Deadfast's Translations

[Deadfast 43]

Doupe.cz's preview

Sand, AK gunshots, realistic military manoeuvres and objectives pushing your limit. You won't avoid these in Arrowhead.

Takistan is a country where sand gets in your face and under military uniforms. Sometimes it isn't just this building material that gets under your skin, instead it could be the odd lead projectile fired from a product called Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947. That's how it goes when allied forces rush into an Arabic country to bring in order and a "regular army" changes into dangerous groups of insurgents - death then awaits behind every corner and there could be a face covered by a scarf in every window.

A trip, which in real life you wouldn't go on even with a travel agency, but from the safety of their home many will gladly undergo. What awaits you? As it is with games from Bohemia Interactive it mainly be a realistic simulation of military conflict, one bullet and you're making a detail observation of the local ground vegetation.

In the preview version we had the option to explore Takistan in detail, shoot some enemies and try out the numerous new features.

To refresh our memory and familiarise ourselves with the new environment we tried the three new tutorials which received quite a few pleasant changes from the original - the best is probably the foolproof system of navigation and much better familiarisation with the overall game controls. You could say that the training for the real deal goes quite swiftly, the player doesn't feel like a trained monkey and mainly he is clearly told what is expected from him to do. What sadly did not change are the rather complicated controls, where I often needed to sew on a third arm and have an extensive manual well remembered inside my head in order to reach everything.

Camera, Action, Kalashnikov

Luckily I managed to at least partially master the controls after a while so there was nothing standing before me and the action. A helicopter took me to the hills and my whole team inserted not too far away from the target which was some quarry, where hostages were said to be held.

After a kilometer of travel, dialog with friendly fighters and observation of a frontal attack of friendly forces we finally arrived to a visual sight of the target and put our safeties off. Lack of cover on the rocky hills caused a few adrenalin moments where bullets were drilling into the sand just a few centimeters from our bodies.

Nevertheless we managed to clear the area and enjoyed a couple more fire fights between the buildings down in the quarry where the last living opponents were hiding. Then just straight to the hostages to figure out we have a bomb ticking ticking under our feet which had to be defused using a rather smart minigame - I won't probably spoil the principle for you but I can only hope that the game will offer such little distractions more often. The riddle well refreshed the classical game play and therefore pleasantly surprised, it wasn't extremely hard either.

My busy day was then finished by a trip to an anti-air cannon and shooting down planes heading towards a nearby town. Establishment that part of the town was destroyed quite clearly testified of my success and that ArmA yet again doesn't mess around. A pleasant surprise was that nevertheless the mission was marked as partially successful and the game would probably allow me to carry on with the campaign.

Sprinting

Fast pace and overall nimbleness seemingly other than the tutorial influenced the campaign as well, while the swift flow and a bit more linearity compared to the original ArmA 2 clearly did the game good - everything is more polished and plays a bit better too.

This also allows the authors better control over the who system and dosages of thrill, that way parts of the background story could be easily revealed - bits about characters and events aren't by far enough for us to make a decent picture yet though.

I also seemed to be that the atmosphere of Takistan is pictured rather well even just with the realia and alternations between dead-dry plains and green valleys. This was further enforced by logical mission set up. Everything is then highlighted by sound, which seemed a bit more realistic and sharp than in the original game, and catchy music which had very skilfully inserted Arabic rhythms inside of it.

I have thermal vision and unmanned helicopter

Other than the combat missions we also able to try a couple of nice new engine features which will make many fan military simulations happy. The biggest feature is the aforementioned thermal vision which highlights hot parts of vehicles and human targets so especially at night it gives significant advantage to whoever is just using it. Black and white images then look very similar to images from real conflict and surely will find themselves used a lot.

The same applies to the unmanned helicopter with which you can navigate missiles and safely eliminate distant targets without risking your or your fellow soldier's lives.

During normal game play we did not run into any significant bugs which is something quite surprising given the history of the brand, the optimisation was a bit better too. Operation Arrowhead is therefore heading towards becoming the best of the series and every fan should tick the date of June 29 in his calendar - the date the game will appear on shops' shelves. Our review should surface by the end of July too, so goodbye until then.

Edited April 29, 2010 by Deadfast

[myshaak 0]

Now that's how a translation should look, no more "grains-of-snad-face-fucking" :p

[Kristian 47]

Thanks alot for the translation! :)

Really cool. Hope you dont mind, just gonna point this out real quick:

"once bullet and you're making a detail observation of the local ground vegetation."

:rolleyes:

[Deadfast 43]

Of course I don't ;)

[jhoson14 10]

Thanks for the translation Deadfast :D

It's a for sure buy.

[Deadfast 43]

DoupÄ›.cz Review

Blood, sweat, lead whizzing past your ears and ever present dust and sand, but direct orders and perfect atmosphere too.

Operation Arrowhead was looked forward to with both big expectations and rather large concerns - no matter how interesting the desert setting and war against insurgents looked, many people afraid of the typical illness of the Arma series - their typical buggines. Now you can put all your expectations aside as Arrowhead is scheduled to take over your shops next week and we offer you its review so that you can find out if you really care for that warzone tour.

Right after starting the game it is obvious Arrowhead is not just an effort to milk some money from the dedicated fans. Right away you are greeted by a whole new terrain which really reminds you of Afghanistan or Iraq and you head straight for the first tutorial missions to rehearse the already familiar features or learn the completely new ones.

Heavier music in the background, staccato of Kalashnikovs and fast advance as the point man gives the action the proper flow

I have to commend the developers for the design of the tutorial which is well-arranged to fifteen separate missions, each of which lets you familiarize yourself with the game controls in a non-violent way. You will have a good time with most of them too.

This is simply how tutorials in every game should look like and I'm glad how much improvement from the stressful and overcomplicated tutorials in the original game there was made. After absolving at least four basic tutorials there is nothing stopping you from finally starting the new campaign entitled Operation Arrowhead. The initial intro is in the form of TV news and the first filler sequence properly tunes you up for the action.

TIP: Running into the open usually has only one outcome - your death. Advance carefully, try not to stick your head out too much and keep close to your squad.

Screams and dead bodies

Frantic action is brought to straight away by the first mission where, as a member of invading forces, you alongside with many other soldiers get to see the airport which serves as a main stronghold of the enemy forces. Heavier music in the background, staccato of Kalashnikovs and fast advance as the point man of your squad gives the action the proper flow and inserts a proper dose of adrenalin and endorphin directly into your bloodstream. A bullet to the head as a reward of a crazy solo attack quickly returns you back to the Earth and reminds you that Arma is still mainly a simulator.

On your second try you are sill advancing rather swiftly but this time properly taking cover alongside your buddies, attempting to advance with as few casualties on life as possible, especially when it comes to yourself. The action swiftly flows and before you can realize it the airport is yours. Now just to seize the perimeter in the form of nearby villages. A quick check of your rifle and you're on your way to report to the commander who is already busy handing out orders to advance under the cover of just deployed tanks...

Really thick atmosphere is something the original Arma 2 didn't have and what the developers surely made up for with Arrowhead. Fear of life takes turns with shock, just to see you get aggressive afterwards and rather than carefully waiting you get up and send a hot piece of lead towards your enemy.

All this is the effect of a more logical mission design than what was present in the previous two titles

All this is the effect of a more logical mission design than what was present in the previous two titles and mainly great background soundtrack and radio conversations, as well as some scipted situations.

Move towards the goal

Aside the atmosphere it is level design itself that deserves a praise. The campaign and those several separate singleplayer missions offer great variety which doesn't get old too fast and there is practically no dull moment in the whole length of the game. As a preview you can look forward to protecting a convoy passign through a dangerous zone, hostage rescue in a coltan mine or destruction of strategic targets as an attack helicopter pilot. The only thing spoiling the otherwise perfect experience is the relatively short campaign. That is properly salvaged by its replayability value and availability of other scenarios however.

dcUWxhP93YU

A great deal of attention deserves the key element of all Bohemia Interactive games - mission editor. It is only then when you really appreciate the size and variability of Takistan's terrain and maybe forget about everything just as I did as you fly along in a helicopter over oil wells, through tight valleys or admiring the diversity of the streets of the capital of Zagrabad which gets its own map.

Significant tweak met the artificial intelligence which finally behaves as it should, although from time to time it seems your comrades in arms are still a bit too careful and advancing towards the enemy takes longer than some players would like. In any case, long gone are the major bugs such as enemies improperly responding to gunfire or refusing to return fire - that certainly makes one happy. It still isn't in a perfect state but the improvements are surely visible.

Another new content Arrowhead promised to bring us were weapons with thermal optics or the possibility to control an unmanned helicopter. You can indeed expect both and I have to admit only now do I know what technical superiority really means when it comes to warfare. When you are holding a suppressed sniper rifle, lying well hidden on a hill and using thermal optics to localize your enemies it sure is obvious who has all the aces in the sleeve.

Czechs will surely be pleased by the presence of Czech special forces

Deadly fast aim and mainly the trivially easy discovery of enemy positions equals sniper's win. Well, as long as a helicopter doesn't start sweeping the area - that equals a problem for you.

Czechs will surely be pleased by the presence of Czech special forces, alongside some small Easter eggs. When it comes to units Arrowhead offers quite a large count of detailed models of soldiers from all sides, including the previously mentioned Czechs, Germans and Chernorussians from the original game.

TIP: Take advantage of everything the command provides - UAV's assistance is priceless.

A trip through the desert

Better optimization will surely please too, although it might not be just up to the programmers but the fact that the desert environment of Takistan doesn't host vast forests and is therefore much less intensive on graphic calculations might play a role too. That doesn't change anything on the fact that the visual side of the game is simply stunning, at least for the first few hour. This experience is further reinforced by the authentic sound effects.

If you are still waiting for an outburst about a huge bug collection you won't find it in this review - yes, from time to time a bug still appears but unlike in the original Arma it no longer breaks the gameplay nor is it anything too serious. Sometimes you come across a small factual error in a briefing or some parts are hinder the flow but it is nothing an otherwise good game would deserve to be sent to the burning depths of hell for.

Arrowhead honestly surprised - for the first time the usual initial quirks that hindered the otherwise solid gaming experience have disappeared and the game content was well balanced so that everyone finds something for himself. The missions weren't overly complex and inaccessible and too long for casual players. Short and simple, if you liked Arma 2 you will be thrilled from Arrowhead. If you haven't had the chance to play a product from Bohemia Interactive yet this simply seems to be the ideal time to do so.

Pros:

• Swift gameplay
  
• Original mission ideas
  
• Friendly tutorials
  
• Most bugs removed
  

Cons:

• More complex controls
  
• Quite short campaign
  
• Still a few bugs left
  

Final score:

8/10

Original by Karel Kališ for Doupě.cz

Edited June 22, 2010 by Deadfast

[-)rStrangelove 0]

Nice review, surprisingly unbiased. Well done :)

[icebreakr 3107]

I think Karel & DeadFast both deserve a nice cold Czech-made beer :)

[Deadfast 43]

Vokr.com's Review

War is a beautiful, luxurious thing. No, wait, it isn't. War is a horrible b**ch that has negative impact on the whole society, headed by soldiers with who we can't even image what they have to go through. But when it comes to movies or games war is one of the most grateful themes. It is no different here in Czech Republic and since we mentioned this beautiful country there is one name that deserve to be mentioned with it - Bohemia Interactive.

Read Me

In advance it would be decent to mention that I never played any game from BI, that means neither Operation Flashpoint nor Arma. In the light of that please be considerate and keep in mind the expansion is not being review by a dedicated fan but by a complete layman and therefore it could happen that the article will lean more towards the same category of players. Those of you interested in military technology and commanding won't miss out on anything though. In a couple of weeks my colleague and a fan of the series Eso, will properly express his own thoughts about this expansion. Take this review with a grain of salt and those who never heard the term Arma and have put 586 hours into Call of Duty XYZ may read on to learn what they are stepping into. But enough of excuses and explanations, let's get to the actual review of the stand-alone expansion Operation Arrowhead.

Once upon a time

Three years after the Chernorussian massacre the flashpoint moves to the Middle East, more precisely a fictional country called Takistan. There a conflict between American special forces and "dudes with turbans and AKs" is about to begin. And the difference to the original game? It is not just a connected story, instead you get to play as several soldiers of the US Army in different positions with whom you get to know three huge maps (Takistan, Zargabad, Desert), mostly covered by deserts and abandoned houses. Extensive map offers not only towns and cities cut of from the rest of the world but mountainous areas and highlands that render the fights interesting waiting game and give you new tactical possibilities with strategic ambushes. Generated terrain is so diverse you can practically create customizable(?) you can de facto create a battlefield wherever you wish to. Obviously only if it is in the powers of the developers and they are not trying to return you to some formation (NOTE DF: Reviewer having problems with groups in the editor?).

A few bullets and you're down

As a newbie and a total greenhorn I didn't try to play a hero and instantly launched the game with the lowest difficulty. Even though it took me a lot of time to learn all the controls and get sucked in as an Army soldier. In contrast to the mass produced shooters available in dozens on every corner ArmA has many functions, possibilities, levers, switches and many more and those not used to this will need a lot of time to learn this run-in system. Surely the previous games were no different in this aspect. Even though I see this as a major fault. Yes, OA is a game with a realistic feel but for what cost? Inexperienced players will need hours to learn all the controls by hand and finally start enjoying the game. More liberal approach with few simplified controls in my opinion wouldn't hurt. On the other hand the series would lose its charm and somewhat of its hallmark of originality between other first person shooters and mainly military simulators.

Just one, maybe two bullets and you are dead. Fall down from a ladder and you'll be limping around. Run for longer and you'll start heavily breathing. The game is an experience but you have to first get over the trouble of million buttons... But those who run around in forests playing paintball or airsoft in their free time will feel right down their alley. Another weird anomaly is the behavior of artificial intelligence. I did play on the lowest difficulty but an enemy camping 10 meters from me and completely ignoring me? Or a crewman so drunk he kept on spinning around all the time? Sometimes I just could understand. But while we're here with the vehicles and weapons I have to commend. Not only the graphical side but also the content itself (car, tank, helicopter) and sounds are well done too. We already mentioned the terrain so a little something about the audiovisual side of the game. The graphics are on a very high level (mainly the sky is something incredible) but optimization is something that is lacking. I was forced to turn down the graphical settings to avoid lagging which is something I never had to do with any game before. I guess that had to happen one day though. The environment is not completely indestructible but don't expect any Red Faction: Guerrilla or Bad Company 2-like building destruction. Credit-worthy is surely the soundtrack. Those who have seen Black Hawk Down don't need any further explanation.

Strain for an old veteran

The future is ours! Modern military technologies can do wonders and it is no different in this expansion. The chance to try out the newest equipment of the US Army doesn't offer itself every day, so let's happily jump into the a new Abrams tank or the Apache helicopter. Night vision, thermal vision and cool experimental remote controlled AH-6X helicopters are a matter of fact. What is that about? You are calmly piloting an Apache, switch to the unmanned AH-6X Little Bird UAV, turn on the FLIR thermal vision and with the help of the camera lock on to the target and then just watch from the comfort of your home how all hell breaks loose. Isn't that great? It is great! Altogether you will enjoy the vehicles a lot (Death from Above, Pathfinder) and for an expansion the length of the game is more than satisfying. And that doesn't include the singleplayer missions, extensive tutorial, mission editor and multiplayer which sadly due to the release date I did not have the chance to try. And that the final score would go up thanks to that I think I don't have to mention.

Pros:

• Expansion full of content
  
• Environment and certain freedom of movement
  
• Soundtrack
  
• Modern military technologies
  

Cons:

• Weird artificial intelligence
  
• Some frustrating sequences
  
• Not too ideal optimization
  

Final score: 7.0 / 10 [70%]

This review was written by a player who has never played any game of the Arma series before.

Original review by Satan for Vokr.com

Edited June 24, 2010 by Deadfast

[Deadfast 43]

Bonusweb.iDNES.cz Review

Stand-alone expansion to a Czech military simulation has its charm. It isn't without its share of quirks though.

LJIPaw-j_2s

Tough military simulations is a handful nowadays. This genre is currently represented by the ARMA series which second game just received an expansion. It comes with tested weapons but old wounds too.

The main plot carries in a similar matter as with the second Arma. Expect a plot drawing you a picture of pure daemons of war. Again it is possible to reach several different endings and even though the story is just an addition it does no harm to the game. When comes to that, there are server other not too polished aspects that harm its reputation. For example a bad artificial intelligence of enemy soldiers.

The story takes place three years after the original events. A new danger appears in one of the fictional Arabic countries. Takistan's leader, colonel Aziz, threatens not only his own country but neighboring ones too.

For those unfamiliar with what the Arma series is about, this spiritual sequel to Operation Flashpoint mixes elements of realistic military simulation and a classical first person shooter. The outcome is a quite difficult action game where a single bullet may mean your fun is over.

It isn't a bad idea to advance carefully and plan ahead every your move. Some might consider this boring and too slow, others will find their thing.

Action call

The first campaign mission throws you directly into the fight. At the drop off zone we encounter the first enemies. Advancing towards the objective is very entertaining. Just after we clear the airport we head out to the nearby area to sweep it as well. Another very entertaining part after which the mission ends.

There is no reason to complain in the next mission either. For a change we get the role of a tank crewman, escorting an important convoy. We are given a reasonably large area to complete the task. It isn't very big but we definitely don't have the feeling the designers locked us in a cage to prevent us from creating our own solutions to problems at hand.

In the next part of the campaign you get your hands on a sniper rifle with the task to secure an important area. This was the first time I noticed the artificial intelligence doesn't work as it should. Some soldiers reacted to the sniping and tried to hide or at least lie down. Sadly others just froze and their suffering could only be ended with a bullet fired from a few meters away.

The following is something for helicopter fans. In this aviation mission we get to try a very interesting thing with the designation of ULB. It is small helicopter we use to scout the terrain to locate enemy positions without putting ourselves in the harm's way.

At this time I encountered another problem. What was showing up on the game map was not in fact there. The whole situation with searching the area was a bit frustrating.

The rest of the campaigns holds the high standard that was set, mission structure is quite entertaining. Or at least until you have the feeling something is wrong.

While the first half, with the exception of small quirks, entertained me the end had me wailing over the weird behavior of the artificial intelligence of enemies. Enemy soldiers acted in a confused manner, often as if they didn't realize I'm not in fact their best friend. My colleagues for a change followed my orders with too high level of caution.

I wouldn't blame them for that - they were afraid of their life. But if a group of five men takes several minutes to board an APC there is something not quite right. Thankfully you can speed up the time.

On the other hand if they weren't under my command they could take care of themselves rather well.

Although I didn't admit it to myself in the beginning the malfunctioning AI often hurt the overall gaming experience by a large margin.

The campaign isn't too long. With the level of complexity it set the bar as high as it did in the original Arma 2.

Here we really are not an immortal hero who is capable of destroying a whole army with his hands tied behind his back. We are just one of the many and just as last time expect that a given task may be fulfilled by a completely different squad.

Arma 2 has charmed us with the beautifully modelled central Czech Republic with picturesque villages and romantic forests in the colors of Fall. Operation Arrowhead differs in this area but there is a little to complain about.

I am not an expert on the Middle East but I can say that the developers have managed to achieve a good atmosphere. Takistan looks just about as a layman would imagine the area it is set in would.

Enthusiasts of various vehicles and gear won't feel missed out either. And not only when it comes to military stuff. Developers from Bohemia Interactive were always very uncompromising in this area and so we get to see many beautifully modeled conventional weapons and armored vehicles. It isn't a problem to try them all out in a special mode either.

Operation Arrowhead's campaign isn't one of the longest. Game length is extended by singleplayer scenarios which are mostly fun and the multiplayer. One of the things that will tie many of you to the monitors will be the well-established mission editor.

Overall the stand-alone expansion for Arma 2 comes with a specific action which will fit to a narrow selection of players. A great pity of often fundamental problems with artificial intelligence ands some smaller quirks. Given the lower price this title is worth your attention though.

Stand-alone expansion to a military simulation brought us what it promised. Dense desert action which a regular player will consider unplayable. The more patient of us will get their moments. A pity about unnecessary problems, especially with artificial intelligence.

Pros:

• Extensive combat in new environment
  
• Feeling that you are just one of many
  

Cons:

• Often fundamental problems with artificial intelligence of soldiers
  
• Not for less patient players
  

Final score: 70%

Original review by Michal Kuliš for Bonusweb.idnes.cz

[Kristian 47]

Nice, and thanks for the new reviews. :)

I think they shouldn't decrease games rating because of "Not for less patient players"

I mean, I could rate CoD bad because its "Not for slow players" ? :p

[Flash Thunder 10]

Nice, and thanks for the new reviews. :)

I think they shouldn't decrease games rating because of "Not for less patient players"

I mean, I could rate CoD bad because its "Not for slow players" ? :p

I never understood why they even bother mentioning it in the review....

DUH!

Thanks for the proper translations Deadfast

no more snad face f()()king!

[Smurf 12]

Nice, and thanks for the new reviews. :)

I think they shouldn't decrease games rating because of "Not for less patient players"

I mean, I could rate CoD bad because its "Not for slow players" ? :p

Yep. That makes me crazy. When I start to moan about CoD\BF\MoH been like that, I almost get raped on others foruns. :eek:

Anyway, thanks Deadfast (and others who translated) for those! A dance head for you: :dancehead: !

[Deadfast 43]

Tiscali Games Review

A stand-alone expansion has been built on top of the second military simulation Arma. Three years after the conflict in Chernarus the battlefields moves further away into the Green Sea region. It seems that in Takistan, as it usually is, unscrupulous Muhammad Aziz has gained power and immediately begun to be aggressive towards the neighboring countries. That means the US of A attempt to neutralize him in the initial prologue but the assassination doesn't work out and next up is the America's so favorite invasion into a foreign country with the intention to push back the dictator's forces before finally eliminating him too.

New story in a new country

The military adventure was therefore placed into a fully new country inserted instead of Europe into the Middle East where the fictional, Afghanistan inspired Takistan lies. In a similar fashion the United States Marines get a break this time in favor of the fresh US Army boys. Those hit a much more dry and dusty terrain that the European battlefield offered. This means that the new Takistan offers a bit less cover, with the exception of the capital city of Zargabad where most of the country's population lives.

In the total of nine campaign missions you will get to try the roles of several soldiers, similar to the original game (DF NOTE: Huh?). That means it won't spend all the time just on your own legs but inside of an armored personal carrier and behind the controls of a helicopter too. You change between all these roles, including commanding a whole array of units, almost after every mission which nicely refreshes the gameplay. It also seemed to me I found more empty transport than I did back then in Chernarus.

It starts with an insertion

Everything starts quite easy again, your initial insertion by Black Hawk to a lightly defended airport in Loy Manara was over very quickly. Too bad I had to go along some illogicalities which I would rather do without. Right in this airport mission my colleagues lay down at a car park, crawling around with no cover at all.

Right next to them was a big tent with a camouflage net glitching through half a meter above the ground. Probably to hide the enemies lying there in some totally unnatural poses (see one of the screenshots). At the same time there was an enemy hiding in the air control tower who I neatly fooled by leaving my friends to their sunbathing and climbing up a ladder on one of the sides.

Even though the enemies must have seen me as I climbed over the railing they kept on staring at each other as if they were made from stone. One of them rather lay down and started crawling around. Well, never mind, there was no time to waste so I removed all the bogeymen through a glass pane which never even cracked. And before I forget I met a couple of guards on the stairs who quite scared me because my rifle's grenade launcher was shooting exclusively through the ceiling (DF NOTE: More likely the arming distance) and so it was quite hard to kill them.

Medics get an A

I got a bit roughed up during this adventure and later really had to commend the AI colleague who arrived at a moment's notice to speedily patch my wounds up. I have to say this perfect response of medics came in handy many times later, the corpsmen didn't work nearly this good and with no tattling!

Will I help or not?

In the fourth mission as soon as I climbed into the cockpit of my Apache I surprisingly got to choose with direction the next mission will take. A few times your actions on the battlefield will be acted on in the following two missions which is an interesting addition towards replayability. Not to even mention that refusing some tasks the locals will give you will too shorten the mission' to-do list and you can work up to a completely different ending.

AI in open areas

The intelligence of the computer-driven soldiers hasn't changed much from the original. Mainly cover is still a great unknown where they are capable of laying down in an open area in between houses rather than taking cover by a wall. Similarly stone walls serve more like pedestals that something to lie down behind as I would imagine.

I understand that in such an open area it is very hard to control them better but it is also hard to ignore this the second time around. Campaign seems a bit more demanding when it comes to commanding units than in the original, one of the examples being the second mission, where as an Abrams tank commander you lead a convoy of Bradley APCs you must make sure the vehicles keep in formation and don't go running off chasing enemies into the hills where they like to hide so much.

It is true that when I arrived engine screaming at an enemy observation post I wasn't surprised to see enemies manning the static machine guns frozen by fear staring into the barrel until I took them down by a machine gun burst to the head. On the other hand their Islam-blinded brothers at other times happily engaged armor with their AKs as if they were waiting for a miracle.

Commanding for everyone

I did speak about higher demand on command skills before and truly you won't get far if you only play on your own. About a third of the missions requires at least minimal commanding input because synchronized advance comes in handy. But don't be afraid, even absolute newbies to the BIS games won't get lost. This is because of practical tutorial included yet again. Although this time it is much more extensive (total of 15 missions), more user friendly and overall I would say one step up from its predecessors. It includes a practical manner of navigation using colored balloons so you always know what to do and where to go.

Extensive content

Other than the new campaign which includes a welcome co-op feature the extension is full to the brim of other interesting stuff. Add in eight singleplayer missions separate from the campaign, five new vehicle demonstration missions and of course the famous Armory where you unlock all units and vehicles one by one by the means of randomly selected tasks or where you can just examine and test them out.

All in all you won't be able to beat the tutorial, campaign in all four difficulties, Armory and singleplayer missions before some good twenty hours (singleplayer missions will take about the third). On top of that you have the multiplayer with DM and TDM modes and of course the mission editor for the three maps: hilly Takistan, urban Zargabad and barren desert with oil rigs.

More new stuff

In all these diverse modes for one or more players you will surely encounter some more additions, for example the debut option to control the Predator UAV and AH-6X ULB helicopter, infrared thermal vision, new weapon optics, or the new vehicles such as the good old V3S, Volha M-24 (in the game called Vloha), tactical missile launcher SCUD-B, archaic BTR-40 APC, antique T-34 tanks or Czech Skoda 1203 and L-39 Albatros.

It is sad though that even after a second try the vehicles' glass couldn't be shot through - even though ArmA II prides on destructive houses, at the Armory's obstacle course you get to experience the very weird physics that go crazy even over a simple log fallen over the road, and your colleagues in arms rather walk through them like ghosts. Even Humvee's headlights surprisingly show only one cone of light as if the vehicle had only one in the middle.

And when a brand new tracked Bradley almost stops while going uphill just to shoot off as it was on ice on the other side I was starting to get a bit annoyed, especially when it took me ages to arrive at the next checkpoint in one mission.

What will your rig say?

What almost didn't change from ArmA II is the hardware requirements and even after the proclaimed improvements is still very much above average as with the same computer that ran already the original ArmA II (C2D 3.0GHz, 3GB RAM, N260GTX 896MB, driver 197.45) I had to use the LOW global graphic detail settings to reach the acceptable 35-40 FPS at today's slightly larger resolution of 1680x1050.

The internal benchmark did show me a nice average of 46 frames per second (FPS) but in some more intense situation it easily hit 25 and bellow at which point I wasn't even able to hit the broad side of a barn. Thankfully even at such low options the image was still of a better quality than in the original game at the same setting so even after this FPS instability I have to confirm that this expansion, which doesn't require the original game by the way, looked and ran a bit better than the original.

As a positive I couldn't find any significant bugs and its content is again very rich. That deserves a mention due to the lower price for which the game together with Czech subtitles will be sold here both separate and together with the original ArmA II. For the second time again you have to get over the obviously higher hardware requirements and mainly with some bugs, mainly when it comes to the behavior of AI infantry and driving which unnecessarily hinder the game, almost the same as with the original.

Final verdict:

For Arma fans a sure deal as the expansion is packed with diverse content both for one and more players. We have to praise the new campaign in a different setting and with new units and vehicles which is a job well done for an expansion. On the other hand again for the second time there are bugs and weird issues which don't appear in other games as much. Praise deserves the reasonably low price and Czech localization.

Final score:

7/10

Original review by Michal Jonáš for Tiscali Games

[SteveJA 12]

Just to say a big thanks for putting the reviews up, since pretty much most websites are blocked at work, this is the only way i can see reviews.

Thanks again

Steve

[metsapeikkoo 10]

It seems that in Takistan, as it usually is, unscrupulous Muhammad Aziz has gained power and immediately begun to be aggressive towards the neighboring countries.

Sorry for the off-topic post, but I just can't take OA's campaign even remotely seriously. Everytime someone mentions Aziz, I start thinking about Aziz the combat fighter and start laughing.

Thanks for the translation Deadfast, much appreciated.

[Placebo 28]

any progress with the Marek TV News interview please Deadfast? :)

[Deadfast 43]

Will hopefully have the time and patience to look into it this weekend :)

[Placebo 28]

Okies thanks :) No rush, Monday's fine, Tuesday = perm ban ;)