I’ve always had a little bit of love for Codemasters. Badass Brits Rich and Dave Darling have been kicking it old school from the days of ZX Spectrum, and they’ve had some gems in their many years. Magic Land Dizzy? (A black cat? Gobbelino!) Micro Machines? Colin McRae too, of course, God rest ‘im. But as times have changed, so has this little software house – they’re still based in Blighty, but now the’re pulling in $150million a year and churning out high-class shooters like Operation Flashpoint: Red River. Yeep.
The latest in the series, Red River is a sober take on the FPS with heavyweight, tactical action and a detailed plot arc – none of your slow-mo, custom kills here Bulletstorm fans. Nope, the emphasis is on authentic, not frantic – but with four player co-op, serious mods and weapon upgrades, and the promise of huge improvements on its million-selling predecessor Dragon Rising, there’ll be no disappointment for true fans of the genre.
Europe gets this little beast on Xbox 360, PS3 on April 21st, and our American brethren on the 26th. Start saving your pennies people.
One thing i like about Codemasters was their comment regarding things like EA’s online pass where they said that instead of ripping gamers off even further, why don’t developers try making games that people would want to keep rather than trade-in in the first place.
Novel idea to a company like EA. Scum bags.