ARMA II

ArmA II is a first-person tactical shooter for the PC. Developed by Bohemia Interactive, the Czech studio of Operation Flashpoint fame. ArmA offers a singleplayer Campaign as well as Multiplayer Co-op mode against computer controlled AI and Muliplayer Vs. modes. Taking place in the fictional Eastern European country of Chernarus, an on-going civil war has come to a head between the existing democratic government (Chernarussian Defense Force) and the failed-communist uprising (Chernarussian Movement of the Red Star). The communists have taken a militant turn and threaten a coup of the current government, the US Marine Corps is deployed to aid the CDF to quell the threat to Chernarus.

Review of ArmA II from a famousblueraincoat

Played 20+ hours on PC

"If You Build It..."

The first thing you notice about ArmA II is its unbelievable vastness. The official website touts 225km² of play area with 50 towns and villages, 350km of road and when you're attempting to make your way around, it certainly feels that way. The verticality and sense of distance is truly astounding and provides a backdrop for both close-quarter small-team battles, or full-on large scale wars. The scenery and the attention to detail in every city and ruin is based off of mountain ranges in the Czech Republic, and just adds a greater depth of context while in play.

Trying to review this game is ridiculous, and that says something for how ambitious this project has been. Much like reviewing 'EVE Online' or 'World of Warcraft', this game is so similar. There are facets and functions that the average player will never see. To experience this to its full potential you would have to spend a significant amount of time and develop a certain level of rapport with a gaming-community or clan.

Although this seemingly daunting, there is plenty accessible for the average player to enjoy. The single-player campaign is packed full of interesting content and missions. You play as "Razor", an elite recon squad sent out for specific tasks of reporting, capturing or eliminating targets. As the story progresses your character is charged with leading Razor, and as political fallout occurs across the rest of the world, you, your squad and your mission is directly affected.

There's a real sense of 'more' going on around you. Your squad, and their actions, are just a small part of what's happening on a larger scale in Chernarus. The ability to call in support for air transport, UAV fly-bys or artillery strikes is always at your disposal. Constant radio communication with 'Battlemage' your forward HQ and coming across encounters with the Nationalist guerrillas, or ordinary civilians just further adds to this.

In addition to the campaign, there are several smaller-scale side-missions to play. Taking on the role of the Nationalist Party guerrillas attacking an outpost in one, or the CDF defending an assault on a held city in another. This sense of context carries over to the multiplayer modes, as you play out your missions in the same areas of Chernarus, but without the same narrative and dramatic interactions.

In terms of interaction and controls, the sense of movement and momentum is truly unlike any other first-person shooter. It's as if your character has a certain weight in the game. The motion blur when turning abruptly, and the sense of scale is unmatched. As a single soldier, you are truly a part of vast military operations with armour columns, aircraft and other strike teams moving around you all at once. At times, I had to pull out to 3rd person as I was getting nauseous as I was spinning around trying to look at everything.

The obvious downside with such a massive game is the complexity and accessibility. Narrative in the singleplayer, although overall exceptional, has its downfalls. Given its open-worldness, it's almost entirely impossible not to encounter story glitches. While stumbling through a heavily wooded area, you may trigger a side-mission that you have no idea you've come across. You'll now be required to assassinate an officer in the next 6 minutes before he escapes in a small car.

This is only exponentially more difficult to pull off in multiplayer modes. The tasks are generally unclear, and the interfaces for re-spawning often take multiple clicks of the 'respawn' button to eventually die, and have the option to restart. Aside from problems with the interface, you'll run in to graphical errors like 'big fire' as it's been coined. 'Big fire' seems to be a big with the 'lens flare' effect where, instead of a slight flare to your vision, flames engulf a specific direction in which you're looking. It's only slightly distracting when it happens the first time.

Bohemia is bold. Though, is anyone going to have the patience for it? I'd say yes if only for the multiplayer co-operative mode. ArmA II pushes the boundaries of what is possible in a war simulator. There is no manual. It's a harsh and complex game that is unforgiving in its control layout, but this seems to make it all the more bad-ass. The limitations of movement, the large sense of scale and the complexity of deployment constitute a very gratifying experience when accomplished. However, it only takes one person to move a mobile headquarters from your deployment location, or to barrel-roll a packed chopper to make you want to never play again.

This game has the potential to be a first-person shooter-lover's WoW. The clan and game-community aspects of teamplay are unequivocally massive and far surpass the talent and organization required to perform a 30-man raid on Onyxia's Lair. ArmA II is summed up best by this example: The simplest of actions is at least 3 key combinations away, but so are the most complex. You can, if given the proper resources and teamwork, accomplish nearly everything you could in a real-world war scenario. All of the options are there, they just happen to be really difficult to figure out and perform.