Perhaps a good introduction is fitting before reviewing a game many of you might never have heard of, nevermind played. Armed Assault is the sequel to Bohemia Interactive Studio's critically acclaimed Operation Flashpoint : Cold War Crises. The series (which name had to be changed due to it being legally the 'intellectual property' of OFP's publisher Codemasters) aim is to producing a realistic combat simulator, representing all parts of a modern conflict from machine gunners, medics and snipers to tank commanders and jet fighter pilots. Produced by a 40 strong team in the Czech republic the game is available only to PC gamers, its release was staggered throughout the world in late 2006 - early 2007.
The plot to ArmA is similar to that of its predecessor. The action takes place on the fictional Atlantic island of Sahrani, a nation divided by the opposing political ideologies of the 20th Century. The south - or the Kingdom of South Sahrani - is the inevitable US supported, oil rich state which promotes equality, freedom and everything fluffy in a sunny meadow. The Democratic Republic of Sahrani, commonly knows as the north or Ruskies by the multi-player community, takes the part of the poor communist state bent on crushing the democratic south and systematically brainwashing its own population (keeping with tradition for all states with 'democratic republic' in there title) whilst generally being bastards - draw your own comparisons to Vietnam or Korea here. You, or more appropriately the USMC, gets involuntarily caught up in a conflict when the North pounces on the South with its rusting 1960's eastern block gear. I feel a little more back story is required to make sense of the ensuing mess. The US were present in the south to train its defence force, providing it with military advice and shiny new gear, no doubt a sleazy attempt to get its hand on some of that juicy oil. As the last remnants of the US force leaves the north blitzkrieg begins leaving you as to assist the South in its hopeless defence.
This highlights a first problem with ArmA. There is no you and as such the campaign is a big disappointment. Any of you (which is probably clutching at straws here) who have played OFP and its expansion packs will know the campaigns manage to create fairly good characters through the likes of Victor Troska, David Armstrong and Dmitri Lukin. ArmA provides none of the same and you are a faceless, nameless character, a different soldier in a different role every mission. Surly this is a good thing you say? giving you varying roles, letting you play as common soldier one mission and special forces the next. Perhaps, but it alienates you from the plot, you already have no control over the resolution of the campaign as in Cold War Crises of OFP, but you were far more involved emotionally in that campaign as you actually realised its effect on the various characters you played as. ArmA does not offer the same, there is no banter between Armstrong and his squad mate Coslowski, no drill sergeant, no mystery to the plot, in short the effects of war (exempt combat) on the soldier is not present.
The campaign does offer some choice however - which is to be applauded. There are 21 missions overall, between each mission are sub missions. The sub missions have a adverse effect on the main mission, for example in the second mission you are gearing up to defend against the north's mechanised onslaught. The sub mission choice is between covertly sabotaging the enemy's armour (resulting in less enemy armour in the main mission) or sniping enemy troops as they march to the front-line (resulting in less enemy infantry in the main mission). The basic aim of this in the developers minds was probably to extend the campaign, however by adding shorter 'straight to the action' missions in-between the more long winded main operations breaks any sort of grind and keeps the player interested with varying objectives and scenarios.
Also included are several single missions and a similar number of tutorial missions. Among these missions are a handful of 'remade fan favourites' from OFP as well as several new quick start operations. In all there are 11 of these mission, 5 of which have to be unlocked. A decent number when considering there purpose is mostly to introduce new players to the game play likely to expect during the main campaign. It is worth noting that since ArmA's release 2 additional campaigns have been produced by BI as part of the ArmA expansion pack Queens Gambit. One of the two campaigns included has sought to address the lack of any real characters which disappointed many fans. Named "Royal Flush", it see's you take control of a team of 6 mercenaries each with there own various specialities. A welcoming inclusion being that the player manages the equipment each team member possesses whilst also stocking up on new gear through an arms dealer. This is all good fun but still does not quite produce the magic that we have come to expect from BI's story writing.
But its not all bad news! The graphics are simply stunning. The view distance is jaw dropping, Oblivion is a foggy morning of the shores of Whitby in comparison. Now obviously the graphics are not quite as visually stunning as something like Crysis but let me justify my point. The game map covers 400 sq. km and features trees, forests, towns, water with waves and grass. To have all this with the view distance whilst keeping the frame rates up is no easy task. particular attention had to be made on models poly count and shadermaps. BI could easily have got carried away with graphics over game play, leaving only people possessing super computers able to play. Happily BI had hit the nail dead on the head in there compromise between the two, that is why the graphics are something the behold.
Much like the America's cup it wasn't all plain sailing. If you are particularly sharp, you may have notice I mentioned ArmA's release was staggered. This was perhaps a subtle inclusion but I did plan to, and will expand on it. The games original release on November 10th in the Czech Republic was plagued with game play, running, frame rate and starforce issues. The latter going down the worst with the community. Starforce, for those of you who don't know, is copy protection software with a bite. Accusations were flung at Starforce's software, accusing it of including "disk drive performance degradation, weakening of operating system security and stability". The OFP community were adamant this would not ruin there sequel, ArmA would not be there Silent Hunter III.
Starforce aside the original launch was met with dismay. Only those with access to computers in Swanwick could play the game without issues. Many in the games Czech community (which is substantially large) were disillusioned as they felt they were being used as a Beta testers before a global release, there is little doubt the game was unfinished. Back on topic before this becomes a documentary, BIS has learnt its lesson you would hope. The 505 release followed 3 months later in the UK (happily starforce free), accompanied by the release of several large patches. In these the general performance issues were addressed, both grass and vegetation had a makeover to improve frame rates, and BIS claims ArmA's latest patch can optimise performance on some rigs by up to 100%. New content was also released in these free patches including several new rifles and the A10 Thunderbolt. The AI has also had a major overhaul with various issues being resolved since ArmA Vanilla, notably aircraft engaging infantry and AI's ability to navigate its way through buildings and on bridges.
The AI is more often than not what makes or breaks game play. Judging the AI of ArmA is like trying to set fire to a swimming pool. Just when you think your getting to grips with it, it goes onto do something either enormously brilliant or dramatically stupid. Perhaps this is a problem with ArmA, the AI seems inconsistent. Sometimes you will meet an enemy squad and wipe them out without them getting so much as a shot of at you, other times a dramatic firefight will ensue. This behaviour does not seem to have any relation to the skill of enemy you are taking on, that is more influential over the accuracy of there gunfire but not on there tactics. The AI never fails to raise eyebrows, for example whilst leading a squad I was hugely surprised as rocket propelled grenades began to smash into my position. Containing no sort of mechanised transport this was a extremely enjoyable to see, it seems the AI contained some sort of initiative, deciding to throw everything it had at my little squad. Alternatively on several occasions I have been assaulting a village and met enemy troops making a desperate endless attempt to walk themselves through a wall or in a everlasting spin on the spot.
There is definite room for improvement, for a game that declares itself a 'combat simulator with total realism' troops seem a little to carless about there lives. In fact very careless with there lives, iv'e seen people more hesitant over getting shot last time I went paintballing. Very little is written into the AI in terms of taking cover, suppressing fire or actual military tactics. Any fire and movement is coincidental, packs of beagles having better organisation. As part of a squad you do little more than run and fire wildly into the air. Leading squads is not much better, the command system is easy to use and quickly understandable but far to slow in a combat situation. If you have the time and patience it can be used effectively, but all to often the enemy is upon you whilst your still telling your squad to keep there eyes peeled.
So tactics and strategy isn't the AI's strong point, despite this ArmA still produces some epic battles. The engine allows you to create firefights between literally hundreds of troops, tanks and aircraft. Just this morning a created a battle which far surpassed any unit limit that the Age of Empire series contained. Machine gunners firing to your side as grenades smash around you, overhead the roar of a helicopter as it launches a hellfire that smashes an enemy tank, that is just a normal day to someone who owns ArmA. Lets not strip the title of 'combat simulator with total realism' just yet, lets talk about multiplayer.
Play in a COD4, Americas Army and BF2 clan who claim to play in a realistic manner? That is nothing compared to the seriousness that many people take ArmA. Hundreds of clans exist, and its not uncommon at all to find that they contain rigorous rank structures and address each other as such. The community is rich with future, ex and currently serving military personnel, with real tactics operated to military precision, from squad formation to rules of engagement. Its not for everyone but its there none the less. Personally I call no man 'sir' over the internet, but there is a clan for everybody, with the way to play the game varying dramatically. The video below is taken by myself playing with the GOL clan.
Playing part of a squad in multiplayer is the best way to enjoy ArmA, everything American you see in that video is controlled by a player, including all air support. Without squadding up there is still much enjoyment to be had online. Co-op and CTF missions are always to be found, as well as ArmA's newly released version of the classic 'Capture the Island' game type from OFP. The objective is relatively self explanatory, the new version 'Warfare' see's the two sides struggle over controlling each of the island towns by building bases and purchasing infantry, tanks and aircraft. The only real complaint about multiplayer was the easiness that it was for people to hack the game. In the early months ArmA's gaming servers were systematically ruined by a notorious group naming themselves the TKC (team kill clan). With there roots in counter strike, there aim is to cheat there way to spoiling everyone else's game. ArmA's engine allowed them to create a sky of bombs to fall on everyone in the session and similar pranks. Happily through the introduction of a program named Battle-Eye this as all but been stamped out.
What really making ArmA worth buying is the community. ArmA is probably one of the most modded games around, with community made content stretching from the South African Angolan war in the 1980's to the galactic battles of Stargate. As we all know mods increase playing time, resurrecting interest in a game you may have owned many months or years. The modding community for ArmA is really starting to take off with people probing its engine to reach its full potential. Real time mission editors, fully destructive buildings and multiple aircraft gunner positions are just some examples.
As with OFP the modding community will require a period of time before a substantial amount of add-ons become available, we are now beginning to see releases kick in and many high rated developers work starting to take shape. For instance the work of RSKL Studios (British air power), BW Mod (German Army), Project 85 (Forces of Nato and the Warsaw Pact) and Invasion1944 (D-Day) are all currently developing extremely high level add-ons. The work also goes beyond extending the gaming experience, but also changing the key components delivered by BIS. There are handfuls of different sound, weapon replacement, effects, high definition sky, AI and vegetation mods all improving game play and building upon the creators labours. The result is a community forever improving the game it loves, ensuring many players will be active for years to come. See below for the great effect mods can make.
With the hope that I have then showed to you ArmA is not a fast paced, run in guns blasting FPS. No, this game is something quite different carrying a certain elegance despite some of its major flaws. The most notable the AI and its poor excuse for a campaign, with no apparent major enhancements since its predecessor OFP. Despite this ArmA is able to carry a uniqueness with is increasingly lacking in the game industry, it has its own feel which nothing else comes close to. Its in a genre of its own, the only game currently anything to comparable would be the Hidden And Dangerous series. Many shooters claim to be realistic but ArmA is the only title currently which can justify. This is a view shared by many of the worlds leading armed forces whom make up BIS customers for Virtual Battlespace System 2, a program built of the same Real Virtuality engine that ArmA uses. The result is the closest experience of combat one can achieve through a 3D simulation.
Aided by is dynamic battles, a simply fantastic community and a soundtrack with more out of place guitar screeches than an episode of Sharpe this game is bags of fun, its by no means perfect but still hugely enjoyable. My humble advice : Buy it.
The plot to ArmA is similar to that of its predecessor. The action takes place on the fictional Atlantic island of Sahrani, a nation divided by the opposing political ideologies of the 20th Century. The south - or the Kingdom of South Sahrani - is the inevitable US supported, oil rich state which promotes equality, freedom and everything fluffy in a sunny meadow. The Democratic Republic of Sahrani, commonly knows as the north or Ruskies by the multi-player community, takes the part of the poor communist state bent on crushing the democratic south and systematically brainwashing its own population (keeping with tradition for all states with 'democratic republic' in there title) whilst generally being bastards - draw your own comparisons to Vietnam or Korea here. You, or more appropriately the USMC, gets involuntarily caught up in a conflict when the North pounces on the South with its rusting 1960's eastern block gear. I feel a little more back story is required to make sense of the ensuing mess. The US were present in the south to train its defence force, providing it with military advice and shiny new gear, no doubt a sleazy attempt to get its hand on some of that juicy oil. As the last remnants of the US force leaves the north blitzkrieg begins leaving you as to assist the South in its hopeless defence.
Gas cans on the back, smart, real smart.
This highlights a first problem with ArmA. There is no you and as such the campaign is a big disappointment. Any of you (which is probably clutching at straws here) who have played OFP and its expansion packs will know the campaigns manage to create fairly good characters through the likes of Victor Troska, David Armstrong and Dmitri Lukin. ArmA provides none of the same and you are a faceless, nameless character, a different soldier in a different role every mission. Surly this is a good thing you say? giving you varying roles, letting you play as common soldier one mission and special forces the next. Perhaps, but it alienates you from the plot, you already have no control over the resolution of the campaign as in Cold War Crises of OFP, but you were far more involved emotionally in that campaign as you actually realised its effect on the various characters you played as. ArmA does not offer the same, there is no banter between Armstrong and his squad mate Coslowski, no drill sergeant, no mystery to the plot, in short the effects of war (exempt combat) on the soldier is not present.
The campaign does offer some choice however - which is to be applauded. There are 21 missions overall, between each mission are sub missions. The sub missions have a adverse effect on the main mission, for example in the second mission you are gearing up to defend against the north's mechanised onslaught. The sub mission choice is between covertly sabotaging the enemy's armour (resulting in less enemy armour in the main mission) or sniping enemy troops as they march to the front-line (resulting in less enemy infantry in the main mission). The basic aim of this in the developers minds was probably to extend the campaign, however by adding shorter 'straight to the action' missions in-between the more long winded main operations breaks any sort of grind and keeps the player interested with varying objectives and scenarios.
Also included are several single missions and a similar number of tutorial missions. Among these missions are a handful of 'remade fan favourites' from OFP as well as several new quick start operations. In all there are 11 of these mission, 5 of which have to be unlocked. A decent number when considering there purpose is mostly to introduce new players to the game play likely to expect during the main campaign. It is worth noting that since ArmA's release 2 additional campaigns have been produced by BI as part of the ArmA expansion pack Queens Gambit. One of the two campaigns included has sought to address the lack of any real characters which disappointed many fans. Named "Royal Flush", it see's you take control of a team of 6 mercenaries each with there own various specialities. A welcoming inclusion being that the player manages the equipment each team member possesses whilst also stocking up on new gear through an arms dealer. This is all good fun but still does not quite produce the magic that we have come to expect from BI's story writing.
But its not all bad news! The graphics are simply stunning. The view distance is jaw dropping, Oblivion is a foggy morning of the shores of Whitby in comparison. Now obviously the graphics are not quite as visually stunning as something like Crysis but let me justify my point. The game map covers 400 sq. km and features trees, forests, towns, water with waves and grass. To have all this with the view distance whilst keeping the frame rates up is no easy task. particular attention had to be made on models poly count and shadermaps. BI could easily have got carried away with graphics over game play, leaving only people possessing super computers able to play. Happily BI had hit the nail dead on the head in there compromise between the two, that is why the graphics are something the behold.
I can see my house from here with this view distance.
Much like the America's cup it wasn't all plain sailing. If you are particularly sharp, you may have notice I mentioned ArmA's release was staggered. This was perhaps a subtle inclusion but I did plan to, and will expand on it. The games original release on November 10th in the Czech Republic was plagued with game play, running, frame rate and starforce issues. The latter going down the worst with the community. Starforce, for those of you who don't know, is copy protection software with a bite. Accusations were flung at Starforce's software, accusing it of including "disk drive performance degradation, weakening of operating system security and stability". The OFP community were adamant this would not ruin there sequel, ArmA would not be there Silent Hunter III.
Starforce aside the original launch was met with dismay. Only those with access to computers in Swanwick could play the game without issues. Many in the games Czech community (which is substantially large) were disillusioned as they felt they were being used as a Beta testers before a global release, there is little doubt the game was unfinished. Back on topic before this becomes a documentary, BIS has learnt its lesson you would hope. The 505 release followed 3 months later in the UK (happily starforce free), accompanied by the release of several large patches. In these the general performance issues were addressed, both grass and vegetation had a makeover to improve frame rates, and BIS claims ArmA's latest patch can optimise performance on some rigs by up to 100%. New content was also released in these free patches including several new rifles and the A10 Thunderbolt. The AI has also had a major overhaul with various issues being resolved since ArmA Vanilla, notably aircraft engaging infantry and AI's ability to navigate its way through buildings and on bridges.
The AI is more often than not what makes or breaks game play. Judging the AI of ArmA is like trying to set fire to a swimming pool. Just when you think your getting to grips with it, it goes onto do something either enormously brilliant or dramatically stupid. Perhaps this is a problem with ArmA, the AI seems inconsistent. Sometimes you will meet an enemy squad and wipe them out without them getting so much as a shot of at you, other times a dramatic firefight will ensue. This behaviour does not seem to have any relation to the skill of enemy you are taking on, that is more influential over the accuracy of there gunfire but not on there tactics. The AI never fails to raise eyebrows, for example whilst leading a squad I was hugely surprised as rocket propelled grenades began to smash into my position. Containing no sort of mechanised transport this was a extremely enjoyable to see, it seems the AI contained some sort of initiative, deciding to throw everything it had at my little squad. Alternatively on several occasions I have been assaulting a village and met enemy troops making a desperate endless attempt to walk themselves through a wall or in a everlasting spin on the spot.
Poorly aimed US air support, one of many realistic AI features
There is definite room for improvement, for a game that declares itself a 'combat simulator with total realism' troops seem a little to carless about there lives. In fact very careless with there lives, iv'e seen people more hesitant over getting shot last time I went paintballing. Very little is written into the AI in terms of taking cover, suppressing fire or actual military tactics. Any fire and movement is coincidental, packs of beagles having better organisation. As part of a squad you do little more than run and fire wildly into the air. Leading squads is not much better, the command system is easy to use and quickly understandable but far to slow in a combat situation. If you have the time and patience it can be used effectively, but all to often the enemy is upon you whilst your still telling your squad to keep there eyes peeled.
So tactics and strategy isn't the AI's strong point, despite this ArmA still produces some epic battles. The engine allows you to create firefights between literally hundreds of troops, tanks and aircraft. Just this morning a created a battle which far surpassed any unit limit that the Age of Empire series contained. Machine gunners firing to your side as grenades smash around you, overhead the roar of a helicopter as it launches a hellfire that smashes an enemy tank, that is just a normal day to someone who owns ArmA. Lets not strip the title of 'combat simulator with total realism' just yet, lets talk about multiplayer.
Play in a COD4, Americas Army and BF2 clan who claim to play in a realistic manner? That is nothing compared to the seriousness that many people take ArmA. Hundreds of clans exist, and its not uncommon at all to find that they contain rigorous rank structures and address each other as such. The community is rich with future, ex and currently serving military personnel, with real tactics operated to military precision, from squad formation to rules of engagement. Its not for everyone but its there none the less. Personally I call no man 'sir' over the internet, but there is a clan for everybody, with the way to play the game varying dramatically. The video below is taken by myself playing with the GOL clan.
Watch Me [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKX83sEtu34]
Playing part of a squad in multiplayer is the best way to enjoy ArmA, everything American you see in that video is controlled by a player, including all air support. Without squadding up there is still much enjoyment to be had online. Co-op and CTF missions are always to be found, as well as ArmA's newly released version of the classic 'Capture the Island' game type from OFP. The objective is relatively self explanatory, the new version 'Warfare' see's the two sides struggle over controlling each of the island towns by building bases and purchasing infantry, tanks and aircraft. The only real complaint about multiplayer was the easiness that it was for people to hack the game. In the early months ArmA's gaming servers were systematically ruined by a notorious group naming themselves the TKC (team kill clan). With there roots in counter strike, there aim is to cheat there way to spoiling everyone else's game. ArmA's engine allowed them to create a sky of bombs to fall on everyone in the session and similar pranks. Happily through the introduction of a program named Battle-Eye this as all but been stamped out.
One of TKC's many hilarious gags.
What really making ArmA worth buying is the community. ArmA is probably one of the most modded games around, with community made content stretching from the South African Angolan war in the 1980's to the galactic battles of Stargate. As we all know mods increase playing time, resurrecting interest in a game you may have owned many months or years. The modding community for ArmA is really starting to take off with people probing its engine to reach its full potential. Real time mission editors, fully destructive buildings and multiple aircraft gunner positions are just some examples.
As with OFP the modding community will require a period of time before a substantial amount of add-ons become available, we are now beginning to see releases kick in and many high rated developers work starting to take shape. For instance the work of RSKL Studios (British air power), BW Mod (German Army), Project 85 (Forces of Nato and the Warsaw Pact) and Invasion1944 (D-Day) are all currently developing extremely high level add-ons. The work also goes beyond extending the gaming experience, but also changing the key components delivered by BIS. There are handfuls of different sound, weapon replacement, effects, high definition sky, AI and vegetation mods all improving game play and building upon the creators labours. The result is a community forever improving the game it loves, ensuring many players will be active for years to come. See below for the great effect mods can make.
Watch Me [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bre5zUh7cwA]
With the hope that I have then showed to you ArmA is not a fast paced, run in guns blasting FPS. No, this game is something quite different carrying a certain elegance despite some of its major flaws. The most notable the AI and its poor excuse for a campaign, with no apparent major enhancements since its predecessor OFP. Despite this ArmA is able to carry a uniqueness with is increasingly lacking in the game industry, it has its own feel which nothing else comes close to. Its in a genre of its own, the only game currently anything to comparable would be the Hidden And Dangerous series. Many shooters claim to be realistic but ArmA is the only title currently which can justify. This is a view shared by many of the worlds leading armed forces whom make up BIS customers for Virtual Battlespace System 2, a program built of the same Real Virtuality engine that ArmA uses. The result is the closest experience of combat one can achieve through a 3D simulation.
Aided by is dynamic battles, a simply fantastic community and a soundtrack with more out of place guitar screeches than an episode of Sharpe this game is bags of fun, its by no means perfect but still hugely enjoyable. My humble advice : Buy it.
David Beckham as a tommy? the limits are endless.
