On a machine running a current OS and graphics card the GOG version requires some adaptation like running in compatibility mode and may need additional files to resolve graphics issues for which the GOG forum and GOG customer support pages offer useful advice. It is worth the effort to go trough these extra steps in order to enjoy a game that was revolutionary on release, paving the way for the squad based tactical shooter genre. Although the graphics are not to todays standards and later iterations in the series made controls less clunky the game mechanics and atmosphere of the original Rainbow Six make up for these deficiencies. Although listed as a shooter this classification is a bit misleading as many players will spend hours crafting an assault plan that may then be resolved in just minutes of short sharp action involving a handful of single shots or bursts of automatic fire. The satisfaction one gets after creating and executing a plan that results in a faultless mission success, often after less successful attempts, is as great as it was back in 1998 when I first played the game. The GOG release suffers from missing files that impact on two missions in the game. Although this can be remedied by owners of the original disks it would be more customer friendly for GOG to make a patch available that installs these files in the appropriate folders in order to offer the opportunity to all players to succeed in the impacted missions.
Bannerlord is a good sequel in the Mount & Blade series of games that further develops the sound gameplay of its predecessors and adds interesting new game mechanics. It has preserved what worked well and rather than merely serving up more of the same with modern day graphic spectacle it evolves the concept to give an even better experience. This being said the game has massively updated its graphics and increased the scale of combat with many hundreds of participants in exciting skirmishes, battles and sieges that will immerse a player in an excellent bout of escapism. The love of the developers for their subject comes to the fore in a lovingly created earlier era of the imaginary Calradian setting that is strongly reminiscent of the early Byzantine period of the Roman empire. The attention to detail and internal consistency of the world they created adds to the further enjoyment of Bannerlord. With mod support for user made alterations to the base game its longevity is assured even when the default content were to lose its appeal over time. There is no doubt that this title will claim a significant portion of my gaming time for a considerable span of years.
After Operation Flashpoint a sequel was eagerly awaited, but a true successor only arrived with Arma II and its expansions. The developers later admitted their heart was not into this game and unfortunately the consequences are on display in Armed Assault. While the main terrain is excellently executed, the units and equipment are not finished up to the same standard and the campaign and missions are badly designed and executed. Optimisation and other code issues mean the game does not perform very well in comparison to Arma II. As such Armed Assault is not a recommendation and although the editor and mods can turn it into an adequate form of entertainment, the aged Arma Cold War Assault is more enjoyable to play.
Arma Cold War Assault is the final version of Operation Flashpoint and its Resistance expansion. At the time of its release two decades ago the game was revolutionary, offering the chance to play a squad shooter with the ability to use all kinds of vehicles on land, on sea and in the air on islands that were massive in scale. The unforgiving gameplay and grim nature of its Cold War campaigns made it an outstanding experience. Mod support extended its lifetime well beyond even its intended successor till Arma 2 took its place. The graphics may be outdated and the controls more clunky than current day releases, but replaying this classic once more is absolutely worth it. The adventures of Armstrong, Gastovski and Troska battling the evil empire on the battlefields of the Malden archipelago have proven to be as engrossing as when I played them back in the days and the editor allows one to expand the content with remarkable ease.
