ArmA II (PC)

T3h Windeh

Man I've been waiting for this for AGES!

For those of you who know nothing about it, ArmA II is a military simulation game that runs on Real Virtuality 3.
Military groups around the world currently train on 'Real Virtuality 2' and as such, the public are getting the latest in battlefield simulation.

It features an insanely detailed environment of which online you and your friends can explore and wage war against opposing forces. It also features co-op.

Setting

The game takes place in the eastern part of a fictional post-Soviet state called Chernarus. Namely the region of South Zagoria and the remote island of Útes.
The area of approximately 225 km² is based on actual satellite photos of České Středohoří. All necessary data is loaded silently in the background, therefore the player is at no time interrupted by any loading screens while traveling through the terrain.


Campaign

Harvest Red is set in the present-day in a fictional post-Soviet country called Chernarus (Black Russia). The country is in a state of political unrest, with a western backed Democratic government trying to hold onto power from pro Communist forces, after many months of civil war, the Communist forces failed to overthrow the current government and set up the Socialist Republic of Chernarus. The remaining democratic forces ask the west for help and the United States of America send the United States Marine Corps and a Expeditionary Strike Group to anchor off the Chernarus coast. The campaign starts as the U.S. Marine Corps Force Recon lands in Chernarus to try and quell the civil war. Bohemia Interactive revealed during E3 that the game will have a "roleplaying feel to it"; with in-game events affecting the character as well as the entire campaign. An example would be terrorizing noncombatants and losing their trust, thus encouraging them to give away valuable information to enemy forces.


Main Features

• Unrivaled realism
  ArmA II models real world ballistics & round deflection, materials penetration, a realtime day/night cycle and dynamic wind, weather and environmental effects.
• A player-driven story
  Explore multiple paths through a branching campaign. Your actions have consequences!
• Seemlessly blends FPS, RTS and RPG elements
  Fight first-hand or control multiple squads. Manage resources and watch your units develop.
• Dynamic conversation system
  Talk to teammates, allies and civilians. Win hearts and minds.
• Unique AI
  No scripts, no pre defined pathways. AI adapt and use the open environment on the fly.
• 60 weapons, 120 air, land and sea vehicles
  A comprehensive collection of modern military materiel!
• The most rewarding multiplayer environment
  Fully cooperative campaign, massive PvP battles over air, land and sea. Fight friends online for control of 225sq kilometers of real-world terrain!
• Intuituive, powerful mission editor
  Design your own mission in minutes or create intricate and unique campaigns.

And yeah, I kinda stole those from sites because my words wouldn't do it justice. :P

Anyway here's a link to some HD gameplay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUE_dHnJ6LU&feature=related

It's got a poor framerate, and the graphics were lowered for recording's sake, but the music is worth it.

Stev_o

Is it out? Is it as buggy as the last one? Does the campaign actually work now?

T3h Windeh

Came out on the 29th in Germany, and from what I've been reading this bad boy looks promising.

We get it on the 19th.

Sephiroth_dude

Looks class,I cant get the first one to work on vista 32bit for some reason I hope this one works for me.

Azza

As much as it pains me to say this, advanced reviews going out of Germany (its already out there) are not good.

Performance review is here.
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,685770/Armed-Assault-2-Graphics-card-benchmarks-and-visual-quality-compared/Practice/

Apparantly this now replaces Crysis and GTA 4 as the most difficult game to run at decent graphical settings and just as buggy as Armed Assault 1.

First German review gave it 4/10. Will post up a link when I get a chance. But they described it as a bug ridden mess.

dreamers75

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stev_o

Azza wrote: »

As much as it pains me to say this, advanced reviews going out of Germany (its already out there) are not good.

Performance review is here.
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,685770/Armed-Assault-2-Graphics-card-benchmarks-and-visual-quality-compared/Practice/

Apparantly this now replaces Crysis and GTA 4 as the most difficult game to run at decent graphical settings and just as buggy as Armed Assault 1.

First German review gave it 4/10. Will post up a link when I get a chance. But they described it as a bug ridden mess.

Bah no surprised really if it's true but in fairness there is so much going on the game it was bound to make a dent.

See i think this is the problem with the developers, Flashpoint was one of the best games ever due it's unique gameplay not it's graphics. I still play it today even though you can make things in MS Paint that look better. They don't need photo realistic graphics id be more then happy with a decent graphical effort, huge scale and great gameplay like the original.

0ubliette

Honestly, who didnt see this coming?

Bohemia couldt program a ****ing game to save their lives. Arma was a shambles, Arma 2 is a shambles, the cosmic ballet goes on

Azza

Give them credit where credit is due....they programed thee Operation Flashpoint and the more or less fixed Armed Assault with several major patches and continue to support it even now.


There a small outfit and there titles are way more ambitious than 99% of games on the market!

Spear

Azza wrote: »

Give them credit where credit is due....they programed thee Operation Flashpoint and the more or less fixed Armed Assault with several major patches and continue to support it even now.


There a small outfit and there titles are way more ambitious than 99% of games on the market!

And they already have patch 1.01 out as public beta for the German edition.

http://forum.dlh.net/thread;threadid__33215.html

Krieg

Got this a couple days. I liked the first one despite the bugs, in fact I ordered the German version as it was out earlier. I decided to get a copy through alternate methods this time as the german-english patches were a pain in the ass, despite my decent grasp of german.

There are some HORRIFIC bugs in this. No other way to put it. I cant get past the first campaign mission because of a reoccurring bug , where the team stop at a waypoint and wont budge. While the 1.01 patch will fix this bug (I think), ive already heard horrible stuff about the second mission so Gonna have to wait 'til the end of the month for the first proper patch. Regardless, this game should not have been released this early. The thing thats keeping me paying is the good old map editor. Which seems less bugged than anything else.


I have been impressed by some of the stuff Ive seen. The AI is definitely a step up from anything ive seen (disregarding bugs). The plane/helicopter crashes have a really cool effect, where they dont simply explode and drop to the ground. When an air vehicle crashes, it will actually create a ditch/path along which it slides and stops. Even after the dust settles, the copper will be half buried into the ground. While this event is somewhat scripted, it was still impressive. Another great addition is the "fear effect" (not sure what exactly they call it). Your pitched in a fight, you fire some rounds off and kill an enemy, at which point the enemy turn their attention to you. The enemy will throw down suppressive fire regardless of how visible you are, while you hide away, your aim becomes a lot less accurate and your character starts breathing heavily. Fear from the bullets whizzing around you. The inaccuracy is comparable to ARMA/OFP when you sprint a long distance and your crosshair jumps around until you get your breath back. It might sound some what annoying, but I thought it was a really cool feature.

If you liked ARMA, you will like this but I couldnt stress enough about the bugs and suggest that you shouldnt purchase until the first big patch comes out near the end of the month

Spear

Since it's out in Germany, videos are cropping up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aatVOA6oqxk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRVNT5NTQ6A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTZM7jO7G-g

Patch 1.02 is scheduled for June 19th.

Sephiroth_dude

Krieg wrote: »

Got this a couple days. I liked the first one despite the bugs, in fact I ordered the German version as it was out earlier. I decided to get a copy through alternate methods this time as the german-english patches were a pain in the ass, despite my decent grasp of german.

There are some HORRIFIC bugs in this. No other way to put it. I cant get past the first campaign mission because of a reoccurring bug , where the team stop at a waypoint and wont budge. While the 1.01 patch will fix this bug (I think), ive already heard horrible stuff about the second mission so Gonna have to wait 'til the end of the month for the first proper patch. Regardless, this game should not have been released this early. The thing thats keeping me paying is the good old map editor. Which seems less bugged than anything else.


I have been impressed by some of the stuff Ive seen. The AI is definitely a step up from anything ive seen (disregarding bugs). The plane/helicopter crashes have a really cool effect, where they dont simply explode and drop to the ground. When an air vehicle crashes, it will actually create a ditch/path along which it slides and stops. Even after the dust settles, the copper will be half buried into the ground. While this event is somewhat scripted, it was still impressive. Another great addition is the "fear effect" (not sure what exactly they call it). Your pitched in a fight, you fire some rounds off and kill an enemy, at which point the enemy turn their attention to you. The enemy will throw down suppressive fire regardless of how visible you are, while you hide away, your aim becomes a lot less accurate and your character starts breathing heavily. Fear from the bullets whizzing around you. The inaccuracy is comparable to ARMA/OFP when you sprint a long distance and your crosshair jumps around until you get your breath back. It might sound some what annoying, but I thought it was a really cool feature.

If you liked ARMA, you will like this but I couldnt stress enough about the bugs and suggest that you shouldnt purchase until the first big patch comes out near the end of the month

what kinda specs do you need to run it ? and how much does it take up on the harddrive?

tribulus

I think I'd rather wait for OFP: Dragon Rising to come out than get this if it's that buggy.

Krieg

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

what kinda specs do you need to run it ? and how much does it take up on the harddrive?

I have an 8800GTS, Core 2 DUO E6600 @ 3ghz, 4Gig ram.
Game is 9GB on the hard drive
I have arma running on medium settings, running @ an avg 30/35fps

Maximilian

I know there's going to be bugs and performance issues but I don't care, I'm going to buy this anyway. It looks epic. Azza showed me a vid earlier of an epic night battle. Nuts!

Sephiroth_dude

Maximilian wrote: »

I know there's going to be bugs and performance issues but I don't care, I'm going to buy this anyway. It looks epic. Azza showed me a vid earlier of an epic night battle. Nuts!

I agree,I've looking forward to this for ages.

Stev_o

God damn BIS why did they have to make the best sound and looking game of all time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zhS4DuML5Q

I mean come on now i just HAVE to buy it.

humanji

Maximilian wrote: »

I know there's going to be bugs and performance issues but I don't care, I'm going to buy this anyway. It looks epic. Azza showed me a vid earlier of an epic night battle. Nuts!

I'm in the same boat. I know I'm just going to get pissed off with it crashing on me, but I'm just going to keep on starting it up again.

Maximilian

OK if I wasn't sold before now, I now am.

Also, lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khG8pVEmzO4

Also, LMAO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4BquqHwtrg

Krieg

Maximilian wrote: »

OK if I wasn't sold before now, I now am.

Also, lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khG8pVEmzO4

Holy crap that was epic, cant... stop..... rewatching

Stev_o

This is so frustating this game is going to be horribly brilliant. It's going to make me pull my hair out while simultaneously cry with tears of joys.

PogMoThoin

Whens the English version out?

Sephiroth_dude

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Whens the English version out?

Next friday.

Maximilian

Krieg wrote: »

Holy crap that was epic, cant... stop..... rewatching

I know. Its just so....epic.

Spear

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Next friday.

Along with patch 1.02 if things go according to schedule.

PogMoThoin

I've been playing about with the German version (modded badly to English by someone, some things are still German), I've not got out of the Armoury yet but its fantastic, realism and sounds are amazing, think I might buy this one even though its buggy as shít

..........Now who was sayin piracy is killing pc games?

Sephiroth_dude

Spear wrote: »

Along with patch 1.02 if things go according to schedule.

Any idea what that patch fix?

Stev_o

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Any idea what that patch fix?

Knowing BIS probably not enough. If Arma is anything to go by we'll be download patches a 1/3 of the actual game size in a few months time.

Spear

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Any idea what that patch fix?

They haven't released change notes yet.

ArphaRima

Damnit. I am not going to buy both ArmA 2 and OFP 2. ArmA 1 was a disaster so OFP 2 will prob get my blessing. I loved the original, but I will not play it at any cost. Bugs are absolutely not acceptable to me. I will not pay good money for something that blatantly doesnt work!

Azza

Armed Assault 1 is a good game just get the patches for it and its in decent nick. But yeah booo for buggy games on release.

PogMoThoin

Azza wrote: »

Armed Assault 1 is a good game just get the patches for it and its in decent nick. But yeah booo for buggy games on release.

I enjoyed it, that is to the point where You had to be nightwatch man........in real time :eek: I waited hours and encountered a bug where nothing happened

Maximilian

Eurogamer's Review is up. 8/10.

Short version: Brilliant but buggy. No real surprise there.

Still buying it though.

Stev_o

PC Gamer gave it a 8.3

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=217542

Kiith

If its getting these scores while still being a buggy mess (havent read the reviews yet as im in work), then it must be pretty damn good. Looking forward to trying this.

death1234567

I dunno if I'll risk this. If I had the internet speed I'd probably pirate it to try it first but I don't fancy paying €33 for a buggy mess. I learnt my lesson from Empire: Total war.

5uspect

There's talk of a demo:
http://www.n4g.com/pc/News-346235.aspx

cianr

5uspect wrote: »

There's talk of a demo:
http://www.n4g.com/pc/News-346235.aspx

Ive downloaded it - trying to get the demo to install now! :rolleyes:

ArphaRima

where did you d/l it from?
demo i assume?

Cunny-Funt

Seeing all this makes me wanna wip out arma 1 again cause I may as well play that and play arma2 in a years time when its less buggy. I'm not seeing anything about arma 2 thats not in 1 so far. Cept some better effects and animations which are probably horribly optimised and slow down my pc.

cianr

cianr wrote: »

Ive downloaded it - trying to get the demo to install now! :rolleyes:

Sorry, I'm such a dope, I've downloaded the demo for the first one!

Krieg

Feck! GAME in galway say they wont release it until friday week. Is this the same for all other stores in Ireland? I read the EU release date was tomorow

jackoire

Krieg wrote: »

Feck! GAME in galway say they wont release it until friday week. Is this the same for all other stores in Ireland? I read the EU release date was tomorow

Any1 know wheres selling this 2morro? If not im ordering online. I was thinking GAME would have this, anywhere else in Dublin that may have it?

Cunny-Funt

Can anyone tell me whats better about this V Arma 1 in its current state?

Stev_o

Cunny-Funt wrote: »

Can anyone tell me whats better about this V Arma 1 in its current state?

AI is better, campaign is better and alot more slight graphical differences.

Jackalxx

so anyone know what retailer will be selling this around dublin/kildare, im guessing GAME in liffey valley might,they are good at having a load of pc games,im also gonna try smyths in naas and gamestop

Spear

Jackalxx wrote: »

so anyone know what retailer will be selling this around dublin/kildare, im guessing GAME in liffey valley might,they are good at having a load of pc games,im also gonna try smyths in naas and gamestop

Game should, they've had display boxes out for several weeks now.

Stev_o

This game is going to set me back 260 quid >_< God damn BIS why did they have to make such a technical game and pretty much nudge me into upgrading my GFX.

Jackalxx

im sorted, i got a striker ii extreme mobo,
core 2 quad 3.ghz not overclocked
a geforce gtx 260
2gb ddr3

runs crysis no bother

DePurpereWolf

Just like to mention a little review + youtube movie on fidgit.com
http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/06/are_arma_iis_features_commonly.php

Not a big fan of the genre, but movie is impressive