"Of all the branches of the military, the infantry is the least glamorous by a long way. But it’s also the most important. An infantry soldier, especially a squad of infantry, is one of the most flexible tactical assets to have, capable of securing territory, destroying high-value targets, and most importantly being able to fight effectively at close ranges and in enclosed areas such as towns and villages.
Fighting effectively as general infantry is all about sharp shooting, staying low and supporting your squad mates. When you start out in OF: Elite, you’ll be a private operating as part of a large squad, with a variety of specialist roles represented. It’s the support these specialists can offer that makes an infantry squad so flexible. Nearly all squads include a medic to patch you up, one or more anti-tank soldiers to deal with armoured threats, a heavy machine gunner to lay down covering fire, and of course plenty of grunts. You’ll start out being ordered around by a sergeant, but as the game progresses those tactical decisions will be yours to make.
The primary infantry weapon is, of course, the rifle. Playing the “Cold War Crisis” campaign, you’re going to spend a lot of time staring down the barrel of an M16 - the US military’s primary rifle since the Vietnam war and a potent weapon. It’s accurate, rugged, with the only possible downside being the lack of a full-auto mode that would be useful in close-quarter fighting, though the benefits of such a firing mode are more psychological than genuine. Soviet forces pack the AK74 - a development of the AK47 that’s been in use since the end of the second world war. AKs are very simple, fire powerful ammunition, and can fire fully-automatically. The only real drawback is a lack of accuracy. Still, in the hands of a skilled marksman it’s a fearsome tool.
Marksmanship is very important in the Flashpoint series - unlike most first-person-shooters, every bullet you fire is subject to proper ballistics, and firing at long range will mean you have to take this ‘fall’ into account. The modern rifles, such as the AK74 and M16, fire high-velocity light bullets that do travel pretty straight, however older weapons like the AK47 and Kozlice fire heavier, slower slugs, and so show this ‘fall’ a lot more. In addition, you’ll need to practice ‘deflection shooting’ at moving targets, firing your weapon at where the target’s going to be when the bullet arrives. This is particularly important when using sniper rifles at long range, but it’s something we’ll look at in more detail in a later briefing.
Of course, just because you start a mission on foot with a rifle in your hand it doesn’t mean that it’s going to stay that way - one of the great things about Flashpoint is the flexibility of approach the free-form gameplay offers the player. You may end up deciding the best course of action is to take a weapon from a fallen enemy for example, or even to raid the opposition’s ammo dumps. You may even feel it’s best to steal enemy vehicles - which will be the subject of our next briefing."
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