Operation Flashpoint Gold is set in the mid 80's at the height of the Cold War Crisis, with you in the boots of a single NATO soldier. As you go through training, cutscenes alert you to the impending doom that Russia is about to bring to the world. When they attack near your station, you get to experience first hand what action on the front lines is like.
The game is mission based, with each mission having certain goals that must be accomplished, usually in a very narrow time frame. At the beginning you are part of a squad, taking orders from your superior as the mission progresses. These early scuffles will only lend you the aid of small firearms, like rifles and hand grenades, but later missions will test your real abilities of a soldier, as you are required to command machines of war into battle such as planes, tanks, and helicopters.
The realistic nature of Operations Flashpoint Gold acts as a double-bladed sword throughout the game. When action gets up close and personal in urban combat, one mistake could cost you your life, and consequently, the mission. The later missions involving the heavy machinery are also tarnished by the realistic nature of the game. Targeting equipment usually makes you stare at screens and readouts within the vehicles, removing you from the action a little too much. But it's realistic.
Also included in Operation Flashpoint Gold is a new Russian Campaign. Here you get to try your hand at advancing the Motherland's current military interests by fighting against the capitalist pig dogs. If you liked the original campaign, this one won't let you down. And because it comes bundled with the Gold edition at no extra charge, it proves a nice little gimmick to increase the replay value of the game.
Though there are Multiplayer maps and options, they don't make up much of the actual overall value. Games like capture the flag and even deathmatch don't work well with OF's engine. As you can die from a single bullet, and this is almost always the case with death here, you'll find yourself dying immediately after you spawn more often than not. The life of the game is nestled safely inside of the Campaign mode, where it belongs.
