Product Description

ArmA: Armed Assault is an exceptional military shooter, and the game offers players incredible realism, dense tactics and intense strategy. You will need to rely on keen eyesight, gut instincts and a sharp strategic mind if you are to survive on the expansive battlefields of ArmA. Every decision you make could mean the difference between death and glory for you and your troops.

• Developed by Bohemia Interactive, best known for the genre-breaking smash hit Operation Flashpoint
• Extensive multiplayer modes and matches which offer something for every online FPS gamer
• The ultimate realistic combat simulation on PC
• Use a large selection of playable military and civilian gear.
• Explore a wide, extremely detailed map covering over 400 sq. Km
• Customizable game with built-in mission editor.
• Play a 21 missions single player campaign.
• Use over 30 battle vehicles including APC`s, tanks, boats, helicopters, fighter planes and many more!
• Experience a battle with 100 and more units on the same battlefield in multiplayer mode!
• European exclusive features include:
• Two new aircraft: take to the skies in the fearsome Su-34 Fighter and Su-34 Bomber
• Two new motorbikes: powerful hogs of war for both sides of the battle with the TT650 and the M1030 military motorcycles
• Four new weapons: the Russian rifle AKS74PSO another Russian favourite the KSVK the giant US-designed M107 and US rifle variant the M16A4

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1481 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: 505 Games
• Released on: 2007-02-16
• Platform: Windows XP
• Dimensions: .28 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
ArmA: Armed Assault is an exceptional military shooter, and the game offers players incredible realism, dense tactics and intense strategy. You will need to rely on keen eyesight, gut instincts and a sharp strategic mind if you are to survive on the expansive battlefields of ArmA. Every decision you make could mean the difference between death and glory for you and your troops.

Customer Reviews

The best game in 2 years
I first bought Arma from Amazon.co.uk whilst I was in business in the USA, so had to wait 3 months before I got home to play it. Whilst I was in the USA I followed the forums and grew concerned about the quality of the product with regards to bugs and performance issues that many people both here on Amazon and on the Bohemia Interactive forums were complaining about.

As my machine is "middle of the road", it was with some caution that I installed (and patched) Armed Assault. Not only did it play far better (and faster) than the demo did for me (I had to turn the settings down a bit on both), but it also appears to be one of the most well behaved windows games I own. Call of Duty 2 crashes whenever the desktop is involved. Arma happilly sits there in the background should I need to alt-tab back to the desktop.

The mission editor is great, and actually a necessity. Whilst there are 2 helicopter training missions included (Transport & Combat), you won't get much flight time there, and if you want to be effective Online as a good pilot, you'd do well to launch the editor, place yourself and an empty chopper and go get used to it.

There are many who have complained about the graphics of Armed Assault, but I find no fault with them. The scenary looks beautiful (even at my medium settings), the real time weather and correct star charts all add to the beauty and realism of the game.

So who is this game for? Hardcore military fanatics? Definately. Counter-strike and FPS spray-and-prayers? Definiately not. Anyone looking for an immersive and realistic shooter? Yes. It has been a while since I have lost sleep over a computer game, but Arma has done it.

How about the online? I've played 2 missions online so far. One was with a friend, a night-time mission in to a town. The atmousphere was incredible and we used teamspeak for comms during our offensive. No objections here. My biggest concern was the online public servers, but I am pleased to say I found an amazing online server (16th AA Battalion, I believe it's called) running a mission called "Air Cavalry". With the exception of the odd idiot joining for some team kills (who were promptly kicked), the whole team worked together, transporting troops to and from the airport, guys moving the repair, refuel and rearm trucks in to close proximity to incoming choppers. Tanks providing street-to-street support for troops, who were always watched over by the blackhawks ready to pick them up, and move them out.

I understand some have had some issues with this game, but I have to say I can easily admit that this is the best purchase I have made this year. I know many are waiting for crysis, but although that DirectX 10 game may blow people away, it will not come close to Armed Assault for tactical realism, immersivness and replayability. The mission editor ensures that the creative amongst us can continue to produce replayable missions for many years to come. It's been 5 years since the older sister of Arma hit the stores, and that community is still going strong. As you see COD2's online presence drop in the next year or so, expect Armed Assault's presence to be felt well in to the next 10 years. That's what I call replayability.

Excellent, but could use a patch or two
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.

I have to gve it 5
I am a long tme player of the first Operation Flashpoint & Resistance both of which are outstanding games, ArmA is the next step with really good graphics, HDR lighting and all the DX9 bells and whistles you come to expect from todays titles. Given the immense size of the maps it can zap the power from even the most powerful pc's. I myself am running it on a iMac 17" Core duo with no problems or crashes and i have to say it looks beautiful. My recommendation if an upgrade is possible is to have a lot of video ram as this game is heavy on the shaders. This game is beautiful and playable even on my modest mac.