Review | ArmA II
I use the term “military simulator” very purposefully there. ArmA II is not your typical “game” in the traditional sense. FPS veterans will find ArmA II takes a completely different approach to the shooter dynamic, placing you in the boots of a vulnerable soldier rather than a bulletproof hero. This shift is likely to catch many newcomers off-guard, leading to quick deaths and frustration. Firing your weapon in ArmA II is completely different to the traditional FPS titles out there: here, you need to steady your weapon and aim carefully if you want to make the shot count. Crouching and going prone increase stability, and avoiding injury and breathlessness also play an important role.
//Don’t just stand there, shoot!
Making each shot count is certainly worth your time, as one hit will kill. This works both ways and forces you to play ArmA II cautiously and tactically. You are a soldier in a war zone and need to act like one, running short distances, keeping low and zigzagging across open space. It’s a tense experience.
Realistic physics, sound, weapons, and vehicles are further enhanced by fantastic visuals with hugely impressive draw distances. The 225 square kilometre area that makes up Chernarus is brilliantly detailed and varied, and the characters, vehicles and buildings are well textured and mostly well animated, bar the occasional clipping issue and arm waving animation. And it’s great to see a relatively small developer pull off something so ambitious – the sheer scope of ArmA II certainly warrants a round of applause.
As impressive as the accomplishment is, the unique nature of the military simulator is also its biggest hurdle. ArmA II will not appeal to everyone – indeed, its fan-base is likely to be limited to those already fans of Bohemia Interactive’s work. Although ArmA II attempts to encourage other gamers to experience what’s on offer, with the more cinematic narrative and the addition of a medic, it’s is still a little too intimidating, unforgiving, complex and unintuitive to be accessible to all. The plethora of controls mapped to the keyboard and mouse is overwhelming, and with only a meagre tutorial to help new players, it all becomes somewhat clumsy.
If nothing else, ArmA II is quite the technical achievement. But the unforgiving nature of the simulation may put some players off, and although community mods may end up developing ArmA 2 into more of a game in the future, right now it doesn’t provide the experience most players will be used to. Still, there’s a lot fun to be had from ArmA II, and those with a yearning for hardened military battling will find Bohemia Interactive’s latest creation is just what they’ve been looking for. If you want to join the army without leaving your civilian comforts behind, then this is the closest you’re going to get. Now drop and give me fifty, soldier!
7/10
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I must admit I am really looking forward to playing this game. I still have very positive memories of Operation Flashpoint, despite it’s flaws. In fact it appears that the chief flaws of that game, the voices and the squad controls, have not really been addressed.
I have heard worrying rumours that this may not make it to the 360, which would be a shame. The Xbox version of OFP retained many of the good points of the original game, but made it slightly more accessible but refining and simplifying the more clumsy elements. It’s major weakness was the delay in making the transition, resulting in a game with disappointingly obsolete graphics.
What I do not like about this review is that it seems to imply the reason for its low score is that the game cannot appeal to a wide enough audience, that the goal of a game is to be liked by the biggest majority. Its an obviously niche game that sets out to accomplish something, and after reading this review I am still left unsure as to how well it accomplished it.
All I really got from it in the end was that the voices could be redone… i have no idea how much of a success most of the game mechanics were (except for the ai, which got a positive nod). The reviewer should have admited they were unable to appreciate the game and let someone else do it, or review it in a way that more could be taken from it.
,YGS
YGS: The score is 70%. It is not, in any universe, a low mark. That’s a 7 out of 10, a 4 out of 5, a “Buy” rather than a “Don’t buy.” If you have a look at our mark guidelines, you’ll see that next to 70-79% it says “You’ll enjoy this, so long as you don’t expect perfection.” I’d say the review makes that pretty clear.
I think you may have misconstrued Greg’s comments a little bit. While he does point out that the very nature of the game is going to be a hurdle for many, he goes on to mention the cumbersome controls and poor tutorials as barriers to the entertainment. They’re problems that Greg felt were pretty serious in the face of what is, ultimately, a very solid military sim. Hope that clarifies things a bit.