I soon became a bif fan of the SAW Machine Gun.  It feels and behaves like its real-life counterpart, featuring brutal recoil. You may not always hit your target but laying down covering fire while your team flanks the enemy makes is very satisfying. Some weapons come with alternative fire modes (like the under-slung grenade launcher) and it's simply a matter of holding the X Button to change your ammo type. Whereas many feared the joypad would be restrictive, Codemasters has mapped the controls well. 

And as far as the attention to detail is concerned, it doesn't just stop at the reloading and weight of the weapons.  Sounds change depending on where they are coming from - fire a grenade launcher a few hundred yards ahead of you and expect the sound to take a bit longer to come back. 

However, what really impressed about Dragon Rising is the EGO engine. Draw distances of over 30km produce staggeringly beautiful vistas with minimal pop-in. In any mission you are free to explore the whole 220 km square map although don't expect to go running to the other side in a couple of minutes as Codemasters told us that it will take you over nine and a half hours to run from corner-to-corner.

The co-op game plays out exactly the same as the single player mode -  the same maps and objectives are given to you, but all four members of your squad can be controlled by individual players. This allows you to choose your role in the squad and after deciding to be team leader once more I found that you lose your radial command menu. This is when team chat becomes essential to plan assaults and spot enemies. You'll also need team-members who understand the realistic nature of the game - all it takes is one John Rambo who thinks he can take the whole Chinese army and you'll be over-run with enemies. 

From what we've seen so far, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising feels like an authentic sequel to the original. The game isn't forgiving, I cant stress enough that one ill fated shot and you will die, and while you get to grips with realising that you need to use cover and tactics to succeed you will find yourself more than likely having to restart over and over again. However once you get involved and learn the basic concept of Op Flash, you'll find yourself drawn into the atmosphere.

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