Comet

This sucks. They should at least post the manual and map pdf online. I bought the game on nexway and I'm new to Arma. This game has so many options that I really find it bad to not have a manual around. Isn't there any place where I can get it?

First of all I want to thank those who recommended this game as it really has surpassed my expectations. To begin with I must admit, I expected lots of options but not like this. Gameplay is more or less how I though it would be coming from OPFP, but better. A good sign. Now one major thing that I didn't expect to be that good is really the graphics. This game with everything set to maximum can compete with most current games out there. I really was expecting one of those games with lots of gameplay options but as far as visuals to be below par specially after reading people comments on this being run on an old engine. Youtube videos don't make Arma 2 justice that is for sure. The attention to realistic detail is astonishing. I never saw such an accurate implementation in stuff like human adaptation to light. For instance right at the start of the game when the mission slideshow ends and the light is turned on, the player eyes adapt to the new conditions. Or when at night when you put your NV googles you get a very bright flash as the eyes adapt. And when you take them out everything is pitch black and begins to get a bit clearer. As far as campaign missions are concerned I haven't found any bugs so far. I'm sure I will since people comment that there are quite a few, but so far my take on the campaign is that it is the best military campaing I've experienced so far. Bohemia did a great job giving you the power to make your own decisions. And sadly the choices presented are pretty much accurate real life stuff that military personel has to live with. Obviously not everything is positive. When I begun playing I had a bit of a hard time getting used to the controls because for instance the basic training option in tutorials tells you what you need to do but not the key that does what you want. Good thing that they give you a small training introduction when you start the campaign and in that case they point the keys for important actions. Some gamers have very short attention span and this may put some people off. The other issue is regarding my out of box experience. In my case I got 2xGTX260 in SLI. Since I read lots of stuff on Arma 2 online before buying it, I had good idea that my rig would be able to handle the game well with everything set to maximum. What I didn't know was that it would take such a big amount of tweaking. They need to improve on the high end SLI and crossfire support for the US release. The game is not ready out of box for this and right now if you really want to set everything to maximum with really siky smooth fps you need crossfire or sli. Anyway I think this post is a testment to my excitement. If you're looking for a tactical shooter I don't think you can go wrong with Arma 2. Do be prepared to feel a bit overwhelmed by the amount of options available but this is the price to pay if you're looking into that tactical shooter that gives you a taste of all the array of options available to the military. What about you guys? What are your initial opinions on Arma 2?

Ok the flying goat convinced me.

I'm currently downloading from Nexway. The game is huge from what I can tell. Will take a few hours to download but I'll finally be able to check out what Arma 2 is all about. One thing I'll have to point. I wasn't quite sure if Arma 2 was worth buying as last time I played a Bohemia game was quite a long time ago. I also know usually their games are a bit buggy on release and Arma 2 doesn't seam to be the exception. At least they have a reputation of fixing their games with patches. So what made me invest was the price. Had the game been 20 euros more expensive and I wouldn't have bought it. This just serves to say that pricing is very important, specially if you're trying to increase your fan base so that on future releases people will be willing to buy your game. This is specially important this year with a clear competitive product coming from Codemasters (OFP2).

I've read lots of your opinions on Arma 2. The game has caught my attention and I should have my copy tomorrow. I've read the usual Arma 2 vs OFP2 posts, I've played the first Operation Flashpoint so I know a bit of what to expect from Arma 2. But I didn't touch Arma at all so it will be a fresh game from the days of OFP1. During the last few years I've played many of the other popular tactical/military shooters. Americas Army, Tom Clancy tactical shooter games(Ghost, rainbow and so on), Vietcong and so on. Some focus on close quarters, others on huge open terrain battles with all the military firepower at your disposal. Obviously Arma 2 falls in this last group. But anyway I have yet to find a military sim that offers for instance the quality of a close quarters battle like in Americas Army, with the sandbox experience of a game like Operation Flashpoint. Has Arma 2 evolved regarding this? Are cities more detailed allowing for interesting close quarters encounters? What is your opnion regarding the full range of options available in Arma 2 compared to other tactical shooters in the market today?

Just a small intro and then the reason why I'm leaning towards Arma 2 First of all I think OFP2 will do fine. We can't obviously draw any conclusion as the game is still under heavy development. But take into count OFP2 is coming fall 09. Not summer 09. This is a game that for sure will take advantage of some of the feedback that comes from Arma 2. So I do expect OFP2 to be a very polished and cool experience. But as far as realism and amount of options is concerned Arma 2 from what we can tell is more complete. I've played Operation Flashpoint 1 and enjoyed it. Since then many things changed and I've enjoyed multiple tactical shooters of all kinds. From the ghost recons/americas army to the Battlefield games and so on. I've played the Americas Army 2 beta and i'm currently downloading the just released game. And each of this games have their pros and cons. I just pre-ordered Arma 2 as a leap of faith. I've watched many youtube trailers and read a lot of players opinions and it seams people are quite impressed with Arma 2. And to tell you the truth even if the game is not my cup of tea simply because perhaps it is too realistic for me I'll take my hat off to Bohemia as they implemented one of the features I've been craving for in tactical shooters for years now. One of them that I haven't seen anywhere is : DIRECTIONAL VOICE COMM. That is friends voice in game come from the player character. The farther you are from your comerades the less you'll hear them. This type of detail is what really has made me take Arma 2 into carefull consideration. The other thing really is that Arma 2 is out now. OFP2 is coming out this fall. Were talking about 6 months. A lot of time in terms of games. So I'll enjoy Arma 2 now and this fall if anything I may pick OFP2