From there, you're introduced to a training camp to learn the basics-a feature that was noticeably absent from Dragon Rising, which just dumped you straight onto the battlefield. The history lesson is delivered using a mix of kinetic typography, video footage, and vivid iconography, including one shot where someone urinates on a bowl of cornflakes. You're assigned to a training camp on the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, where Staff Sergeant Damien Knox introduces you to the former country's chequered history. While one of Codemasters' key aims is to make Red River realistic, there's also a great deal of humour to the proceedings, as we found out during the game's opening animation. Codemasters found that in the real world, the newest or youngest member of a team will be given the task of carrying the biggest, heaviest gun, almost as a rite of passage, which is reflected in the game. For example, the auto rifleman is the newest member of the squad, so he's physically the least muscular of the team. Each character also has his own distinctive look, based on extensive research by Codemasters into real-life Marines. Thankfully, you can reset your allocated points at any time, so if your setup isn't working, you can restart from scratch at any time. Core skill points can then be spent in six key areas-sprint, endurance, battle readiness, assault rifle handling, assault rifle training, and tactical awareness. Performance criteria include mission-completion time and whether you complete secondary objectives, which are added together to form an overall gold, silver, or bronze medal. In addition to experience points, you're awarded with core skill points, depending on how you perform in each mission. The classes that you level up also enjoy the benefit of your experience even when controlled by the AI, so your teammates will get stronger as you spend more time playing in the different roles. As you play as each class, you earn experience points in every game mode, which can be spent on weapon upgrades and perks, the latter including extracurricular training, such as assault or the ability to rapidly recover. This is why the four character classes are designed to complement each other in a way that should create the perfect unit of marines, with the scout, grenadier, rifleman, and auto rifleman all having their own strengths and weaknesses. 'Red River is completely geared around co-op,' he said as he introduced the game to us. Our co-op buddy for the day was Tim Browne, the game's principal designer.

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Operation flashpoint red river gameplay