THE RED DRAGON

Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising Review

2009-10-11T10:24:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the review of Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising
Flashpoint is a tactical shooter that attempts to bring you as close to feeling like your in a war as possible. It’s clear that the developers have set out with many ambitions with this game.

When I first started playing I immediately thought about Old Ghost Recon – Fans of OGR will probably like what codemasters have done with flashpoint. Battles usually take place over long distances and you will be paying attention to tracer fire while you try and figure out where you’re being hit from. This is not a run and gun game – If you run in John Rambo style you will leave in John Kennedy style.

The game takes place on an island off the coast of Russia. It has been built to simulate actual size – and let me tell you..it is huge. This landscape lets you decide how you wish to approach each mission and plan your attack.

The Goods –

*11 Campaign maps that can sometimes take over an hour each to play leaves plenty of game time to be had.

*From a distance the landscape looks amazing. The game features a day night cycle which is beautiful.

*The developers did a great job with making you feel like a very small force trying to survive in a foreign land with enemies surrounding you that could be anywhere. I find myself hitting the deck at the least little sound. While playing last night someone on a motorcycle pulled into my apartment complex – I started freaking out because I thought the enemy had a jeep rolling in behind us.

*Just the right amount of action and non action. Does a good job of keeping you entertained
with something to do.

*Weapons feel good – Bullet drop has been implemented and recoil feels right.

*As Squad leader you have at your disposal a nice variety of commands you can issue to your soldiers. And the tactical map is extremely useful both on campaign and multiplayer. It can get frustrating sometimes because you are unable to move while issuing commands. So you can get the feeling that you are babysitting everyone. Hotkeys and Voice Commands would have been a nice addition.

*Damage – Depending on where you hit your enemy determines what type of damage you do. Solid headshot = instakill. Bullet to legs will keep you from running and so forth. Once you take damage you must stop the bleeding or you will die from bleeding out. A medic however can come cure any problem with the unlimited doses of shots he can come and prick you with.
The Bad –

*While the night/day cycle is gorgeous and the landscape looks nice at a distance – upon closer inspection the graphics are on par with Old Ghost Recon which was released several years ago. Explosions, water, and foliage are subpar for what a game should look like in 2009 from a major developer.

*From what I’ve witnessed there are no cut scenes in between campaign levels. This makes the presentation very bland. And the Chinese guy who is choking on a chicken during the menu music can eventually cause perfuse bleeding of the ears and loss of your mind.

*AI – While they follow your orders they have many moments of “Oh my God, What are you doing you moron?” On Several occasions I have issued commands to a soldier to get behind a wall. Instead of going to the inside of the wall they would mount up on the outside of the wall closest to the enemy so that they would become easy targets. No matter how many times I would try to give the order over -= the outcome was the same. When they do take cover on the right side, many times the AI will stand straight up. I was prone behind a wall with blood from my AI blowing on my face, I look up and he’s screaming “ I’m taking Shots!!” “I’m Okay” Well after the 10th bullet he wasn’t okay – he was dead. The AI also has issues many times with “Path finding.” By that I mean when given a order to move somewhere they are unable to find the right path to move to that location. Occasionally a big bad bush will be in the way and they spend 10 min going from the right side to the left side of the bush.

*Hit detection – for the most part the bullets hit right. Occasionally you run into the “God Mode” opponent that no matter how much blood you see fly from him refuses to die.

*Vehicles – Handle horribly: For a team that creates racing games I was really surprised by how bad it is. While I realize that humvees handle differently – I do know they don’t drive like they are on black ice and bounce off of trees or get hung up on rocks that are ½ a foot tall.

*Bugs – The game is sadly riddled with bugs and glitches – Becoming stuck and unable to move, spawning with no scope for your weapon, Multiplayer servers unable to find any rooms unless you refresh 4 times in a row……there are several more that many players are having issues with a lot more than they should. Servers and such can be patched and hopefully they will be. Most games do ship with issues, but flashpoint does seem to have more than most games I’ve played in a long time.

Overall: I feel Operation Flashpoint could have been a GREAT game. Everything is there for it to become a huge success. I feel that the developers had too many areas they were trying to address – and instead of getting everything right – they lumped it all together and made everything mediocre. I would have rather seen a map half the size with twice the level of detail in graphics and programming.

Where the game definitely shines is playing Coop with your friends or some random players who purchased a mic and know how to communicate. You can play through the campaign on coop and leave your friendly AI at the door. I’ve really enjoyed this aspect of the game. Multiplayer is pretty fun, but is in dire need of more maps which are said to be coming soon. On PC multiplayer is 32 players while on console it’s limited to 4v4 which is a real drag. For a game based on realism id rather shoot real opponents.

I give Operation Flashpoint a 7/10 – If the developers can pan out the multitude of problems then I could then give it easily a 8/10

Battlefield 1943 Tactical Maps

2009-07-10T14:43:00.004-04:00

GUADALCANAL

IWO JIMA

WAKE ISLAND

Xbox 360 , PS3, PC, Dice, EA, Game

In Depth Look at the EFEC Faction

2009-06-30T18:43:00.011-04:00

Our Featured Commander was TG Oneshot for Episode 3 of
THE BARRACKS. He gives us an indepth look at the European Faction

TG Oneshot - Plays for Tactical Warfare which you can join at http://tw.tghq.org/

In the chart we have broken down the faction into 3 main catagories.

Speed - EFEC is given a rank 3 in Speed
Power - EFEC is given a rank 1 in Power
Range - EFEC is given a rank 1 in Range

UNITS

Command Vechicle - Because of the speed many EFEC players like to take their CV to the frontlines and use it as a meatshield. It is HIGHLY recommended that you DO NOT purchase Attack 1 for the Command Vechicle. This makes your drones fire lasers which is more powerful but dramatically reduces the Range at which they can fire. If your trying to kill a chopper for instance then you basically have to be located directly under them before your drones will shoot if you have the Attack 1 upgrade.

Gunships - European gunships are really nice because you get a special attack at Level 2. Many good players will use these to swoop in and throw down their special and then retreat. It's called a "Hit and Run Technique" Its much more effective with EFEC because they can retreat so quickly.
Artillery - The artillery sadly doesn't pack alot of punch. And lacks the range of the other factions. Be sure if your going to use artillery that you have it well protected. It can be taken out very swiftly.
Tanks - If theres one unit that stands out with their speed it's the tanks. They can travel almost as fast as transports do. So a good European player will always have a set of tanks on the field. The Vircator that is available at level 3 is a great special that will eliminate enemy shields, plus do a small amount of damage. If there are a group of enemies piled onto one another the splash will take away all their shields. Be careful though, because it will also remove the shields of friendlies if they are near the target.
Transports - If your looking to get your infantry from one end of the map to the other in a short time, these are the bad boys you'll be wanting. The Russians can only dream of the speed these guys deliver.
Infantry - The EFEC riflemen are extremely fast on their feet. It's possible on many maps to start out with a "Riflemen rush" to get an early lead on your enemy. Not always do you need a transport with these guys. The Engineers have 1 special abilities with their mines. 1. They have self healing mines - After an enemy rolls over them instead of blowing up they will recharge so they don't need replacing near as often. If it's too much action they will still blow up, or if an airstrike or artillery takes them out. Those moments are few and far between.

When using this faction, be sure to use your speed to your advantage. Get the game over with as fast as possible. You do not want to usually get into an armor fight with the JSF or Russia if you can avoid it.

A good general strategy that can be used is -2 tanks - transport - infantry to the middle of a map at the start.

I hope you enjoyed this episode. Be sure to Comment, Rate, And Subscribe.

Xbox 360 , Playstation 3, PC Gamers, Gaming Microsoft, Sony

Movie Magic - Creating your Own Green Screen

2009-06-23T11:52:00.007-04:00

Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a Green Screen, you can easily make your own with materials found at your local craft store or Wal-Mart.

Many videos demonstrate using Posterboard - You can do this but you have to be careful of the glare that most poster boards have. Its also a pain and a hassle to use this method and have to tape them together.

Others suggest using a Bed Sheet - I tried to find a pure green bed sheet, but could not find one that was reasonably priced. Most retailers don't carry pure green bed sheets because most familys do not want a pure green sheet in their house. They carry whats in style and the color we need isn't "In"

I found the best way to make your green screen is by using Fabric that can be cut by the Yard Its easy to find the color you need - Its inexpensive and fast.

I purchased 2 pieces that were 3 yards in length. Prices differ, but my local wal-mart had it for $1.97 a yard. The pieces are over a yard in width. I also purchased a produced called Heat N Bond from the fabric section. I used this to hold the pieces of fabric together. It worked very nicely. The Heat N bond was $1.86 and came with over 10 yards of the stuff.

The great thing about using this type fabric is if you decide you want to add more later on - its very easy to do and just head back to your local walmart and buy another piece. So wheither your looking to cover a large area or a small area this will work great.

The fabric is light and can be easily hung up and taken down. I have 2 very small nails holding mine up. If youve watched my video youll notice that the wall I have mine hanging on isnt flat. I have an overlaying shelf sticking out so the material isnt flush. So yours will probably look even better than mine.

You do not have to have a Green Screen. You can use any color but just remember you want a color thats as far away from your skin tone as possible. And also a color that you or whatevers being filmed isnt going to be or be wearing. If you do a search there are many great tutorials on proper lighting and how to do chromokeying. So I wont go into that type of detail

I hope this video helped you or gave you some idea as to how to make your very own greenscreen. Please leave a comment and Subscribe - Id appreciate it very much.

Camera - Sony HDR-UX10
Editing Software - Sony Vegas 9 Platinum Edition
Video Capture Device - Hava HD Titanium Wifi

Tactical Maps for Endwar - Xbox 360 , PS3 , PC

2009-06-17T10:14:00.008-04:00

Arrabida, Istra, Kurzeme,

Macgillycuddy, Pamlico

Bedford, Scania, Springfield

Brenner Pass, Chattanooga, Rondane

Carpathia, Glen Albyn, Shenandoah Valley, Thessaly

Copenhagen

Copenhagen Raid

Dukovany

Fort Campbell

Fort Campbell Raid

Fort Levski

Fort Levski Raid

Grissom AFB

Grissom AFB Raid

JFK Space Center

La Mancha

Le Ceito

Le Ceito Raid

Mahilyow, Okeyfenokee, Wilstermarsch

Matera

Maxwell

Maxwell Raid

Moscow

Moscow Siege

Paris

Paris Siege

Pascagoula, Rozenberg

Ramstein AFB

Ramstein AFB Raid

Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi Raid

Sevastopol

Sevastopol Raid

Three Mile Island

USS Reagan

USS Reagan Raid

Vlore

Washington DC

Washinton DC Siege

Advanced Tips and Strategies Part 2 Tom Clancys Endwar Xbox 360, PS3, PC

2009-06-16T18:50:00.006-04:00

Single Player - Hardcore

In this video we discussed ways to beat the AI in campaign mode on Hardcore.

When selecting territories view the description and choose territories that are on the "Frontline"
You can play the entire campaign and win by playing only "Conquest" maps
You can easily win "Conquest" maps by starting with a riflemen rush - focus on securing uplinks and deepstriking. Get the victory counter rolling and never stop taking Uplinks.
Force the AI to use the WMD by stacking 3 or so units together - Choppers are good units to use that can easily enter the arena and then evacuate if you dont need them.
Once the WMD is in your hands use it to defend against the AI stealing an Uplink
Be sure to save your game with each faction in different slots - Some people have encountered problems with unlocking the achievement for winning with all 3 factions. If you run into this problem you will need to "Clear your Cache" and then you will just need to replay the final mission with each faction from the "Saved" game you made.

To Clear your Xboxs Cache Memory -

Go to the system blade and select memory,press Y on the HDD and then press X,X,Left Bumper,Right Bumper,X,X and then say yes to the prompt. This will erase all updates for all games, but that isnt really a problem as updates generally take about 3 seconds to get. Do not format your drive though as this destroys all data.

Force Attack -

In this video I demonstrated "Force Attacking" which is directing your artillery to fire on a specific Target or Area.

To force attack double tap "A" quickly on the target or area you wish to attack while having your unit selected, or highlighted.
Very useful to use against Infantry in buildings, or in cover in the woods when you do not have a visual identification number for your artillery. Also great if an enemy is securing one of your uplinks - Voice comms will not allow you to attack a friendly uplink but Force attack will.

Engineers Restore Shields-

In this video I demonstrated how Veteran Engineers with the upgrade purchased can restore shields of Friendly units with Combat Support.

Engineers must be relatively close to the unit in order to restore their shield
You can use this support even if your inside a transport
EXTREMELY useful to support Artillery or riding in a convoy to protect Tanks that may be escorting your transport, or the transport itself.

Engineers are great to use against all types of Armor. They can lay sentries on uplinks and have the ability to lay landmines. When used correctly Engineers can deal a major blow to your enemy. Engineers should not be used to defend and uplink by themselves. Always rely on Riflemen to defend against enemy deepstrikes or enemy riflemen running in on an uplink.

Special Attack Timer-

In this video I demonstrated how after using a special attack or ability you can see a timer to know when your special attack or ability will come back. Simply target a unit or target and press "Y" to "act" as if your using the special attack or ability. You will then see a RED timer displayed which will show how many seconds you have until your special comes back.

Be sure to leave any comments or suggestions in the Comments area. Thanks!

Ubisoft Tom Clancy Endwar Xbox 36o Playstation 3 PS3 PC Games Gamer

THE BARRACKS Episode 2

2009-06-06T09:23:00.006-04:00

In the second installment of THE BARRACKS our Featured Commander was SpooN04. Creator and writer of the Spoon News that you see scrolling across the bottom of the show.

The first question Spoon was asked : What is the best way to utilize Combat Supports?

Airstrikes
Spoon suggests using Airstrikes to down artillery, kill off units, or defend uplinks. Spoon warns players of becoming to dependant on airstrikes and to only use them when necessary. Far too often players waste CP(Command Points) on calling in Airstrikes when they should use the CP to deploy units on the field. Remember that a Level 1 airstrike costs 4CP and will not down a full health unit. So therefore, your better off to call in a unit that can destroy your enemy. Its a much wiser use for Command Points. Airstrikes are useful with used correctly, but is also the reason why many players lose when they fail to use them correctly.

Electronic Warfare *EW*
All players should learn the importance of EW. Its a wonderful tool which can help you get an upperhand on a unit. One of the best uses for EW is to freeze a pesky gunship thats attacking your tank or artillery, until backup arrives. So it can be used in a defensive situation, but can also be used in an offensive situation. You can freeze an enemy transport thats near an opposing artillery piece to give you enough time to break the enemies artillery. Some of the more advanced players will use EW to blind the enemy while they sneak into an uplink, or to EMP incoming airstrikes. They can also be used to locate and destroy enemy minefields. EW is one of the most important and underrated upgrades in the game. And your game will improve tremendously once you learn to master its use. And the good thing about EW is you have access to it on EVERY map!

Force Recon *FR*
Force Recon is the most powerful upgrade there is in the game in my opinion, as well as Spoons. As with the other 2 Upgrades there are 3 levels to Force Recon. Spoon suggests only using a Level 2 FR. This gives you the most bang for your buck. A favorite trick is to set a rally point in an enemies spawn and send two Level 2 Force Recons to your enemies landing zone. It will destroy or weaken units as it drives to its destination, and is sure to deal a huge blow to whatever unit is deployed once it arrives.

The second question SpooN was asked, was how to approach a map where you have no supports but your Enemy has full supports?

The first thing you want to do when faced with this situation is press full steam ahead. Keep pressure on the enemy and whatever you do, don't sit back and "Turtle" down. When you sit back you give your enemy plenty of time to build up a force and retrieve points for his supports. Because your already at a disadvantage you don't want to give your opponent any more leeway then what they already have. It's a good idea to try to push towards the middle of the map and have your artillery pounding their uplinks. Once your opponents uplinks are gone, then both players are now on a level playing field. With JSF and Russia you want to use your brute force to keep your enemy occupied, and with Euros you want to be sure to move as swiftly as possible to put your enemy in Defcon.

We thank SpooN04 for coming on the show and answering these great questions. Be sure that if you have questions, you leave them in the comments section on the video. Maybe your question will be chosen by our next Featured Commander to be answered. Be sure you subscribe so you dont miss Episode 3 of THE BARRACKS!

THE BARRACKS Episode 1

2009-06-01T10:31:00.010-04:00

In the 1st Episode of THE BARRACKS, our Featured Commander was Corporal Bruno. He answers the question "What are the steps you should take when trying to develop a strategy for a map?"

Brunos Tips for forming a Strategy -

1.Study the map -
You can do this easily by going to skirmish mode. You want to evaluate the layout of the map, pay attention to what side youll be starting on, and the number of uplinks on that map.

You must remember that when your playing maps with an ODD number of uplinks, forcing defcon allows your opponent to "Crash" an uplink and tie the game back up.

So for instance on this map to the left - Green team would want to double-cap. Double-cap means to take two uplinks at the same time. That way if the enemy crashes an uplink, the victory timer will still be running. So for example, Green team would want to take Yankee and Delta at the same time.

On a map that has an EVEN number of uplinks, you only have to hold the uplinks that you already have secured after forcing defcon. So as you see to the left - Orange team has the majority of uplinks and has forced defcon. Since there are an EVEN number of uplinks, if Green team crashes an Orange uplink, Orange team will still have the victory timer counting down.

2.Opening Move -
The next thing youll want to consider is your starting deployments. This can vary depending on the map,game type, and Factions. You may want to rush towards the middle with armor, this gives you good balance and control of the center of the map. Its always a good idea to have a combat chain ie. tanks,transports, and riflemen. Or you may wish to push defcon early on in the game and think that a rifle-rush would be a better opening move i.e.3 - 4 riflemen and rush surrounding uplinks. This gives you a lot of command points early on which you can use to deepstrike or bring in some armor. The downside to this is that if you meet opposing armor head on, you will have nothing to protect you. There is no "perfect" opening move and it varies with each map, player, and opponent. Only you can decide whats the best move and strategy for YOU.

We thank Corporal Bruno for coming on the show and answering the question this Episode. And we thank Dire Dead Eye for sending us this question. Remember to subscribe so you dont miss any future episodes, rate, and leave us some comments. Thanks for watching, reading, and be on the lookout for Episode 2!

Finally Here..and more coming soon

2009-05-27T02:09:00.007-04:00

Finally tonight I finished up a project that ive been working on. Titled THE BARRACKS its a mini tv show where users can ask questions and have them answered by some of todays best commanders in the game Endwar. Its a way for you to get to see the faces behind the voices on the games and leaderboards, and also a fun way to maybe learn something in the process. The first Episode was the hardest and as time goes on it should become much easier.

Heres the Link to the Minishow THE BARRACKS

This took alot of my time the past couple of weeks - Learning the new software and trying to fit it all together. So things will be picking up here on the blog. Ive had alot of users ask me where I find my strategy maps and where they can download or find them. So I plan on the next couple of weeks starting to add some maps for you guys and throw in some strategies for them aswell.

Check back time to time and see whats going on over here...on a side note im stoked about Battlefield 1943 coming out!! I LOVED BF42 on the PC

Dragon Out

Mission Statement

2009-05-18T12:16:00.016-04:00

Id like to welcome you to my blog. Here you will find tips and strategies for certain games and occasionally a review. The primary game for right now will be Tom Clancy's Endwar by Ubisoft. It is available on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Throughout this blog I will dedicate posts to each map and give you some ideas for opening strategies and tips to improve your gameplay. Readers are encouraged to post their comments and suggestions or questions.

Endwar isnt a game thats easy to pick up and be good at. The game while based around a simple Paper/Scissor/Rock gametype is much more indepth then what many people realize. Myself and the group of players I team up with have put countless hours into this game. We have developed some good strategies, but there is always a counter. I hope to share some of our knowledge with you to help you better understand the game, its mechanics, and the thought process behind our strats. These strategies aren't meant to be followed to a T. They are only a template you can use to develop your own strategies.

I hope this blog serves useful to you and your gameplay. Check back often for new updates!