Operation Flashpoint prides itself on providing a realistic experience. A large part of that comes from weapons and vehicles meticulously designed from real life counterparts, right down to simulating the physics of different ammunition types. Another huge part of the experience will come from an extremely sophisticated artificial intelligence that dynamically adapts to changing situations. AI behavior will use infantry tactics taken from real life military manuals. While players have the option to command their squads and play however they wish, they can alternatively let the computer figure things out for itself and soldiers should perform competently. Although the E3 demonstration showed soldiers running coordinated maneuvers and scouting, we didn't go hands-on to see exactly how well the AI performs.

Players looking for a more arcade-like shooting experience might not take well to Flashpoint's realism. Players won't be able to magically heal by hiding behind cover. Although medics can help players recover from superficial injuries, players will have to be careful of single mortal hits that will instantly take them out. Complimenting the sense of realism will be a "documentary style" cut scenes where the camera shakes and loses focus with explosions, simulating a television news report recording live.

With the sophisticated artificial intelligence, realistic weapons, detailed open-ended environments that span up to 135 square kilometers and support for 32 player multiplayer on top of all that, the question of system requirements quickly comes up. Although there's nothing specific yet, we learned that the game will require a least a Duo Core processor with possible support for Quad Core. Incredible experiences require some hefty hardware to push it, but let's hope that the game won't be too outrageous. Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising is expected to release in 2009.

Download the Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising HD Trailer