Operation Flashpoint: Red Hammer

Red Hammer is part of Codemasters' upgrade to last year's award winning Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis. Basically, Red Hammer is the same campaign as in the original, but this time around you play as Soviet solder Dmitri Lukin. Lukin has a story of sorts that unfolds as the campaign progresses, and I won't spoil it for you here. It's not War and Peace, but it's at least as good as what is seen in the original.

Red Hammer sticks with the successful formula that made the original such a success. Missions are quite varied and include protecting convoys, ambush, covering a retreat, defending against and allied airborne assault and many more. For the most part, the missions are longer and more complex than those found in Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis. Many of the missions have multiple objectives, and sometimes these objectives will change during the course of a mission as events unfold. If you thought the original missions were tough, you're in for a big surprise!

This brings us to one of the features of Red Hammer that you will either love or hate: the difficulty level. Many of the missions are extremely difficult, and make the pulse pounding moments in the original look like a day trip with the Vienna Boy's Choir. The Soviets are losing the battle, and so often Lukin finds himself fighting against unequal odds with little or no support. His superiors seem content for the most part to risk his life with little regard for his chances of success. Some of the missions are so difficult even an experienced player will probably end up replaying the mission a dozen times before getting it right. This can be frustrating at times, but somehow Red Hammer never seems to get boring. The scripted scenes and the uncertain nature of the conflict tend to keep things moving along nicely. In general, the missions are bigger, better and more fun than those found in Cold War Crisis.

Red Hammer doesn't just add additional missions, it also adds a variety of new equipment, weapons and vehicles. Among the more notable additions are the M3 Bradley fighting vehicle, OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter, and HK G36. Red Hammer also patches Operation Flashpoint to the latest version, fixing several bugs and smoothing out multiplayer action.

The graphics are the same as in the original, but that's nothing to complain about as the original graphics were very good. The Operation Flashpoint engine does a great job of rendering large outdoor environments required for many of the battles. The addition of the new vehicles and weapons didn't seem to slow the system at all. Installation was bug free and I encountered no technical issues to complain about.

Other developers should take note, this is how a add-on/expansion pack should be done. In addition to the 20+ new missions, vehicle and weapon additions, Red Hammer also includes a Prima strategy guide. All of this for a retail price of only $14.99 (US). When most other companies are selling cheap add-on packs at the same - or in some cases even higher - prices as the original, it's refreshing to see a solid add-on for such a reasonable sum.