The folks at Codemasters have a fairly daunting task with
Operation Flashpoint:Dragon Rising as they have to balance their demand for ultra realism with making the game accessible to a generation raised with recharging shields and health. It looks like Dragon Rising will be a little less hardcore than the Original Flashpoint (which was probably a little too realistic with it's one shot/one kill health system) as they've added some forgiveness into the game if you get shot. More information about this change and all the other touches of realism can be found in this dev diary which should help get you excited for the game's release this week.
