Arma 3

Arma 3 refines and masters the military simulation genre.

The next step in the ArmA franchise makes it slightly easier for newcomers to jump in and mods to create for it, without taking anything away from the hardcore.

Superbly strategic game for the shooter fan after a hardcore experience. [Dec 2013, p.63]

A significant step forward for the king of military simulation offset by inconsistent graphical performance.

If you like hiking through the mountains for hours, a high-powered rifle cradled in your arms, then watching your screen go crimson as a sniper arcs three rounds into your head from like four klicks away, then this is truly the ideal game for you.

There's something about Bohemia's world-building that inspires people. Importantly though, Arma 3's vanilla content now stands on equal footing with those third-party inspirations. It's still a little rough around the edges, but it's a darned impressive package nonetheless.

If the online performance issues can be fixed, Arma III will be the finest military simulation ever created. [Nov 2013, p.78]

Modernized, polished and friendlier, selling its strong points while remaining basically the same. The lack of a radical difference is not really a problem. [Issue#234]

My experience with Arma III contained equal doses of pleasant surprise, delight, feeling of emptiness after finishing single player missions, and longing for more. If you’re mainly interested in the single player campaign, I advise you to wait at least for the first DLC before buying this game. [CD-Action 11/2013, p.58]

While lacking a true single player component (at least for the moment) and with some bugs and glitches still to patch, the new war simulator by Bohemia Interactive will capture hardcore gamers with a massive, vast, complex and layered new episode.

Arma III has its flaw, but great ambitions and brilliant ideas more than compensate for any shortcomings. This is highly recommended for all military buffs out there.

The newest installment of Bohemia's military-game is a product with great potential, especially from the community’s side. Unfortunately Arma 3 is quite inaccessible and doesn't seem to grow along with modern game design on certain fronts. It's a game that lives through the community.

Arma 3 is equally a great military simulation, and finally a game. It has its flaws, but when you look at the game's enormous size, they are tolerable. You won't find a better "trooper simulation", nor a bigger sandbox playground anywhere.

ARMA III is a beast. It occasionally flails and moans, but once you learn how to balance yourself upon it, it gives you a marvelous, turbulent, and memorable ride.

Even though it is a step forward from the previous episode, there are still some AI-related issues that need to be fixed. Apart from that, the lack of campaign mode –so far, it'll be added as free DLCs later– makes it a platform where, at the moment, we can only enjoy the community creations.

Arma 3: The newest installment of Bohemia's military-game is more than ever an excellent platform and sandbox with great potential. Especially since the community has built much in-game content so far. Unfortunately the game-content, included by the developers, is not satisfying enough. The units and game-areas are great, but there are many bugs with AI, scripts and more and only a few multiplayer scenarios available.

By listening to its community, Bohemia Interactive is selling us the most well-polished ArmA yet to this day, with numerous options for in-game content creation. With an exceptional graphics engine allowing a superb rendering and well evolved physics ArmaA imposes itself as the reference of infantry sims. With a very demanding gameplay, ArmA 3 claims its elitism and raises it as a dogma to face the competition. Quite unfriendly to the newbies, Arma can disappoint by its obvious lack of initial content, which should be vastly improved by the community through the content creator toolbox. Unique for its tough challenges hence the feeling of deep satisfaction when you complete a mission, ArmA 3 sets itself as the playground of elite gamers.

Arma is a great series with a very specific public and we love it for it, but this entry would be better with a bit of evolution and lacks some important features. It is still a unique experience well worth your time if you want a very different FPS.

Arma 3 makes big steps forward with a huge world and more vehicles and weapons. This time around its trump card is Steam workshop integration though, making downloading mods effortless. A smart move by Bohemia Interactive because it are those mods that will give Arma 3 its long lifespan. Unfortunately Arma 3 is quite inaccessible and doesn't seem to grow along with modern game design on certain fronts. Space time and perseverance are your best friends here, until Bohemia's support starts paying off.

There is no doubt that Arma III is realistic. In fact, it is the best combat simulator on the market. Is it fun though? For me, I found it an exercise in frustration at times. Games need to entertain me, not frustrate me.

Arma III is the best representation of realistic warfare I've seen to date, and I for one can't wait to see what the community cooks up for it. For now, however, it is a bit too skinny for its breeches.

For now, I think it means you're better off sticking with Arma II. Underwater missions, accomplished vehicle physics, an impressive array of player stances and fantastic visuals can't make up for a too-big map full of nothing and a handful of missions most computers and servers can't fully handle. I'll tell you what though, Arma III is going to be a great game in 2015.

Arma 3 seems to have a lot to offer in terms of multiplayer, but still not so much for the player looking to the single player experience.

This is a sandbox first, and that's what you should base your buying decision on. [Issue#140, p.110]

Arma 3 is as much a tool as it is a game, and it is by far the best tool Bohemia has created so far. Its not perfect though, and it's still a product for a very specific audience. I wish a few compromises had been made to make it more accessible and fun.

Although it's by far the most realistic war game ever created we can't ignore the fact that -as it is at this moment- ARMA III is incomplete. It feels almost like it's in a beta phase.

Arma 3 demands much of the player's ability, forcing him to make the best possible experience. It is the player who has to entertain itself using the tools that Bohemia Interactive provided.

The most realistic and versatile soldier sim ever made, but also the most bug-ridden and inscrutable – with an initial release that is missing a lot of promised features.

Arma III’s complexity is a double-edged sword. It takes a long time to comprehend, but once you’re comfortable enough with its mechanics to take advantage of them under pressure, you’re able to engage in a kind of large-scale tactical combat that’s simply not offered elsewhere.

It's a two-faced game that seems to be too complicated, old fashioned and unfair to new players. But it has a fascinating part when well-organized gamers play co-op and multiplayer matches.

Buy into Arma 3 now and you’re buying into many promises. Bohemia’s pledge of a coherent campaign, its promise of a wider array of military toys to play with, and its intent to tweak and update AI errors, scripting issues, and pathfinding problems. But these promises are backed up by thousands of the world’s most dedicated players, people who’ve spent years crawling through Arma 2’s rough terrain to find the comparatively even ground of Arma 3. Buying Arma 3 at launch is buying a promise, then, but few games are so meticulously realised, or show so much promise.

The game that Bohemia Interactive has released isn’t finished. It’s pretty at rest, but not always attractive in motion. At no point does it want to make itself clear.

ArmA III has kept me busy for months, and its final version made me feel ambivalent. On one hand we have a great technological leap, on the other - poor content. Sure, ArmA III isn't your regular shooter that needs to have an interesting, long campaign - it's a game that lives through the community - but it's a pity, that the gamers were given so little to work on. Arma III was supposed to be great, and right now is only promising.

With Arma 3, Bohemia made a big step towards a unified platform for its military shooters, but at the same time took two steps back in regards to actual game content. Only the most hardcore fans will enjoy Arma 3 in its current form.

Arma III raises the interest of the franchise and improves a many points from previous episodes ... but we're still waiting for the solo campaign to finally confirm this positive trend.

Arma III is a disgrace for the gaming world. It feels like it’s rushed to the market and still in the alpha phase of developing. Bohemia Interactive will have to release a buck load of patches to make this game work properly. This is unfortunate as they could have spent that time trying to deliver a good game.