Cold War confirmed: "Operation Flashpoint: Elite" to blast onto Xbox this November.

The hugely anticipated Xbox edition of Operation Flashpoint, the most realistic and complex military combat simulator, will launch in November as Operation Flashpoint: Elite complete with online play over Xbox Live, Codemasters confirmed today.

Developed by Bohemia Interactive Studio and specifically adapted for Xbox from the PC original, Operation Flashpoint: Elite lets gamers experience the award-winning title.

On Xbox, the game retains all the depth and immense content of the original and takes you right into the heart of a gripping Cold War conflict between NATO coalition forces and a renegade Soviet Red army faction.

The game's intense campaigns and solo missions deliver deeply believable military situations and gives you complete freedom to handle any flashpoint on your own initiative.

Operation Flashpoint: Elite is powered by Bohemia's technology which is also used in real-world training by various military organisations around the world including the US Army and US Marines.

Says Marek Spanel, Bohemia Interactive Studio's Director:

"This is not another run-and-gun shooter; Operation Flashpoint: Elite simulates modern warfare on a level never seen before on any console, providing a totally new playing experience. You'll need brain power as much as quick reflexes; act before you die, think before you act, and find cover before you think.

"We have adapted and improved the game for Xbox while keeping the sheer scope and complexity of the gameplay. The visuals have been recreated specifically for the format with map sizes and draw distances ultimately more impressive than anything seen on a console."

The scenario is modern warfare

It is 1985, in the midst of the Cold War, and Gorbachev has been elected to power bringing with him policies of glasnost and perestroika. However, resistance Soviet groups are opposed to the new wave and are refusing to serve the new regime in Moscow.

One group has taken control of an island community, and is using it as an armed stronghold for the old order. Operation Flashpoint: Elite opens with the player joining the neighbouring US force against the Soviets. Once past the mission briefing stage, it's your decision how the overall mission or campaign is tackled.

For the first time in such a military simulator, players control and command soldiers and squads of all levels and over 40 authentic land, sea and air vehicles - both military and civilian. You'll be controlling individual soldiers, commanding squads, driving tanks, troop carriers, piloting military helicopters to taking on the role of a sniper.

This variety also allows players to experience a huge mixture of strategic action gameplay and, thanks to the artificial intelligence applied to the game's infantry they think, move and act as troops do in a conflict situation.

The open environment of the game is massive, covering four 100+ Km2 battle zones, and you can go anywhere at anytime - you're not limited to playing in mission-specific 'walled' areas - and anything can happen.

On Xbox Live, Operation Flashpoint: Elite really brings conflicts alive with players engaged online in over 50 multiplayer missions.

Plus, a real beauty of Operation Flashpoint: Elite is its user friendly Mission Editor. Accessed from the main menu, you simply enter map view, select an area and build up a situation using any of the troops, weapons and mobile units from the game.

Tons of bonus content can be unlocked in the game, including an additional 15-mission campaign called 'Resistance', which casts the player into the role of local resistance leader Viktor Troska and the forms prequel to the storyline of the main Cold War Crisis campaign.

Atmospheric and immersive, Operation Flashpoint: Elite works on so many levels thanks to its open, expansive environments and its run-the-mission-the-way-you-want gameplay.

Prepare to experience war like never before on Xbox, when Operation Flashpoint: Elite is published in November by Codemasters (RRP £19.99). Join the Cold War online for more from the game's website at www.codemasters.co.uk/flashpointxbox

KEY GAMEPLAY POINTS:

• The number one PC military combat game comes to Xbox.

• Fly or drive over forty, armoured air and ground based military vehicles including the UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter, A-10 Thunderbolt Jet, M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank and SCUD Launcher.

• Fight using any of 30+ authentic weapons.

• Two enthralling campaigns plus 15 solo missions over four 4 sprawling 100+ km2 battle zones.

• Engage live opponents via Xbox Live or system link in over 50 different missions.

• Create your own scenarios using the built-in mission editor.

• True-to-life models and physics provide the most realistic combat experience to date in a console game.

• Advanced squad-management system enables players to efficiently issue orders to squad members.

• Real time lighting and weather, including accurate star constellations for navigation.

ABOUT BOHEMIA INTERACTIVE

Bohemia Interactive is an independent game development company, with studios in Czech Republic and Australia, founded in 1999, that focuses on developing state of the art computer entertainment software and the research of advanced real time 3D graphics, artificial intelligence and physical simulation technologies for real-time interactive environments. The company's debut release, Operation Flashpoint for personal computers, has won universal acclaim for its realism of simulating military conflict situations, even to the extent where the game's technology has been adapted for real soldiers to use as a special combat training application Virtual Battlespace that's used by various military organizations worldwide. Company has been awarded Best PC Game Developer of the year 2001 Award and Rookie Studio of the Year Award at GDC 2002. For more information about the company visit www.bohemiainteractive.com