22.6.2007

Well most people seem to complain about the bugs in other reviews, but that seems to be all fixed now, they have released a couple of huge patches, the last one was almost 600mb. If you dont have broadband, somehow, then this probably isnt worth getting, as the multiplayer and other mods are really good.The campaign I like, its got a believable plotline. The secondary missions are a nice touch as well, they aren't essential but doing them makes the main mission easier, such as one of them you attack an tank base so that in the main mission there is less armour for you to have to deal with in your helicopter. Although the one thing this is lacking from Flashpoint is the personal feeling you got from playing only four different characters in the war,but the way there are newsreporters sort of makes up for it somehow.The editor is one of the best features. You can create all sorts of mission and the manual describes how different waypoints and triggers work so it is easy to create missions where one platoon wont move until the armoured assault has taken control of town or anything. Also the amount of content in the editor allows you to create all sorts of situations, such as allowing you to add Ak74s, RPG launchers and pistols to civilians allows you to create a rioting city or you can load up a truck with weapons to smuggle it across the border sort of tasks.The multiplayer is much improved from Flashpoint. Now you can join mid game, if you die you can take control of an AI unit rather than becoming a seagull, although that is still there in the end. Also being able to use a mic to talk to your squad etc is good, much more usefull than on battleifeld 2 where tactics and squads don't matter much, now you can organise how you intend to move through a block of houses, or who is supposed to cover where.For the people who complain about the over skilled AI, well thats probably someone used to playing battlefield 2 or call of duty where you dont fight anywhere beyond 10m away. The sort of distances you should be fighting are anywhere between 200 to 500 meters ideally. Thats why rifles have sights for those and not for 10m and 20m. That said if you dont have a powerfulish PC it wont be able to handle the view distances. For those people who complain that they dive into the grass which they cant see through but the AI can, well have you tried moving. The AI will realistically shoot where you dived down or where you shot from. If you dive and roll to the side, crawl forwards a bit, roll a bit more then the AI won't be shooting at you any more. One time I tried to sneak up on the AI, he shot at me so I ducked and dived and managed to get round behind him while he was still shooting at the bushes where I ran to. This isnt for those who believe in the old method of running forwards while getting shot 10 times then shooting the enemy, you might get away with a short charge before your leg getts a bullet through, then you can try crawling the rest of the distance as you cant stand up, they even add a sort of dragging the leg motion when that happens.Also, graphically, this is superb. With flowers dotting the grass, vast areas of woodlands detailed to tree bark, birds and bugs flying about in the air, this creates a whole backdrop for you to fight through. Shells and other explosives throw up the mud, diving in the grass flattens it out, tanks will bowl over trees creating cover for the infantry. Bullet holes on buildings and vehicles creates a new aspect when you get picked up on multiplayer by a chopper with shattered windows, bullet marks and the gunner hanging limply over his weapon makes you wonder if the return trip would be such a good idea.Overall it is definitely work the money and with patches and mods it just gets better.

20.6.2007

Armed Assault (Arma) offers a different experience from your average First Person Shooter and should in no way be confused with other seamingly similar military based titles.To experience the beauty of Arma don't look to the clunky menu system, the badly designed and buggy campaign or the impossible, eagle-eyed AI. Instead look to the sheer scale and unpredictability of the environment, the freedom of movement and the accessible and intuitive mission editor. Unlike it's peers, Arma isn't worried about holding the attention of an MTV generation. It does things in it's own time - it may take 20 minutes to get to the battlefield in some online missions but this only acts to emphasise the importance of your performance once you get there.The skills required to successfully complete some of the missions (and you'll rarely complete them according the to brief) makes them so much more rewarding.While the provided missions are rarely inspiring, there are literally hundreds to try online, lovingly created by the growing army of devoted fans. Some may consist of little more than 5 goodies, 5 baddies and town but the magic lies in the fact that the mission will never play the same way twice.You could start a mission, unload from the APC and, within 20 seconds, fall victim to a well placed enemy grenade. Yet the next time might see you defeat the entire enemy platoon with a sniper rifle from a neaby building, such is the freedom of Arma.The game is (read: was) HUGELY flawed and it's taken 3 relatively large updates (500mb) to iron out many of the obvious problems - I'm reliably informed that many of the major titles on PC suffer from a similar affliction. Watching a 20ton tank bouncing 10m up in the air was vaguely amusing, but the inability to plant mines, a requisite for the completion of the mission, was not. But if Bohemia Interactive continue to address the problems with the dedication with which they have done so far, this stage of the game's developement will be remembered as nothing more than the inevitable teething phase.Arma may be considered by some as merely a step up visually from Op Flashpoint, but others may argue that that's all Op Flashpoint really needed (WARNING: Arma needs a very good gfx card to run well, forums generally recommend Geforce 7800 upwards). There are few games that compare in the current market. Other games that offer a similar sense of freedom are GTA, Oblivion and the MMORPGs, yet realism is a word few would associate with these titles. The future of gaming, IMHO, lies somewhere between the story driven sheen of the GTA series and the realistic, realtime combat and physics engine of Arma. I, for one, can't wait.If it's an "on rails" experience you're after, with each new event triggered by player progress through a well decorated corridor then, frankly, it says more about you and what you want from your games than anything else.Recently, i've had far less time to play video games and, when I do dabble, I increasingly find the experience disappointing (anyone else find The Twilight Princess a bit dull?). All my previous favourites have fallen by the wayside in favour of Arma.

20.2.2007

I have been awaiting Armed Assalt for a long time as a fan of Operation Flashpoint and was not disappointed.The game is very similar to Flashpoint in terms of its control interface (although some controls have been changed to incorporate a lean function), so Flashpoint fans should have no trouble playing Armed Assault. For those that are not, the controls are for the most part very simple and easy to learn, only becoming difficult when the player attempts some slightly more difficult tasks, such as flying a helicopter (which is mch more difficlt than in Operation Flashpoint).Graphically, the game is very flexible. Most lower-end PCs that meet the reqirements run the game quite comfortably on low settings,and players with performance machines are in for a visual treat, with extreme-length draw distances and NPC models that are a far cry from the blocky mannequins of Flashpoint. I would argue that on the highest graphics settings, Armed Assault looks much better than other games such as Battlefield 2142.The gameplay itself is certainly an aquired taste, as one or two bullets from an enemy will have you loading up again, but as long as you keep to the ground and move safely, you will survive. Operation Flashpoint was notoriously difficult, and this is the same in Armed Assault, except that Armed Assault has been blessed with a save function, allowing you to save your game wherever you please, preventing the annoyances of almost completing a mission and having to restart just moments from completing a mission.The game world itself is huge, as you are playing on a 400 square kilometre island, and the game features dozens of different vehicles to use, from the AH-1 attack helicopter to a farmer's tractor.Unfortunately, there are some problems with the game. On some single-player missions, bugs in pathfinding will result in incompletable missions, such as one where you are required to board some tanks; upon doing so the tanks will drive up the road and then turn back to the start and wait...forever. The problem of vehicle pathfinding is shown when, in some missions, driver NPCs will turn randomly off the track, reverse, and then continue on their way, for no apparent reason.Furthermore, the maps are chunky and more dificult to interpret than in Operation Flashpoint, and mission briefings are poorly translated and written. Some of the enjoyment may be removed because of this, as well as that Bohemia Interacive, the developers, have removed the 'characters' in the story, although this does place further emphasis on the greater conflict of the game and give it even more of a 'simulator' feel (which is what the game is about).Overall the game is highly enjoyable, in both single and multiplayer, in spite of the minor bugs, and I recommend it to anyone, unless of course you strongly disliked Operation Flahpoint. The game would have a higher score if the game had been released with more polish. Patches will certainly be released, and make the game an even more enjoyable playing experience.

19.2.2007

Ok, before we get going here.... a word of warning... This is NOT just another FPS... Its a combat simulation. its HARD. its UNFORGIVING. Oh, and its utterly brilliant for it. I've never played a game that had me running for my life and diving for cover in a bush, and actually being scared of the enemy helicopter spotting me. Its immersive, and if you own one, its inbuilt TRACKIR support adds an extra depth to that.It has some flaws to be patched, but they haven't stopped me being hooked on the campaign. Training missions are essential, and the campaign itself is set on a fictional island, with 21 singleplayer missions, ranging from sabotaging a bridge, taking out convoys,

14.3.2007

First, I was a big fan of OFP and was still playing it as SP (community created mods and SP missions and campaigns) until recently.I was with trepidation that I bought ArmA, and a new computer to play it!I didn't try the demo, so I can't give my opinion on that but I have had the game now for a little while , so this is a review based on my particular use of it.Well IMO it looks great.You are going to need a good computer to get the best out of the graphics though.There are bugs, but BIS and/or the community will sort this soon.BIS are not a large company but they do respond to the community.BTW if you do not know who they are, they also make combat simulations for a few of the armies of the world.My review is from the perspective of the multi-player,

19.2.2007

The first game I ever bought for my PC was Operation Flashpoint. It was a completely absorbing experience... nothing as realistic was done before (or since) and I still play it today. The add-ons only added to its appeal.If, like me you followed the online rumours of Operation Flashpoint 2 since 2002, you will know that the release of ArmA Armed Assault was a bit of a shock. Codemasters retained the rights to use the Operation Flashpoint name, so Bohemia have released this as ArmA.Everything with Flashpoint has been revamped considerably. The game environment is huge and detailed. The sound is excellent and the missions well thought out. I havent had a chance to play this online though,

25.3.2007

Ok firstly the minimum specs for this are:2.GHZ cpu512 Ramgraphics card that supports pixel shader 2.0 (ATI 9500)3.gig hddNot really state of the art stuff is it? granted you wont get all the eye candy but thats not going to spoil the game play.many of the reviews are comparing this to BF2 well think again!! this is a combat sim and believe it or not the guys at bohemia really have nailed it this time. Operation flashpoint was hailed as a huge leap when it arrived 2000, give the hard core gamers time they will be saying the same for ArmA. yes I agree there are bugs but these will get sorted out. just remember this is a new game with new features explosions are realistic theres a more realistic AI system in place.

22.1.2007

From the makers of Operation Flashpoint comes another revolutionary game. This game brings true reality to the battlefield. Long distance warfare across open terrain and urban fighting, this game has a strong sense of teamwork and a high level of detail to realism.I have only played the Demo thus far but it is absolutely brilliant, why not download it and give it a go. Dont expect to succeed straight away as no other game gives you a sense of realism like this one. To begin with you will try to fight as a computer player when you should be playing as a soldier. Stay close to your friends their covering fire is crucial, they keep you alive you keep them alive,

22.4.2007

Essentially Operation Flashpoint 2, but don't tell Codemasters as they copyrighted the name. An amazing war gaming simulator. These guys make war simulators for real armies, so that's how good this is. I fly Apache helicopters in real life and this game has somehow managed to capture the pressure of doing the job and requires the finesse of it also. Yes, it needs a decent system to run on, but I have friends running it on the minimum specs after a little tweaking - just turn down the visibility and all is good. If you have that decent system (mine runs it all on max settings - my specs: intel duo core 6400 - 2GB DDR2 RAM - eVGA 7950GTX 512MB graphics - AC97 onboard 7.1 sound)

24.2.2007

If you just want a small scale squad shooter, then maybe this isn't for you. The beauty of this game is it's scale, in Battle field 2 you can see about 500 meters before a wall of fog gets in the way. Although I have to say you don't even notice it until you play this game with your view range set at 2500 meters and can see trees being felled by tanks rolling down a hill 3 times further than you can even see in battle field. and then the hills that slowly fade out to a more realistic fog still containing forests of trees and buildings.The best part of the game for me is the custom battle editor, which used to keep me entertained far longer than the average game did in Operation flashpoint and is a similer affair here.

27.2.2007

Armed Assault takes a bit of getting used to, has a steep learning curve and pretty awful sound (which you can now fix with a mod). Other than that it's absolutely brilliant. No game can touch it for how immersing it is, nothing can come within a million miles of it in terms of the flexibility it offers the player, from pilot missions to footslogging to racing buses you have total freedom with the mission editor to do what you like.The single player with the mission editor is plenty fun, but multiplayer it's the best thing I've seen since Planetside in its prime. Twenty or more players taking on a co-operative mission is amazing fun and provides the sort of teamplay and challenges that you just can't get in most games.Word to the wise as well,

12.9.2007

Was always a big fan of the original Operation Flashpoint and Arma follows with the same endless gameplay opportunities. The mission editor makes both of these titles great fun. Graphics are gorgeous and low fying through the scenery is stunning. If you want more of a soldier sim rather than a standard fps then this is your thing.However, and here is the catch if you use Vista, Arma HATES it! I have a two week old monster rig with quad processor, 8800GTX SLI and 2 gig RAM, but thanks to incompatibility with Vista, I have seen poor FPS at times and a tendancy for the program to crash, especially on exit.Can't wait for a fix so I can really enjoy and since there is a strong community behind this

18.4.2007

Now here we have amazing game. Very realistic, graphics and sound are great. Plz dont listen to people who say that it can get hard, that enemy shots u froma mile and so on. This is not shoot them up, this is war simulator, and at war there is no "Rambo" mod. That is why, if u stick ur head out, if u run around like an idiot, u will get shot down, simple as that.Some one in previous reviews said that this game needs a little polish, its true, but BIS are good developers and will sort community out with a treat, soon. And dont say i dont like campaign or i dont like missions, because if u dont, simply make ur own.There is no end to amount of things i can say about this game,

28.2.2010

Great game. If you're looking for realism there is no better. Hours of fun.P.S. Arma II is amazing.

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