is completely up to you, though helpful markers show you where to go if you’re lost. Rarely are you left wondering what you should be doing next, though newcomers may find the opening few levels a struggle due to the baffling omission of a standalone tutorial to teach you combat and squad control basics.

Issuing orders to your three sidekicks is simple thanks to a brilliant context-sensitive radial menu that’s accessed with the ‘Q’ button and navigated with the WASD keys. And while your first few attempts at directing your squad are likely to be rather cack-handed, within an hour you’ll find yourself firing off orders as though you’ve been doing it your entire life.

Whereas in the past the Operation Flashpoint series, and more recently ArmA II, have been compromised by their iffy AI, Dragon Rising breaks the mould by, for the most part, possessing some genuinely smart sidekicks and enemies. Despite a few instances of foes standing slack jawed and immobile as you walk up to them and pop out their eyeballs with a well placed salvo, hostile and friendly AI is generally sharp and more importantly, believable.

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