As much as we’d like to, we can’t just sit around and play Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare every waking moment. Well, maybe you can. But sometimes it’s prudent to broaden your horizons by branching out and checking out other titles that might offer just the same level of excitement, or at least something pretty close to what Infinity Ward’s smash hit provided over these past couple of years. Enter Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. While it differs in many ways from its FPS cousins, brothers, and sisters, it still offers engaging and exhilarating wartime exploits, rewarding the patient and the brave with tight controls, the enforcement of teamwork, and a great squad-based shooter with plenty of potential.

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The battlefield of choice for Codemasters’ upcoming Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is the fictional Skira Island, located north of Japan and under Russian control. To show the backstory and explain a bit of the conflict, Codemasters released a new introduction video, titled “History of Skira.” It has no gameplay footage whatsoever, but it does a great job of informing the viewer about the war.

While Skira Island remains Russian territory after centuries of Chinese, Japanese, and Russian control, China moves to take the island because it contains a ridiculous amount of oil. The global economic crisis has taken its toll on the Chinese economy, so China mobilizes its forces to seize the land for its resources. Russia requests help in defending the island, which is where the U.S. and the player come in.

Check out the video after the jump (HD is available!).

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