Arma 3

Immersive & trying // Recommended for those that cherish depth & complexity

*I recommend this particularly for its multiplayer.

+ Extremely mod friendly; enjoys full support from the Steam Workshop
+ Visuals & environmental design, save for a few issues here and there (i.e. empty buildings), has largely aged well & looks fantastic
+ Employs a deeply challenging level of realism
+ Multiplayer is still very active; boasts a wonderful variety of gameplay & modded servers to choose from
+ Long, content-packed single player campaign; player choices do affect potential endings, as there are several
+ Time control is back from Arma 2; player can speed up the passage of time, which helps SIGNIFICANTLY to combat the monotony of walking/running very long distances between objectives
+ Enormous map/playable area
+ User-created scenarios & a very easy-to-use scenario creator
+ Boasts incredibly varied gameplay mechanics; from piloting/driving myriad vehicles & gunships, to underwater missions, & everything in-between
+ Map & squad mechanics are back; while they may feel clunky to use in a combat scenario, a little practice goes a long way & serves to open up a slew of options on the battlefield

- Sound design is very hit & miss; some weapons sound identical to others, & vehicle sound effects tend to sound strangely muted
- Dialogue is also hit & miss; while I found the voice-acting to be done largely well, some of the dialogue is a bit awful
- Soundtrack often felt cheesy or inappropriate
- Mission pacing often feels very uneven; I felt that it often leaned too far into the realm of the tedious in the interest of realism (shouldn't be a bad thing in theory, but for the pruposes of a video game, it can put players to sleep in some missions)
- The initial learning curve is considerable, & the tutorial felt inadequate overall; mechanics are amazing on paper, but take an inordinate amount of time to master

LockeProposal's Big Day Out

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This is not a game for people who want fast action movie style gaming, this is a game for people who appreciate the finer things. Having done both military service and picked up MILSIM airsoft as a hobby this game is the closest you will get to what goes on in reality. There are experiences you will have in ARMA 3 that can not be had in COD or BF, experiences that will have you shaking from the adrenaline release.

One that comes to mind was a mission to destroy an enemy comms tower, I was squad leader of 8 or so AI:s.

As we approached the Comms tower and I told my men to go stealth, no firing unless fired upon. We moved slowly taking advantage of terrain, keeping an watchful eye for enemy patrols. Once the tower was in visual range pace slowed even more and I spent the better part of 30 minutes just looking for enemy patrols and advancing to about 200 meters from the tower.

There I positioned my men to cover a wide firing arc as I had spotted quite a few patrols moving in and about the tower. I considered opening fire and probably being able to drop a good portion of the enemy before they could zero in on our position. But a firefight is always a risk, and these AI had been around for a few missions and I had started to anthropomorphize them a bit and secondly I might get hit and killed.

As I considered how I would start the engagement a sudden hole opened up in the patrol pattern, I realised the tower is unguarded and I had an opportunity to do something I had not considered. I got up and ran as fast as I could towards the tower, all the time expecting the bullets to start cracking above my head. I kept scanning as I ran whizzling through bushes trying to pick a path that the least visibility to any patrols. After what seemed like far too long I reached the tower and threw out a satchel charge and another for good measure, if one would not bring the tower down it would sure attract attention. I turned around and made my way back, as I closed on my men I started ordering them to fall back, hope growing that I might get out of this alive.

Falling back to about 400 meters I finally detonated the satchel charges and the tower fell, from there it was just a short run to the truck and back to Command. I had done it. I had pulled off the perfect mission, not a shot fired and all under my command back alive.

That is what this game is about.

My first game on A3 brought me the most horrific experience I've ever had in any game, ever.

We're on our way to the objective, a small dump east of a town occupied by enemy forces. I'm leading a team of 4 men. We come to a crossroad and I sprint across, telling my men to hold back. I cross a few more times, trying to get a response from any snipers. Nothing.

I run, my Autorifleman runs, my Medic runs. But I kept my Marksman on the other side to make sure we'd make it across.

Anybody seen Full Metal Jacket all the way through? Remember the sniper scene?

The marksman takes a round in the leg as we're running and goes down. He then takes two more in the chest. The kid who was playing had some mad acting skills, he played it up to 11 here.
He screams as he's being shot. Crawling, drenched in his own blood.
"SARGE? YOU AIN'T LEAVING ME OUT HERE LIKE THIS, RIGHT? I-I WANNA GO WITH YOU GUYS! C'MON SARGE, H-HELP ME! C'MON! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!"
he died after that.
I cried
and he respawned.

11/10, would recommend getting.