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Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

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OpFlash details and shots

From announcement to details in one easy year

Bohemia Interactive's Xbox project, Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis, was announced on April 16th, 2002, but this is the first time we've actually seen what it looks like. It looks pretty good, and it's due out this summer.

As you may recall (but nobody else did, to the extent that everyone is just reporting on a one-year-old press release), Cold War Crisis is set in 1985 as the player joins resistance forces trying to defend an island stronghold from Gorbachev's army. Players will get to control and command soldiers, squads and vehicles on land and sea, and in the air, both military and civilian. It's a very big game, and all very authentic, right down to the correct optical markings on the NATO sniper's M21 rifle.

Also included in this Xbox release will be the separate Resistance campaign (released as a PC expansion if we remember correctly), where the player (Victor Troska) reluctantly leads a resistance movement against Soviet occupation. It's the precursor to the events in Cold War Crisis, so its inclusion is both useful and charitable.

Cast your eyes this way for the screenshots.