Operation Flashpoint: Red River

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Challenging military shooter has plenty of blood, profanity.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Operation Flashpoint: Red River is a violent modern-day military shooter that takes place in a country that sounds like and looks like Afghanistan. Some may feel a violent game like this sensationalizes or trivializes what U.S. troops and others are doing in places like Afghanistan. Players use various weapons to blow away enemy soldiers, resulting in copious amounts of blood. When using a rocket launcher pieces of flesh sometimes fly off bodies. There is also a lot of foul language in the game. Parents should be aware that this game supports online play with open voice communication, a feature that Common Sense Media does not recommend for pre-teens.

  • Players fight against insurgents and terrorists to protect innocent civilians and their freedoms, but they're going about it by employing graphic violence.
  • Players are tasked with defending human liberties, freedoms, and beliefs. However, they're doing so by shooting and killing enemies. You don't learn much about the character you're playing as, so it's difficult to understand his motives.
  • The game isn't harder to control than other modern military shooters but the game, overall, is a bit tougher due to smarter artificial intelligence and the fact you can only be shot a couple of times before you're dead. It's recommended to play the single-player game before taking the action online against human opponents.
  • This video game is quite violent and bloody. Players use modern weapons to kill enemy soldiers by sniping for head-shots from a distance, throwing bombs and hearing cries of pain, and unleashing the power of automatic weapons -- all of which results in a red, bloody mess. In some cases enemies are "gibbed" into small pieces.
  • Not applicable.
  • The game contains frequent use of profanity, especially while players are briefed or debriefed by their commanding officer. Expect liberal doses of swear words including "f--k," "s--t," "c--k," "damn" and "hell."
  • Not applicable.
  • Not applicable.

What's it about?

The latest entry in Codemasters' multi-million unit-selling tactical shooter series focuses on four U.S. Marines in Fireteam Bravo unit -– a Scout, Rifleman, Automatic Rifleman, and Grenadier -- who band together to fight enemy forces in the fictitious country of Tajikistan (a virtual version of Afghanistan in all but name). OPERATION FLASHPOINT: RED RIVER puts an emphasis on realism -- not just fun -- so it's not unusual to engage in lengthy, tense shoot-outs where after one or two hits you're down on the ground waiting for a medkit. That said, it is a little more accessible than previous Operation Flashpoint games. While you can give orders and play alongside (fairly convincing) A.I. soldiers, Red River was designed to be a co-op shooter with up to three others online.


Is it any good?

 

This is a good military combat game for gamers who might be looking for something more than a typical, straightforward shooter that can be won by simply running and gunning. Only by working together as a team, accurate shooting, and cautious navigation of the virtual streets (during day and night missions) will you be able to complete the various objectives and stay alive long enough for the next one. It should be noted the game doesn't look as good as other military action games (at least not on the Xbox 360 version used for the purpose of this review), nor does it have the level of polish and pacing of a Call of Duty game, but for the most part fans of this genre should be impressed with what the developers were going after.

Players will encounter frequent (and boring) jeep and chopper rides with their mates while being briefed (or berated) by their commanding officer, as well as other slow areas in between missions. Overall, though, Red River is an intense, exhilarating and challenging modern-day military shooter that, while it might not get the attention of a Call of Duty game, is a title fans of the genre should consider. Note: the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 versions of the game are the same.


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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about why modern-day military shooters are all the rage these days. Is it because we are in the middle of a war in countries like Afghanistan, so it's top of mind? Is it simply a matter of pure fantasy -- a vicarious thrill? Or does it say something else about us?

  • Families can also discuss how to stay safe while playing online games. What sort of things should you never discuss with strangers while playing games over the Internet? What do you do if you suspect you might be chatting with an online predator?


This review was written by Marc Saltzman
Kid, 15 years old
July 9, 2011
 
WOW!!!!!!
This game is just like modern warfare except it has a campaign that is 3 times better!

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Teen, 14 years old
July 20, 2011
 
Its just fine if your kids are mature
I do not have this game, but from what I am hearing it swears a little more than call of duty. However, the violence is no worse than call of duty. Its the same thing people getting killed fighting for their rights and freedom. If your kid is mature enough he should be able to enjoy this game without learning bad things from it.

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Teen, 13 years old
February 26, 2012
 
Lots of violence and too much language.
I love this game and play it everyday,but still that dosent stop the fact that it's not good for me.There is copious amounts of blood and lots if language which is used very frequently and not anything in the game for kids eyes and ears.If you can handle it though,play it.

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Teen, 16 years old
April 4, 2012
 
Just not as good as Dragon Rising
It's an ok game, but lacks the innovation and character that Dragon Rising, and other than the damage system, is actually very generic. I was exceptionally excited about this game before release, but an now very disappointed by this, it has no competitive multi-player, and presents an unbelievable story line where the US marine corps manages to stop the entire PLA. It is less balanced than Dragon rising also, which still presented the Chinese troops as soldiers, and people, whereas Red River treats them more as 'things', and i think the main name given to the Chinese is, 'Motherf*****s', or something similar. - So, if you are interested in this game, don't buy it, unless it is very cheap, and instead get Dragon Rising, or one of the older, original games for PC.

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This review was written by Marc Saltzman
Platforms:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows
Available online?Not available online
Genre:First Person Shooter
Developer:Codemasters
Release date:June 7, 2011
Price:$59.99
ESRB rating:M for Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence

This review was written by Marc Saltzman

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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