Operation Flashpoint: Red River is the John Wayne of tactical first-person shooters: old-school, politically incorrect, and really (really) rough around the edges — in a throwback “they just don’t make ’em like this anymore” way. Yep, for all of the continued homogenization of the genre, Red River takes its FPS cues from the original Ghost Recon in a way that not even Ghost Recon does anymore. It’s a gritty, ball-busting, often frustrating ride through the Tajikistan desert that’s bound to teach you a few new swear words*.

The fictional plot of the Middle East–set Red River somewhat mirrors the real-life nation-building, insurgent-swatting campaign the U.S. military is currently executing in Afghanistan. As one of four profanity-spewing soldiers in Staff Sgt. Knox’s Bravo unit, your 10-day operation will take you from dams to shantytowns to hilltop forts to battle-worn cities. One bullet can always kill — you or the enemies — and sound tactics will win the day. It’s not quite the hardcore simulation that the PC’s ArmA series is, but it’s also light years less arcade-y than Call of Duty. It even incorporates ballistics-physics realities like ricochets and bullet drops.

We felt right at home choosing the sniping Scout — one of four soldier classes — for the duration of the campaign. And we greatly appreciated the player-advancement system, which levels you up to the point that by the end of the campaign, we were packing a wicked long-range scope and a steadier hand. It’s a mild but not over-the-top way of simulating how a real soldier might gain comfort and proficiency as he spends more time on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, you’ll never know about this upgrade system — or many of Red River’s other features — unless you stumble upon them yourself. Almost nothing in the game is explained, such as calling for a medic when incapacitated (bring up the command interface with RB and then press right on the D-pad twice), accessing third-person view in vehicles (click the right stick), or the aforementioned level-up system (go to Player Progress and Class Setup in the main menu). Worse yet, the core gameplay has all the polish of a rusty fork: sound cuts in and out, dialogue is annoyingly repeated, animations are horrible, soldiers teleport in and out of vehicles, and your A.I. squadmates often idiotically run right in front of you.

It’s too bad, because the game design is highly engrossing. One mid-game mission has you frantically falling back several times, bullets whizzing by your head as you retreat. Another breaks out laser sights and night-vision goggles as you move through an orchard in the wee hours. A third has you ascending a mountain, quietly picking off distant hostiles while fighting uphill. And it never gets old seeing the spray of red mist when you pump a slug into an enemy skull from a half-klick away, adjusting for bullet drop in the process. In fact, most of Red River’s 10 missions are so intense, you’ll likely need a break from the game after each one, regardless of whether you’re playing solo or in four-player co-op, which we highly recommend sampling.

Make no mistake: the latest iteration in the Operation Flashpoint series has plenty wrong with it. But its burger-chomping, chain-smoking heart beats with a fiery tenacity that’s unrivaled in the current console era. The Duke would be proud.

On Xbox 360

+ Highly tactical, intense gameplay.

+ Excellent co-op experience for up to four online buddies.

- Disturbing lack of polish; a ton of glitches.

? Why are the games in this series always so rough around the technical edges?

7.0