Interview: Xbox sees the flash

A hardcore military simulator, Operation Flashpoint has gone down a storm with PC gamers around the globe. The title's developer, Bohemia Interactive, is now in the process of bringing Flashpoint to Xbox, offering owners of Microsoft's machine the chance to plunge headfirst into a game that delivers a virtual experience that reflects the realism of the real-life battlefield.

Infantry combat, squad and tank command, helicopter and aircraft piloting - it's all here: and much more.

Despite its success on PC, Operation Flashpoint isn't the sort of game that immediately leaps out as a console must-have title. However, Bohemia is confident that it will do well. We recently caught up with project leader Marek Spanel to find out exactly why Xbox owners should be getting excited.

First off, imagine we'd never heard of Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis and Resistance on Xbox before: what's it all about?

Spanel: Operation Flashpoint is an action game that brings the player complex simulation of modern warfare without limits. You can play virtually any role in the army, from the infantry to aircraft; you can use any available vehicle and gear. The game is so real that the PC version was adapted by real soldiers to be used as a training tool.

Operation Flashpoint on Xbox incorporates two different campaigns, Cold War Crisis, from the original PC game, set in 1985 in a fictitious conflict between the United States Army and a renegade fraction of Soviet Red Army. Players take on roles of infantry recruit, tank crew, pilot and special operations soldier. Resistance, the campaign from the official PC expansion pack, starts years before the conflict of Cold War Crisis. Player takes the role of Viktor Troska, a leader of local resistance movement against a Soviet invasion into small independent republic.

In what ways does the Xbox version of Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (and Resistance) differ from its PC counterpart?

Spanel: Xbox version improves visuals and audio quite significantly over the PC version. All units and vegetation are completely reworked and vehicles and objects are improved. The game uses a first-and-a-half generation of the engine and it's has many aspects of the sequel that's also in the works for PC simultaneously. Also, the multiplayer part of the game is reworked. Other changes are mainly to adopt the game to a TV screen and controller from high-resolution PC monitors and keyboard/mouse controls.

The PC version of the game had a mission and level editor. Will you be including this in the Xbox version as well? If so, will players be able to exchange constructed missions via memory card?

Spanel: We're going to include a very easy to use mission editor specifically designed for Xbox.

In terms of scope, Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (and Resistance) is huge, with expansive levels, military ground vehicles and aircraft, a large array of weapons - has it been difficult to squeeze all this onto Xbox?

Spanel: Yes, it was (and is still) very difficult. We spent many months of hard work to improve and optimise the engine to handle such a complex environment and arsenals on the console and it looked an impossible job many times. Luckily, Xbox comes with a built-in hard drive and a very powerful graphic subsystem.

In relation to the above question, which parts of the game have been the most difficult to bring across to Xbox?

Spanel: The main problem is with the overall scope and size of levels. There are no artificial boundaries, just a large virtual battlefield with many units operating there.

Can you tell us how the Xbox controller is being used?

Spanel: The Xbox controller is used in quite the usual way as in other first-person shooters on Xbox. But because we have much more options, like a full commanding interface, we have some unique solutions like context-sensitive action menus to allow gamers intuitive use of all available options in the game.

Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (and Resistance) is a hardcore military simulation title: are you confident that it will appeal to console gamers and much as it has to PC gamers?

We're doing everything to keep all features of the original PC game and the game has the same feeling of tense military conflict as on PC with the huge list of features. There's nothing on consoles that comes close to the scope and realism of Operation Flashpoint, so if any console gamer looks for something more real than the usual first person shooter, there's not much choice left.

What can we expect from Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (and Resistance) multiplayer? Will the game be Xbox Live-enabled, and if so, can you go into details about the online side of the title?

We want to have full multiplayer support, including Xbox Live. I am not going to tell you many specific details, but we would like to include the ability to join in the progress of a game running online, which may open multiplayer games in Operation Flashpoint to a larger audience.

We could draw an analogy between Operation Flashpoint and Ghost Recon, admittedly loosely; but how do the two games differ?

Spanel: The infantry part of the game, which can be similar to Ghost Recon in some aspects, comes together with vehicles and full tactical commanding of large squads. Also, Operation Flashpoint takes you out of limited areas to a large, life-like environment. You can use almost everything on the battlefield - you can use all vehicles (including helicopters and planes).

What key elements of Operation Flashpoint do you think will find favour with Xbox owners?

Spanel: You feel as though you are actually on the battlefield, you have great freedom of action and you have an incredible variety of actions available, including various playable vehicles and the possibility to command troops. Playing Operation Flashpoint is a unique experience. We're not saying it's an easy game, but the tension it offers can hardly be matched by any other game, as it really gives the authentic feeling of being soldier on a battlefield.

Stuart Bishop