Already purchasable and playable in alpha (and then beta) for several months, ArmA III has accumulated more sales than the two previous titles combined and has succeeded with an unripe and incomplete version. And complete, the FPS Bohemia isn't even at launch, as the first part of the campaign will be released in October through a free DLC. This means that, for now, the only single player content already included in the package is made up of tutorials, training courses and simulated scenarios. But the title Bohemia is incredibly complex and has an intuitive editor on its side that allows you to quickly create single player and multiplayer scenarios. So much so that it has already allowed the community to upload over 46 pages of content to the Steam Workshop service's gaming hub.
ArmA III is the solid foundation for a future that promises wonders
War without borders
ArmA is a brand devoted to simulation and greatness. There is no destruction of Battlefield but, on the other hand, there is an immense game area, superior to that of any other shooter, which with the third installment of the series also extends below the surface of the sea. We are talking about sidereal distances that involve fights that enhance the excellent ballistic component of the title and enhance the role of the vehicles. These, often necessary to carry out approach maneuvers or even just to reach a goal that can be even twenty kilometers away, enjoy a greater sensation of adherence to the ground than in the past. But this factor does not simplify the control which is decidedly realistic and, in the case of aircraft, rather complex.
The simulation, on the other hand, is a fundamental element of the title that limits the videogame omnipotence to which a good part of the users of the FPS genre are used. The ignition of the helicopters is very slow, the guns are not particularly effective against the infantry, the extreme maneuvers are often inadvisable and it is not possible to load a platoon of engineers to repair an aircraft while it is repeatedly hit by the enemy. The result is a shooter that does not facilitate heroic actions, making any success decidedly more satisfying, and allows units of different types to cooperate in a climate of caution and tension that is consistent with the realistic setting. Nevertheless ArmA III is not an unapproachable monster, but it is full of fundamental commands to survive and must be faced with the awareness of having to deal with a steep learning curve. The player must not only learn to pilot, drive, discard and calculate drifts and ballistic anomalies, but must take measurements with the simulated movements of the soldiers who can assume different positions, such as the seated one that allows the sniper to aim accurately even without lying down, but which forces him to deal with the joints which, unlike what happens in less realistic titles, do not allow rapid movements or sudden rotations when lying down or kneeling. Furthermore, in the ArmA series it happens to die with a shot, the engagement distances are often very high and the ballistics of rifles and cannons, as we have anticipated, are simulated with extreme care. It is no coincidence that, even if the campaign did not make it in time for launch, the team has implemented, already in the beta, several showcases that recreate precise situations and guide the player in the global understanding of the gameplay.
In the tutorial section, expanded with activities set on the island of Altis that became available with the launch of the final version of the title, there are entire scenarios that guide the player through the novelties, such as the underwater dimension and, in parallel, show the creative possibilities editor. Long missions complete with saves and animated introductions that compensate, in some way, for the lack of the campaign and function as complex tutorials. For example, in the case of training courses, it is possible to face challenges of increasing difficulty while the NATO test field, with dozens of vehicles all packed together, allows you to test your configuration and to better calibrate the visual settings. Extremely varied settings that allow a calibration to the millimeter and maintain a good graphic rendering even on mid-range systems. But it is undeniable that ArmA III expresses itself at its best only when it becomes possible to breathe the atmosphere of the Greek islands, glimpse a column of chariots in the distance and admire the lights of a battle fought in the middle of the night in all their splendor. The glance, even at maximum detail, is not comparable to that of the PC version of Battlefield 3 or 4 but the models are excellent, the lighting is excellent and the visual distance is extremely high. All elements that, combined with high graphics settings, can make even the slowest and most disappointing game intriguing, provided you appreciate the formula, fought haphazardly by players who will likely abandon ArmA III in a couple of weeks. With our configuration the title has an acceptable, if not exciting, fluidity, with the automatic settings which, in our case, mix medium and high settings in 1920x1080 resolution. By lowering the resolution it is obviously possible to raise the bar and as a result, in exchange for an inevitable loss in terms of definition, you get a more lively and natural way of playing. Obviously it is up to everyone to find their own compromise unless, of course, they do not have a very high-end system.
Pillars and promises
Defining and evaluating ArmA III is a difficult task. It is a title in the making, incomplete but already immense and which requires several hours just to be approached. Obviously, the offer does not lack the classic modes of the FPS genre, but limiting yourself to looking for a flag in a 270 square kilometer map is like participating in the training of the scout camp when it is possible to play the role of a general in the great maneuvers. No wonder, then, that the most played modes are the open ones, with RPG and Wasteland dominating the server list. Modes that are extremely free and not particularly suitable for public servers, where you meet players who have no intention of respecting the tacit or explicit rules of this type of gameplay.
But with the structuring of the community, there will be more and more opportunities to join groups that aim to simulate realistic war situations or that recreate entire military campaigns in detail or those clans that aim to take advantage of the high simulation rate of the title to give a pinch of extra pepper to competitive spirit. All scenarios that are based on three pillars which are the gameplay, the graphic engine and the editor. Elements finally matured with the launch of the title and which will accompany the player during the evolution of an experience that is just beginning but that can already be enjoyed at multiple levels thanks to the various game modes in which you find yourself giving orders to entire teams, collaborate with dozens of human or virtual companions and trust in computer-controlled allies for detections on the position of enemies, for cover and for healing. Currently not all graphic effects are at the same qualitative level, there will still be balances in quantity and there are several glitches, typical defects of any production of this magnitude. Furthermore, although the optimization is better than that of past chapters, the frame rate dances a lot depending on the situation and in some lighting conditions the image loses depth. But the global yield is still amazing, including realistic rain, credible smoke effects and dozens of units controlled by an still imperfect but versatile artificial intelligence, which is capable of coherently managing various units with different roles. And all, remember, is placed in a huge map that can simultaneously host large-scale clashes located tens of kilometers from each other. To this we must then add very important improvements concerning the audio sector, full of realistic and very high quality samples, and the tactile feedback of the weapons, the movements of the characters and the behavior of the vehicles which, although still crude, has nevertheless performed a step forward. Furthermore, we certainly cannot forget the implementation of the underwater environment with huge carefully designed backdrops that enrich the game dynamics and the global depth of the experience.
At this point all that remains is to talk about the editor (not a real modding tool, but functional to create missions and scenarios in the Bohemia sandbox) which is much more intuitive and full of options than in the past. With a few clicks we are granted the possibility to set, in detail, the behavior of enemies controlled by artificial intelligence and to quickly set up sequences of objectives, helicopter attacks or mixed situations that enhance the high balance of the title. In a few hours, in essence, it is possible to create a complex scenario to play alone or with friends, confident that, given the immensity of the map, the same battle theater will give life to hundreds of different situations and outcomes. We can, therefore, affirm that those three pillars of which we have just spoken are quite solid. The server of your dreams probably does not exist yet, the multitude of means and weapons promised by Bohemia is missing, the multiplayer custom games send the optimization of the engine to be blessed and the single player is still a promise whose absence is counterbalanced by some scenario generic. But when these elements finally go into their place we can confidently say that they will rest on an extremely solid foundation, more solid than that of ArmA II, which has nevertheless given rise to modifications and projects of the highest quality.
PC System Requirements
Test Setup
- The editorial team uses the ASUS CG8250 Personal Computer
- Processor: Intel Core i7 860 at 2.8 GHz
- Memory: 8 GB of RAM
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670
- Operating system: Windows 7 64-bit
Minimum requirements
- Operating system: Windows Vista SP2 or Windows 7 SP1
- Processore: Intel Dual-Core 2.4 GHz o AMD Dual-Core Athlon 2.5 GHz
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Scheda video: NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT o AMD Radeon HD 3830 o Intel HD Graphics 4000 con 512 MB VRAM
- Disk space: 10 GB
Recommended Requirements
- Operating system: Windows Vista SP2 or Windows 7 SP1
- Processore: Intel Core i5-2300 o AMD Phenom II X4 940
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 or AMD Radeon HD 7750 with 1 GB of memory
- Disk space: 20 GB HD space
Comment
Digital Delivery: Steam Prezzo: 44,99€ Resources4Gaming.com8.2
Readers (152)8.7
Your voteTo enjoy ArmA III it is necessary to arm yourself with patience, and we are not just talking about the need to wait for the campaign, the work of the modders or to find players with whom to organize games that allow you to fully enjoy the peculiar formula of the Bohemia title. To find satisfaction in ArmA III it is first of all necessary to understand the rhythms that are functional to an uncommon type of gameplay. The intensity of ArmA III is not expressed through frantic fighting, like those that characterize most modern military shooters, but it thrives on timing that allows you to call for reinforcements, to outflank the enemy, to struggle to reach a vehicle and to find refuge in an old Arab temple to catch your breath after a convulsive escape. And derive immense satisfaction from each of these activities.
PRO
- An immense title unlike any other military shooter
- Intuitive editor and extreme customization
- A varied, rich and detailed setting
- Improved controls and movements compared to Arma II ...
- ... but in the case of vehicles they are still crude
- The launch without a single player campaign is a major flaw
- It is certainly not a title for everyone and the initial impact can be too harsh
- Inconstant fluidity and glitches in quantity
