ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead
Time to go back to the fictional front lines
Tags: Arma 2 Categories: PC Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Jul 13th, 2010
ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead is the stand-alone expansion to ArmA II coming with a number of new units and a new campaign to play through. Not having played ArmA II, I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into, and I’m glad I played through the tutorials because this is a tough game. There’s a wide selection of options to accomplish each objective, and the realistic nature of the game means that there’s no “arcade” action, but instead some tough battles to slog through.
The story is laughable, where we are sent in to Takistan to liberate the country. We’ve been there before, both in multiple games before this as well as in real life. This mission, however, presents a challenge in that the enemy isn’t the only thing on the screen. Look for civilians to aid, not blow up. This isn’t a “guns blazing” affair.
Helping to keep the guns from firing needlessly, we have a series of squad commands. These work for the most part, but at times you’ll wonder if everybody in the military came in on the short bus. Thankfully, the enemy seems to be given the same set of commands – both good and bad.
What struck me about ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead was how much of a simulation this felt like, almost as if this were meant to be more of a training mission for real combat rather than a game. Certainly this is a game, and as such some liberties are taken (such as how piloting a helicopter and driving a tank can be simultaneous skill sets) but the warfare is much more akin to what a real battlefield would be like in this scenario.
Adding to the longevity of ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead is multiplayer and a mission editor. Testing the multiplayer proves to be a bit more pleasurable than many online military games, as the audience is a bit more mature. Maybe it was just the few times I was online, but the more realistic nature of the game seems to have kept the immature players sticking with other titles.
The recommended settings are a bit misleading, as even with settings down low the game seems to stutter and get choppy every once in a while. I didn’t have this problem when playing online though. It’s not a major issue detracting from enjoyment, but it is worth noting.
It seems as if ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead is meant to be a teaser, giving players a taste of the full game, and in that regard, it works. I’m now interested in playing the original game, though players might want to wait for ArmA II: Combined Operations which is due for release shortly and will contain both the original game as well as this expansion. As it is, we seem to be getting more of the same, as well as a good way to introduce players to the type of gameplay that Bohemia Interactive is working on.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Good simulated combat + Multiplayer and scenario creation tools provide some needed longevity |
7.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Uninspired story - Not terribly long - Little glitches even with recommended PC settings |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Tired of playing the usual online shooters? Looking for something a bit more grown up? This might be a great way to find something new to sink your mouse into. | |
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Tags: Arma 2
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Jul 13th, 2010 and is filed under PC Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
