ArmA II

It's a shame the developers obviously didn't have enough time to finish ArmA II properly before they shipped it: There are many bugs in the game and the AI's actions mostly just don't make sense at all. One piece of advice: Get patch 1.01 – with it the game is at least moderate fun. Still, we hope that some further patches will follow and fix ArmA II's major flaws so that it will finally become the great game it could be – next time, however, we'd like to see the game finished by the time of its release!

The vast and open world of ArmA II offers an incomparable army experience. You only need to accept its slow pace and batch of unpleasant bugs. Still ArmA is the only matchless war toy.

It's for the patient. [Aug 2009, p.62]

The most realistic and versatile soldier sim ever, but also the most bug-ridden and inscrutable.

ArmA II can’t reach another level of quality thanks to the numerous errors and the huge hardware requirements. Only devoted fans of the genre will take advantage of all its potential, which are many.

ArmA 2 isn’t just dogmatic and unforgiving – it’s also very awkward in its construction and the weight of its ambition frequently proves too much for the sometimes-brilliant main campaign to pull off. Nonetheless, its vast, detailed world and unapologetic dynamism turn the game from sandbox to snowglobe – something you can’t resist shaking up just to see how it looks.

Even for those willing to invest the time to learn all there is to know about ArmA 2, the glitches and the bugs are currently too much to take. Maybe once they've patched it up, there will be something more playable. We look forward to that day, because there's really something special in ArmA 2, cheesy voice acting and all.

Further patching could make it one of the most immersive shooters of the last decade…but not as is. [Issue#22, p.47]

It's a shame that ArmA II has suffered the same problems as its predecessors.

For now, though, Bohemia's opus is a boy that would be king; the potential is there, but it's just not ready yet. [Oct 2009, p.70]

For those really on the fence, I'd say give this game a bit of time and come back in about a month or two as the developers try to work their post release magic.

Bohemia Interactive's ArmA II provides an ultra-realistic military shooter for those that are up to the challenge. There are some rough spots, but those are adequately compensated for by the complex and realistic battle environment.

ARMA 2 doesn't seem to be a finished game. The AI is cheating, physics and controls are out of date and the game is full of annoying bugs. That the game manages to look great from time to time doesn't help much. Hopefully Bohemia Interactive will release some patches soon. The game still has a lot of potential.