Arma 3

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.