Operation Flashpoint: Hardcore And Vehicular

(Which is a much better subtitle than Dragon Rising, I think.) Following up on my interview with producer Sion Lenton from last week, I thought I'd better catch up on the Operation Flashpoint 2 footage. The first piece is particularly illustrative of the sort of thing Lenton was talking about, as it shows off "hardcore mode", in which the game removes all HUD elements and player assists to create a rather more realistic and demanding experience. I spent some time reading up on this over the weekend, and I'm wonder if the game will come as more of a surprise to console players than PC players. We are, after all, getting used to the notion of an open world FPS, where the linear or the multiplayer-map are still the most explored. I'm seeing lots of mentions of Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield with reference to Operation Flashpoint, which, of course, aren't really relevant to how the game will play out. Also, I suspect - as Kieron mentioned the other day - both this and ArmA are being introduced to a modern audience that never played the original Operation Flashpoint, and has little idea what to expect. Anyway, three videos of the game in motion sit beneath the click.