ARMA2 review(test)

[paecmaker]

This is my first review ever so tell me how you think.


I chose to make a review about ARMA2.

ARMA2 is a warsim game and was made by Bohemia Interactive in 2009.(the makers from the old operation flashpoint)
The game is set in a fictional country called Chernarus(black russia).
In Chernarus there are several militant groups but the three leading groups are,

the Chernarus defence force(called CDF)
the Chedaki(communist rebels)
and the national party(called NAPA in game)

There are several more groups and countries but these are the ones in Chernarus.

When the game start the chedaki has launched an assault on CDF. The CDF calls for help and a US marine force responds.
You play as Sgt, cooper and is a part of the special force team razor squad.


GAMEPLAY

The gameplay in the campaign consist mostly of squad based actions. You can order the squad around. It can be complicated and sometimes in battles you get really annoyed having to go through all menus. If any in the squad dies you will loose the mission and restart from a saved game so its very importent to use the squads strenghts and weaknesses right or you will loose. The makers have made a fairly realistic game where you have to think not only once but even twice before you start to run. The squad consists of some special soldiers. A medic, a sniper and a heavy weapons guy.

I have died many times cause I forgot one enemy that shot me in the back. I can say this over and over again, the game is not for everyone. As one part of the realisitc gameplay I can mention that you cant fire and run and even if you walk your aim will almost be useless.

The battles is often in long ranges where you almost cant see your opponent. When firing in longer ranges the bullets will drop something(called bulllet drop) It can be seen if you shoot with tracer ammunition.

the campaign is only OK, not bad but not so good either. You can say its a warmup for the editor and multiplayer.

One thing I like is the difficulty levels. The enemy doesnt change so much. What is changing however is the realisitic levels.
On easy you have a hud and some discreet light things so you can see the enemys and friendlys. You got a map with you and your objective. And you can see your health.


On hard you cant see anything. You got a map and the objective but you cant see yourself or which direction you are standing at. For that you got a compass and a watch.

One thing to also put in the more realistic gameplay is the health system. If you are lightly injured you will move slowly and cant aim well. To be better you have to call your squad medic over.http://ttp2.dslyecxi.com/images/i_me...g_top_view.jpg
He will treat you if hes not shot also. You can also heal the people in your squad. If you are badly hurt you will fall down on the ground and start to bleed. While doing this you can use your pistol and crawl slowly but you will die in soon. The medic must hurry and save you. It is in this part of the game I have seen some major bugs sometimes. I yell and have crawled to safety but the medic ignores me.

The game concentrate on foot battles but chernarus is a big country(225km2 to be exact) so you have to use different vehicles and there are many vehicles out there. From bicykles to fighterjets and tanks

Most vehicles are funny to drive even if some of them are more boring. The funniest vehicles that I personally loves are the helicopters. They are easy to learn but hard to master(as it should be) The vehicles are a good part of the game even if I think some of them are a little unbalanced.



The AI of the enemy and your friends use something called micro AI. This means that very few thing with the enemy are scripted. The enemy think themselves and react to the situation on the paper. In "life" they are however stupid. Its fun fighting the AI cause you have to use tactics and cover. But the moment they sit down in the driving seat they turn into stupid clowns. They can drive, but only bad and its not rare that they hit someone.

Its been better now when the makers realeased a couple of patches but it isnt perfect yet. Later in game You can order an evac chopper to let you travel around the map but let me give you an advice. Dont order the chopper close to some trees or he will only chrash into them.(it has happend to me
several times)

To fully enjoy the game I would recomend that you downloaded some mods. More exactly, the ACE 2 mod. Its one of the best mods in the game and it gives you several new toys to play with. The mod also gives the game a more realisitc feeling with the adding of winds(when you sniping) the ability to rest your weapons on sandbags and stuff. There are many more things that the mod improves both in gameplay and in the graphics.

The graphics

The graphics of ARMA2 i really different on where you are and what pc you got. In some places The graphics look really good and can compete with many other games i3D.net Game Forums - powered by i3D.net Gamehosting
demos/943176560d1246019017-demo-arma-2-arma2_ingame_screenshot_0209_3.jpg

But in some places the graphics and textures are full of cracks and just look ugly.

The animations is also something I want to complain about. If the soldiers die in an explosion they die in the sam animation that they where being shot. And sometimes they might even survive and stand up like nothing happend only to start crawling. If the explosion is big enough they might fly away.
the vehicles have greater animations and I really love the helos and jets flying around.

Something else I want to complain about is the interface. Its one of the most clumsy interface I have ever seen and it take several seconds to issua an order.

for example. If I want your squad to do something more special you have to go through several menus and lists until you find the one you want.

The voices are also some of the worst Ive heard ever. If you think the voices in resident evil are bad listen to this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PZ_A...eature=related
They have mixed a little in this video but everone really sound like this.


The editor and communitys

Now to what I think is the best things about the game the editor and the community.

ARMA2s editor is really easy to use and you can do so much. You can do funny missions without any programming skills and if youre lazy just do this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khG8pVEmzO4
Hundreds of planes put against eachover.

There are several guides to the editor and if you didnt like the campaign you can do even better missions yourself. And if you got programming skills you can download tools and start making your own army.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWDnfp6aWxw

The community to this game is awsome. There are several fansites where you can download mods,patches or just get tips from other gamers.
The biggest fansite ishttp://armaholic.com/

I use a 10 point grade 1 for bad, 10 for best.

Gameplay-6 without mods (its fun but there are many bugs and some failures)
With mods-8 (its more realisitc and you need the mods if you want to enjoy the game for wahts its meant to be.

Graphics- 5 (im not a graphics snob but while some parts look good others look like crap.) With mods its an 6 cause the explosions looks better.

Modding community-10 Its the best editor tool I have seen and the community is large.

TOTAL- only game 7
With mods I score it a 8.5

One last note. I didnt have mp cause I cant play mp at home.
And you also need the ace mod to play mp.
(The Youtube clips is not mine)

[paecmaker]

I putted in a youtube video about the editor and builded some in the gameplay part.

Please comment so I now if Im doing right.

[ROFLBRYCE]

That game looks really, really cool. Where can I pick this up??? That was a really well-thought out and laid-out review. Man, I'm gonna be looking all over for this now.

[paecmaker]

That game looks really, really cool. Where can I pick this up??? That was a really well-thought out and laid-out review. Man, I'm gonna be looking all over for this now.

Well you can probably find it on most pages that sell games or gaming stores.
Now I dont know any stores that are outside scandinavia so you have probably seek help from someone else.

And about the game look for second opinions if you arent certain cause its a special game.

[LiNuX]

Very nice review!

And I think the graphics issue exists in many games. I've seen it happen in BFBC2 and L4D/2 custom maps. Really great in some places and terrible 10 feet away lol.

Game sounds like something I'd play, and some of the description reminds me a bit of battlefield.

Again great review! You should think about applying for a position as a Game Reviewer.

[paecmaker]

Thanks for the input. I think I will apply then.

About ARMA 2 being like battlefield, I dont know, its much slower and in much longer ranges.

That game looks really, really cool. Where can I pick this up??? That was a really well-thought out and laid-out review. Man, I'm gonna be looking all over for this now.

Sorry for double posting just had to answer again.

I didnt think this out, I wrote what came into my mind at the point.

[LiNuX]

I don't mind big maps as long as they aren't super huge. BFBC2 has a couple like that (the last two that were released).

[paecmaker]

I don't mind big maps as long as they aren't super huge. BFBC2 has a couple like that (the last two that were released).

Theres only two standard maps in the game(but you can download many more). One island that isnt to big and the rest. The big map is 225 km2 and in some mp modes the hole map is used. Its uside in the mp mode "when diplomacy fails" where you have to fight over the countries cities and villages from the opponent.

The best mp experience will be if you join a group and pla on a smaller and more tactical map.

One thing that I forgot to mention, its the same makers taht made the first operation flashpoint so the games are similar.

[LiNuX]

Ah. Sounds pretty interesting. And 225 square kilometers is just a bit too big for me lol...probably wouldn't have fun since I love to rush.

[ROFLBRYCE]

Sorry for double posting just had to answer again.

I didnt think this out, I wrote what came into my mind at the point.

WWTTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. As if a sign from god. I open up Steam. to activate my Portal 2 that came with my PS3 and guess what freaking pops up.

Yes my friend, Arma 2 for 80% off. $7.99, that's right. Man what luck I have.