Developer: Bohemia Interactive
Publisher: Codemasters
Expected Release: Late Q1 2001
The politics behind Operation Flashpoint also being called "Flash Point: 1985 Status Quo" have certainly not been “status quo” as Flashpoint, an incredibly realistic-looking action title seemed almost destined to not see the light of day. Originally to be published by Interactive Magic, the title was sold to Ubi-Soft while in development with all of the other I-Magic games when the company gave up all of their CD-ROM based business and re-launched as the (now ailing) Web-based game portal, IEntertainment.com. Sometime after Ubi-Soft made the purchase, Flashpoint was one of the titles that was dropped from their schedule and disappeared into obscurity…almost.
Now almost two years later, Flashpoint is surfacing again after having been picked up by U.K. based publisher Codemasters. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic based team has not spent all of this time sucking their thumbs; instead they devoted their energies to adding a lot into the game to make it both more realistic and playable. Due out at the end of the first quarter 2001, gamers should be quite impressed with the extra work that has gone into the title's development.
Industry politics aside, Bohemia Interactive has taken their geographical and military experiences and applied them to this game by motion capturing troops in action, and setting them in the midst of a war-torn Eastern European conflict. What appears is an alternate history that might not bring up some of the strong ethnic issues of what has happened in our recent history, but will convey some of the same urgency towards playing toward a resolution.