ArmA II

 PC
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 639 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 427 out of 639
  2. Mixed: 103 out of 639
  3. Negative: 109 out of 639
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  1. saplign
    Feb 2, 2023
    5
    meh‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
  2. gamerz4life
    Sep 27, 2020
    5
    Unless you’re playing for the multiplayer, the AI in all Arma games are horrendous, at best they will get stuck for unknown reasons and stop following you, at worst there on the other side of the map doing who knows what, not listening, all while every AI is just running around with no tactical sense. Is best used in editor mode with mods just trying things out like Gary's mod, 1,000 hoursUnless you’re playing for the multiplayer, the AI in all Arma games are horrendous, at best they will get stuck for unknown reasons and stop following you, at worst there on the other side of the map doing who knows what, not listening, all while every AI is just running around with no tactical sense. Is best used in editor mode with mods just trying things out like Gary's mod, 1,000 hours can't be wrong!

    I just can't find the realism that people talk of when you run past a AI tank that has driven up a rock and flipped itself. Then take all this that this game is almost 10 years old and still runs poorly due to being badly optimized which is no surprise to the Arma community.    … Expand
  3. S0pun
    Oct 20, 2019
    10
    Лучшая игра в серии, лучший симулятор бега по лесу и по совместительству военных действий.
    Популярность игра получила благодаря развитой системы моддинга. Подкачала оптимизация, анимация, физика(кроме баллистики) - все из-за древнего движка. Удивительно, но мне понравился сюжет кампании Красная Жатва, это мне что-то напомнило... Жаль что ее время прошло.    Лучшая игра в серии, лучший симулятор бега по лесу и по совместительству военных действий.
    Популярность игра получила благодаря развитой системы моддинга. Подкачала оптимизация, анимация, физика(кроме баллистики) - все из-за древнего движка. Удивительно, но мне понравился сюжет кампании Красная Жатва, это мне что-то напомнило... Жаль что ее время прошло.
  4. Tilt1k
    Feb 5, 2019
    7
    Probably the weakest game from the trio Operation Flashpoint, Arma 2 and Arma 3. Still a decent game, but i have encountered most bugs and flaws in this one.
  5. ArchOnua98K
    Jun 16, 2018
    10
    If Call of Duty is too awful for you and Battlefield is not realist at all, then one game is made for you: Arma 2. When I dropped COD this year after 10 years of gaming (I am 16 years old right now), I was asking myself if a good FPS Game exist for real. The professional gamers said " Yes, Arch. Arma 2. Forget all video games claiming to be realist. There is a reason why there is aIf Call of Duty is too awful for you and Battlefield is not realist at all, then one game is made for you: Arma 2. When I dropped COD this year after 10 years of gaming (I am 16 years old right now), I was asking myself if a good FPS Game exist for real. The professional gamers said " Yes, Arch. Arma 2. Forget all video games claiming to be realist. There is a reason why there is a principle where Call of Duty is for kids, Battlefield for teens and Arma for adults. ". After playing this initially hostile game, it instantly climbed in my top picks. How ? Let me tell why.

    1- REAL PHYSICS. From scales (1 meter from Arma 2 is 1 meter from real life) to physics (Bullet drop, velocity, realist recoil, accurate mobility ...), Arma 2 is the realism's quality option next to the very boring COD and Battlefield franchises. Also, the way you handle a gun is exactly like in real life. Do you hate when the stock is in your mouth when you aim ? You will like the way you grab a gun in Arma.

    2- REALIST PLAYSTYLE. No wonder why nobody in real life do trickshots, excessive rushing, tryharding and all that stuff found in COD and Battlefield. The way you play in Arma 2 is like in real life. This is like Vietnam, boy ! Naturally, if you rush, you are the first to die. So you must be very serious about what you do, use real tactics, do what your gun is intended for, never think you are superman, rely on teamworking ... well, act like a real soldier and you will make your way.

    3- COMPLETE CONTROLS. If you dominate in COD or Battlefield while you are 6 years old, it is because the game you play is way too easy. Moving, aiming, firing, equipments, killstreaks ... this is all you have in COD or Battlefield. Arma laugh at that intended novice setup. All is here my friend. Let's take off the killstreaks and talk realist. In addition to the basic controls, you have free look, leaning, zeroing, zoom in/out, squad commanding, NVGs, binoculars, vehicules's engines ... it is so huge than I cannot mention all in a 5000 words limit. That's right kid, this is real details.

    4- SERIOUS MISSIONS. What I find funny (and some players would agree with me) is when a COD player claim than the COD campaign is hard altought it is 100 % only made of slow-motions. Well, Arma 2's missions deserve the M-Rating by ESRB. Very huge variety of hardcore missions that take more than my days's length, formidable AIs, very entertaining feeling ... for the first time in my life, a PC game has fantastic PVE ! Thanks for saving me, Bohemia !

    5- VALUE FOR THE MONEY. Right now, the COD and Battlefield franchise are avaible for above 50-60 dollars. Add the multiple DLCs and you can waste above 150 $ for games that are copies of a boring game made in 2003. Very shameful ! But hey ! Bohemia know that, so they will be very smart with you ! You might think it will cost you 500 $, but no sir. 13.99 $ for the basic game. All the extra content cost 44 $ with taxes, but at that moment, you save hundreds of dollars and you have a much better offer. This add more weight to Arma 2 and now you should ask yourself " Why paying more for less ? Why I did a big mistake ? ".

    6- LIFETIME VALUE. What it is that, you ask me ? It is a way for me to describe the game's ability to be desirable even after many years without updates. To be desirable like in 2018 (9 years later), the game must be perfect. With all the offer from Bohemia, you might think it will be outdated. But no ! It won't ! You have the most modular mission creator of all times (PVE or PVP, it is customizable at 100 %), a very high amount of fantastic mods (Invasion 1944 for example) and a very big community. That's right kid, I am not the only fan of Bohemia Interactive. At above 300k sales, it isn't a reject at all.

    7- MATURE COMMUNITY. Not the most important aspect, but when it is a fact Call of Duty and Battlefield have 2 of the most toxic communities, you might consider important the players's attitude. Well, like I said, Arma is for adults. Ok I am not adult at 16 years old, but mentally I am. Well, there is no stupid players, no invalid toughts ... just good smart players like I ever wanted. Don't you find boring when your team is full of cowards ? Me I do and what you find in Arma 2 is formidable.

    Conclusion ? Well, you might say graphics are important, but no it isn't ! It even make a game worst in the appreciation. You have doubts ? Do me a favor. Think about a beautiful game you hate right now. You might be disappointed by the graphics and by consequences, imagine how atrocious it would be without ... easily the worst game in all times.

    So to conclude, Arma 2 is the perfection in the very prolific world of FPS games. If you have the smart brain, hurry to buy Arma 2 before you enter into the shameful hell of Call of Duty and Battlefield. If you hate it, well you might not admit it but you are bad and you should feed bad.    … Expand
  6. LesPaul
    Sep 30, 2017
    10
    This is both a military sim and a FPS. It is supported by a tremendous modding community which for me means that the game can be twisted and prodded into almost any type of experience you wish. But it has a decent learning curve and there is much background lore to digest, so players who are not aware of this assume that the game is bad. Witness the poor ratings on this website. Note - theThis is both a military sim and a FPS. It is supported by a tremendous modding community which for me means that the game can be twisted and prodded into almost any type of experience you wish. But it has a decent learning curve and there is much background lore to digest, so players who are not aware of this assume that the game is bad. Witness the poor ratings on this website. Note - the DayZ mod came from this game.… Expand
  7. Broyax
    Apr 14, 2017
    2
    Arma 2 c'est 2 ! dont un point pour les jolis graphismes, si, si (même si c'est exigeant et pas qu'un peu : ce n'est pas la première machine venue qui fait tourner cette daube !). Et le premier point parce qu'on ne peut pas mettre 0 (zéro) hélas ; ça nous fait donc un navet.

    Comme tout ce que fait Bohemia Interactive depuis des années déjà, ce n'est pas vraiment un jeu : ce n'est donc    Arma 2 c'est 2 ! dont un point pour les jolis graphismes, si, si (même si c'est exigeant et pas qu'un peu : ce n'est pas la première machine venue qui fait tourner cette daube !). Et le premier point parce qu'on ne peut pas mettre 0 (zéro) hélas ; ça nous fait donc un navet.

    Comme tout ce que fait Bohemia Interactive depuis des années déjà, ce n'est pas vraiment un jeu : ce n'est donc ni amusant, ni distrayant, même vaguement. C'est blindé de bugs dans tous les sens (et une galère pour installer les patchs dans le bon ordre), l'interface est horrible et rien que les missions du didacticiel, c'est la croix. A ranger au rayon des infâmes étrons.    … Expand
  8. Roke_
    Feb 16, 2017
    8
    The multiplayer of Arma 2 was fantastic as it had a variety of gamemodes to do and a lot of mods from the whole community most notably DayZ and Wasteland so you could definitely sink a lot of time into it but don't play it for the campaign even though that's not what the game is well known for but still it could of been better as it was quite boring and lackluster.
  9. Aeryx
    Apr 7, 2016
    7
    If you like realistic Military Sims, this is the best one out there for infantry action. It does a great job on many things, especially realism. But I am giving it a 7 because it does feel like a step back from Bohemia's last masterpiece, which is Operation Flashpoint. ARMA 2 fails to live up to that in many aspects, first is the AI for the single player campaign. The AI is just horrible,If you like realistic Military Sims, this is the best one out there for infantry action. It does a great job on many things, especially realism. But I am giving it a 7 because it does feel like a step back from Bohemia's last masterpiece, which is Operation Flashpoint. ARMA 2 fails to live up to that in many aspects, first is the AI for the single player campaign. The AI is just horrible, and fails at being as perceptive and common sense as the original. They'll often just look at enemies 10 meters away and wait for your instructions to open fire at it before doing anything, they navigate horribly and AI driving and navigation is also very buggy. The story of the main campaign is also 'meh' at best. Gone is the dark and desperate theme of the original where you are faced with overwhelming odds. You also only have 3 companions that result in mission fail if any of them die, which is bad design. The original game allowed for your entire squad to die and would still allow you to finish the mission; you'd just have to deal with the consequences of fighting alone in future missions. It also has so many scripted elements compared to OF. You can't pull of wins anymore in missions where you are 'scripted' to lose or not escape. OF allowed for some really strange wins and this is one of the lost charms. The strength of ARMA 2 is in its multiplayer and modability and DayZ. All great things that meant lots of hours of fun. Overall, if you liked Operation Flashpoint, you will come out disappointed in the story and campaign, but this is still a game worth buying if you are into realistic military multiplayer shooters.… Expand
  10. aratos
    Feb 13, 2016
    4
    Unfortunately, I don't play multiplayer, so I have to review only this game's singleplayer.
    For me, it's NO, definetely.
    I'm sorry because I know a lot of people love this game for it's multiplayer features, but as a singleplayer for me it isn't worth a damn. Bad A.I., boring, slow, strange.. Often you can't understand what to do, or if you still can do it or if you have just failed it.    Unfortunately, I don't play multiplayer, so I have to review only this game's singleplayer.
    For me, it's NO, definetely.
    I'm sorry because I know a lot of people love this game for it's multiplayer features, but as a singleplayer for me it isn't worth a damn. Bad A.I., boring, slow, strange.. Often you can't understand what to do, or if you still can do it or if you have just failed it.
    Enormous map of nothing, of trees and empty hills.
    Tens of minutes spent in driving searching for the mission.. And then suddenly, you hear shots, then you stop and get to shelter, but your mate doesn't, then he dies and you have to start again.
    For me this game, as a singleplayer, it is a 4/10. With a great potential, ok, but a 4/10.

    PS: I can run last year's game with full graphic settings, and for this I have to set to minimum to get 30 FPS?? Kidding?    … Expand
  11. darkdays36
    May 8, 2015
    3
    The potential of this game is great, let me start off with that. However, Bohemia Interactive messed this up badly. There are some small (and even quite funny) bugs in the game, such as a wounded guy looking like he just snapped his own neck. However, the majority are just intolerable. For example, right after completing the first part of helicopter training, I automatically fail. Also,The potential of this game is great, let me start off with that. However, Bohemia Interactive messed this up badly. There are some small (and even quite funny) bugs in the game, such as a wounded guy looking like he just snapped his own neck. However, the majority are just intolerable. For example, right after completing the first part of helicopter training, I automatically fail. Also, the controls are, well, ****. Not only are they overly complex, some are bugged. Driving as a commander of a tank is so near impossible, it took me nearly an hour to complete the vehicle training, as the gunner/driver WOULDN'T TURN AROUND. Also, the voice acting. Might as well have had Siri do it. It is extremely choppy, and the static makes it sound like a rusted, outdated robot is trying to talk to you. Finally, AI. The AI is just terrible. Not only do your allies just run around like chickens without their heads, they NEVER take cover. Oh wait, I almost forgot. The tutorials tell you NOTHING about the controls, save small snippets of information. You'll be constantly checking the control menu, and you'll have to learn about 75% of the controls your self. And there is no excuse for any of these problems. The game wasn't early access, it was just released unfinished (Daikatana, anyone?). You'd think Bohemia Interactive would fix the glitches at some point considering it is YEARS after the release, but no, they just won't. If this helps, I'm glad. If you enjoyed the game, well good for you! You've managed to enjoy what could have been the best military simulator.… Expand
  12. EricDean
    Oct 14, 2014
    6
    So I see two sides here on Metacritic, the ubers who love this game and people who hate it for the uberness. Before you buy the game ask yourself what kind of shooter you want. If you just want to play DayZ I recommend Arma 3, if you want to play a tactical (and I mean tactical) shooter and wanna learn as much as possible from the game then by all means read the rest of the review.

    I'm    So I see two sides here on Metacritic, the ubers who love this game and people who hate it for the uberness. Before you buy the game ask yourself what kind of shooter you want. If you just want to play DayZ I recommend Arma 3, if you want to play a tactical (and I mean tactical) shooter and wanna learn as much as possible from the game then by all means read the rest of the review.

    I'm going to start off with setting straight the "bugs" in this game. People say bugs but I found very few bugs in my playing of the game. On a laggy server with lots of blown-up stuff the odd fire texture glitch will occur setting the sky on fire on when you crash the wheels will slightly sink into the thing to crashed into. Albeit there is one annoying bug that is rocks. Rocks will stop tanks and most cars and if your going to fast ruin your entire vehicle. Another thing is people complaining about the campaign. This game was not meant for a campaign. It's immensely hard to fit in the ability to talk to other people and be extremely tactical. AI are a bit cheating and sometimes dumb but if you install a 70kb download (ASR_AI) then it works fine. Also this game was made in the Czech Republic so complaining about the Voice-Acting isn't an amazing argument to give this game a 0.

    Multiplayer is where the true nature of this game is. An amazingly in-depth editor that is easy for starters to use but even more fun for the people willing to learn it. I play 300 hours of this game with just the editor and multiplayer and I have now reached over 1000 Hours with the hundreds of easy to install mods.

    I'm going to conclude however that this game is a 6 because like I said ultiplayer is the number one asset to this game and in recent times the servers have emptied and steam has ruined the conntection for most of them.    … Expand
  13. DarrenMc
    Oct 6, 2014
    6
    Great game marred by horrendous controls which kills the game for me.
    The open world is amazing and the graphics are great but it lacks the polish and the voice acting which is amateur. The controls are designed exclusively for the "hardcore" set who like to walk 1 step back before they walk 2 steps forward so alot of management involved for simple tasks.
    If you can get through    Great game marred by horrendous controls which kills the game for me.
    The open world is amazing and the graphics are great but it lacks the polish and the voice acting which is amateur. The controls are designed exclusively for the "hardcore" set who like to walk 1 step back before they walk 2 steps forward so alot of management involved for simple tasks.
    If you can get through that,then the game will open up for you but expect to be frustrated in the short term.    … Expand
  14. HenryBukowski
    Sep 21, 2014
    5
    Arma 2 is an atmospheric and immersive - but ultimately unsuccessful - attempt to channel the soul of Operation Flashpoint. The game continues the tactic of taking fictional but plausible parts of the former soviet bloc, but unlike its spiritual predecessor, Arma 2 is modern and to-date; where Operation Flashpoint was in the spirit of the cold war, this game is more 'modern warfare'.Arma 2 is an atmospheric and immersive - but ultimately unsuccessful - attempt to channel the soul of Operation Flashpoint. The game continues the tactic of taking fictional but plausible parts of the former soviet bloc, but unlike its spiritual predecessor, Arma 2 is modern and to-date; where Operation Flashpoint was in the spirit of the cold war, this game is more 'modern warfare'.

    It's worth saying that if you don't have any experience with 'military simulation' type games, you are going to find the going tougher. They are a different beast to the likes of Call of Duty and Battlefield.
    Even for the Operation Flashpoint veteran, this game is very, very challenging, and therein lies one of its chief weaknesses.

    If you chose to buy and play this game I guarantee you will spend most of your time desperately trying to spot the enemy fair enough, in that this is part and parcel of warfare (I imagine!). However, whilst you struggle to spot any living creatures whatsoever, your fellow soldiers are robotic in their ability to spot and track enemy soldiers. The unfortunate result is that in many firefights, particular in the wilderness, you find yourself almost completely redundant. Whilst you have your face in a bush, your comrades kill all the enemy targets. In short, this realism would work if the other npc's really as human and fallible as you - but in fact they are not, and this makes the game markedly less fun as your character becomes unimportant. You will find yourself dying endlessly in a position where surely nobody could have spotted you. I even noticed an issue whereby when you spot certain enemies and radio in to HQ, this triggers your enemy spotting you (and killing you, usually)

    The story is involving, but loses its way; the world and background is complex and immersive, but arguably too complex for the length of the campaign (short). You lead your team for the duration of the campagin besides the first mission, and this gives important freedom, particularly with the huge and open world. However if you lose a team member the mission is failed, so you never have the flexibility you did in Flashpoint where you could lose your entire squad and still complete the mission.

    Unfortunately, this game which makes you feel tension and involvement, is crippled by bugs. These are particularly noticeable when you have a 'free to roam' mission. You might be interrupted by a 'mission completed' pop up which says something completely false about what you have done. E.g 'you have sucessfully destroyed the enermy convoy etc etc ..." No I didn't! Or dialogue could be triggered at the wrong moments leaving you bewildered. This is compounded by poor AI - somehow, worse than in Flashpoint which came out 10 years ago or more, and a poor user interface.

    Worth a play if you loved flashpoint half as much as me, but prepare to feel frustrated to the extreme.    … Expand
  15. Wise_Gamgee
    Jun 25, 2014
    5
    Good Gameplay and very deep simulation. And i would definitely recommend it, BUT:
    The problems ruin the whole game:

    1. Controls are pretty complicated (could easily made simpler)
    2. BIGGEST PROBLEM: The one big problem that keeps me from playing is the random global ban i got from battle eye!
    3. Various Bugs and Glitches
    4. Multiplayer synchronizing is just bad
  16. carnivorCactae
    Jun 11, 2014
    1
    After some backbreaking long minutes of walking and scouting the terrain we finally find our main targets. We lie down and take aim while we ignore our AI-Buddies who can't decide whether they want to crouch or stand up or lie prone. We aim want to shoot and …
    a) one of our AI-buddies kills all of them before we can place a shot
    b) the enemies blow themselves up c) we get killed from    After some backbreaking long minutes of walking and scouting the terrain we finally find our main targets. We lie down and take aim while we ignore our AI-Buddies who can't decide whether they want to crouch or stand up or lie prone. We aim want to shoot and …
    a) one of our AI-buddies kills all of them before we can place a shot
    b) the enemies blow themselves up
    c) we get killed from something
    d) the game crashes

    What WAS that?!
    Welcome to ARMA 2!
    This "game" tries to be a tactical simulation but forgets one important point: We sit in front of a Computer! We use some peripheral input-devices to command our alter-ego in a game with fake limitless "posibillities"! How hard can it be to program a User-friendly interface and not to mess up a simple command like "jump over a fence"?! Even "DELTA FORCE" and "GHOST RECON" managed an intuitive Control-theme!

    It bugs me out and makes me mad having to chew through this uncomfortable and plain unpleasant "game". Did I say "bugs"? Well. there are plenty of them! Game crashes randomly. Tanks blowing themselves up. Teammates vanishing into thin air. And worse: The AI: Random unrelated and horrible chatter, tought by one of the worst "voice-acting" I've ever heard in a videogame. It comes near absurdity when team-mates give you some status-updates that are plain wrong and standing in front of a sniper...! Oh, and don't forget the unability to heal teammates or doing anything else independently! The AI fails to find the right way so often, it looks like there is NO AI! Nearly no imersion!

    I can't understand what some purists describe as "imersion" and "thrilling experience"! What game did they play?! Bots and NPC's look like zombie-puppets. Blabbering some gibberish and unmotivated lazy "Oooohrah" followed by a briefing that could be organized by a senile granny-club. The game itself: Every ounce of "Immersion" is destroyed by the plain stupid bot-behavior and their robotic, bored and unprecise radiochatter.

    Thats one of the worst problems: Unprecise responses from your AI-"Buddies" and absolute dumb behavior. It ranges from "shooting a needle in the woods" to "missing an enemy 2 ft away"!
    The second some "imersion" sneaks up on you, the game stops and you have to watch one of the worst cut ingame-cinematics with some random and unmotivated chatter. No sense for camera-angles and transitions! After all unpleasant "Features" this Game has to offer, it feels sometimes like a relief when the game crashes randomly for no reason.
    This "game", this piece of broken software that feels more like a over-ambitous mod-project than a game worth 30 bucks!

    The one positive point that comes to my mind are the very huge maps! But what good are ludicrously large terrains when you have to walk multiple hours to spot just one objective?
    I am giving this "game" one point for trying.    … Expand
  17. Arthurios
    May 13, 2014
    8
    Very well made, everything is on the highest level but gameplay and game itself is just too hard for me, even on recruit level. This is what you get from war simulator.
  18. ns0l
    Apr 27, 2014
    5
    Realistic shooting. That's how I like my game., but it's the only good thing in the game. The gameplay doesn't feel right and I think the game in overall needs 2 more years of development.
  19. theRobot
    Mar 22, 2014
    4
    If you're an octopus, you're going to like this game. Otherwise you probably won't be able to get used to the controls used in this game.

    Seriously, for the first time I saw an FPS that had so many controls binded, that some of them were unable to be placed on the keyboard and had to be binded as combos (double shift for example). Additionally, I've had no fun while playing this game.
  20. BallisticChickn
    Mar 2, 2014
    2
    My rating is for the game- WITHOUT- any mods. WITH mods that fix the game the rating would be a 5.

    It's better than Arma 3... But what isn't? This is still made by Bohemia Interactive, a studio that is either profoundly lazy or terminally incompetent - pick one. Consequently, BIS produces software that can't ever be called "finished" and depends on legions of modders - not just to add    My rating is for the game- WITHOUT- any mods. WITH mods that fix the game the rating would be a 5.

    It's better than Arma 3... But what isn't? This is still made by Bohemia Interactive, a studio that is either profoundly lazy or terminally incompetent - pick one. Consequently, BIS produces software that can't ever be called "finished" and depends on legions of modders - not just to add content - but to actually FIX the game into a playable state. Arma 2 has a massive community which, over the years has turned Arma 2 into a unique and almost functional experience that, when it works, can be really fun.

    BUT to get that good experience you will have to install a LOT of mods that (mostly) fix the AI and realism problems. Then you'll have to add any game expanding mods on top of the fixes and you'll end up with a massive directory set - all of which is going to have to work together with the native, bug-cursed half-as*ed crap code that Bohemia barfed onto the game disk. You will be spending HOURS just trying to troubleshoot an outdated poorly implemented code on an unoptimized game engine that was out of date the day this was released.

    This is a game that, if undertaken by a half-competent studio, would have been revolutionary and amazing. After years of being worked on by modders this game really does have some brilliant and incredible moments, but those are fleeting when compared to the fixes/bugs/crashes you will spend more time sorting out. BIS and the Arma series is so enraging because they are SO close to something that works and that would be totally revolutionary, but instead of finishing the job they did it half-way and left players to fix their work. And as talented as the modders are- there is just only so much you can do with mods laid on top of the core code and using the horrible markup language.

    If you are willing to put up with the constant troubleshooting between game errors, glitches and mod conflicts just to get this thing to run and work halfway decently. And if you can tolerate the numerous bugs, glitches and occasionally game-killing design flaws, then you WILL have some amazing experiences.

    Honestly, even though I've put literally thousands of hours into this series, I can't really say that I recommend it. Especially since I'm older now, and just don't want to spend the few weekend hours I've got free to fix Bohemia's mistakes. If you've got the hours to sink into it, or you're satisfied with building really simple missions then give it a shot- it's FAR better than Arma 3 (but that's not hard) and really cheap.    … Expand
  21. thewillothewisp
    Feb 19, 2014
    2
    I signed up just to warn you about this game. Every single thing about this game is broken. Don't expect anything to work as designed. You might spend 500 hours messing around with 3-rd party mods that address a portion of the design flaws in this game, all the while you have to ask yourself, when does the fun start? If you enjoy experiencing hundreds of glitches and bugs, then youI signed up just to warn you about this game. Every single thing about this game is broken. Don't expect anything to work as designed. You might spend 500 hours messing around with 3-rd party mods that address a portion of the design flaws in this game, all the while you have to ask yourself, when does the fun start? If you enjoy experiencing hundreds of glitches and bugs, then you might find fun in this game!

    Most of the actual fun of this game is theoretical, as you imagine what it could be like if it were fully realized.

    I wouldn't hold out much hope for Arma 3 either, as a vast number of the flaws from this game carry over into Bohemia Interactive's newest game. They are either incapable or unwilling to address the problems.    … Expand
  22. Budget_Security
    Jan 4, 2014
    6
    If the CallofDuty & BattleField series leave you hungry for something much more realistic, try ARMA. However, it does have many flaws, including an overly complex difficult interface, advanced but very inconsistent and cheating AI, and a lot of serious bugs. The singleplayer is somewhat broken (if only they would do it like in the original Operation Flashpoint). Multiplayer was once theIf the CallofDuty & BattleField series leave you hungry for something much more realistic, try ARMA. However, it does have many flaws, including an overly complex difficult interface, advanced but very inconsistent and cheating AI, and a lot of serious bugs. The singleplayer is somewhat broken (if only they would do it like in the original Operation Flashpoint). Multiplayer was once the main appeal, but now few people play online, and it was always very vulnerable to hacking. But there is still nothing quite like ARMA. Graphics are excellent, but you need a very powerful PC for smooth gameplay.… Expand
  23. darthvictor
    Jan 1, 2014
    10
    If u like games arcade games with knifes more deadly than anti material rifles, go play another game. But if u are like me and like realism, this game will be good.
  24. xtrmsnpr
    Dec 27, 2013
    7
    the buggiest game you will ever play.Although it is so good.Sounds are nice,you know where the bullets are coming from.Game physics is not as good as expected,but game mechanics are correct and responding to everything you are doing.
    You just need a good team to cooperate with
  25. retep686
    Dec 7, 2013
    5
    The game itself is a great idea, had lots of potential, and for a simulation, pretty good. The game offers a variety of actions that make you feel like you have more control over the game. However, it is not well done. On top of choppy movement, the game has some optimization problems, and plenty of bugs. The game is DX10, but a DX11 gpu still has problems with it. After poking throughThe game itself is a great idea, had lots of potential, and for a simulation, pretty good. The game offers a variety of actions that make you feel like you have more control over the game. However, it is not well done. On top of choppy movement, the game has some optimization problems, and plenty of bugs. The game is DX10, but a DX11 gpu still has problems with it. After poking through other reviews, it seems that the game was released too early, which is a shame because it could have become so much better than it is and could have had so many problems fixed. Unfortunately, I would not recommend you buy this game.… Expand
  26. heatwave
    Dec 1, 2013
    10
    So i got this game a couple months ago to play DayZ the mod. that is also somthing that is very fun as well. But anyway, arma is on a the very rare games that pulled off being a great military game, while also having a worth while story to go through. yes the game may be buggy every now and then, it is still great. Also it is worth noting you need a decent cpu to play. it will strain yourSo i got this game a couple months ago to play DayZ the mod. that is also somthing that is very fun as well. But anyway, arma is on a the very rare games that pulled off being a great military game, while also having a worth while story to go through. yes the game may be buggy every now and then, it is still great. Also it is worth noting you need a decent cpu to play. it will strain your cpu and your pc will get hot. but nothing too bad obviously. and for graphics cards if you dont have a decent card, you WILL have to turn down the graphics. but even on very low graphics settings you can still have decent looking graphics.… Expand
  27. Outerspace2014
    Nov 25, 2013
    10
    This game is just amazing! Much better then the first ArmA. This game reminds me much of the BF series except much more in depth and much more freedom to do things. The fact that this game has the DayZ mod as well is just making it even better. This game is a great and fun game that has improved greatly from the first game in it's series.
  28. DatGamingCritic
    Nov 17, 2013
    8
    ArmA II is very BAD! But i gave it a 8 because its brilliant. What i mean is that if there was not map editor or multiplayer it would get like a 2 but because of that it makes the game so much better. If they were not there i would have tried to do everything to get a refund. The mods and stuff are really cool to. There is DayZ that is really famous and also ACE mod! If your computer isArmA II is very BAD! But i gave it a 8 because its brilliant. What i mean is that if there was not map editor or multiplayer it would get like a 2 but because of that it makes the game so much better. If they were not there i would have tried to do everything to get a refund. The mods and stuff are really cool to. There is DayZ that is really famous and also ACE mod! If your computer is not very good or is a potato i don't recommend it. It is hard to run but if it does it is so much fun!

    Overall:
    -Fun Gameplay
    -You can make your own level
    -Hard to run
    Score: 84/100    … Expand
  29. JamesGHarris
    Nov 8, 2013
    10
    This game has by far the best physics of any game ever made, they are only topped by reality. Also the game runs absolutely perfectly, I can run this well on my potato. Everything about this game is perfect, this is the greatest game ever made, ever.
  30. Ghostlymatter
    Nov 8, 2013
    8
    ArmA II is a very enjoyable FPS game. The three-dimensional graphics are average, the texture quality of the building models are low quality and the NPCs have a low quality texture around the facial area. The weapons models, meshes and textures are moderately accurate as well as the vehicles. The sound quality was below average, the weapons, when fired, sounded like small-generated soundArmA II is a very enjoyable FPS game. The three-dimensional graphics are average, the texture quality of the building models are low quality and the NPCs have a low quality texture around the facial area. The weapons models, meshes and textures are moderately accurate as well as the vehicles. The sound quality was below average, the weapons, when fired, sounded like small-generated sound bytes, and the vehicles sounded like subwoofer turned up to high. About half way through the game the NPCs voices change to a low quality, computer generated voice. The single player gameplay was a little below average, Bohemia Interactive could have done better with the on screen HUD. The waypoints on the map are a little difficult to locate and the player controls are a little wacky. The multiplayer experience only had one major problem, the servers lagged badly. ArmA II had average graphics, below average sounds quality and above average gameplay in both single player and multiplayer.… Expand
  31. keefbaker
    Oct 14, 2013
    4
    This might be great if you wanted to be in the army but due to an accident with your balls and a lobster you can't. However, I wanted a good single player experience... Instead I got some of the worst voice acting ever, some really robotic radio chatter and the desire to throw myself out of the window.
  32. WarriorPancake
    Oct 8, 2013
    7
    I have put many hours into this game, playing with friends and on public servers. Its really is a great simulator. I would never recommend this has a single player game. But as a fun community based game with loads of mod support excluding the DayZ mod. This game isn't really fun as a game. But the mods just make it a wondrous sandbox.
  33. nmdanny
    Sep 13, 2013
    5
    Good stuff:
    New island is gorgeous, new setting(NATO vs Iranians) is interesting and introduces new nice looking vehicles, weapons and units. Features such as attachments, PhysX and underwater exploration/combat are a new improvement since ArmA 2, plus improvement graphics and lightning.
    Bad stuff: Bad optimization and low FPS, horrible mid-range textures which totally undermine all of    Good stuff:
    New island is gorgeous, new setting(NATO vs Iranians) is interesting and introduces new nice looking vehicles, weapons and units. Features such as attachments, PhysX and underwater exploration/combat are a new improvement since ArmA 2, plus improvement graphics and lightning.
    Bad stuff:
    Bad optimization and low FPS, horrible mid-range textures which totally undermine all of the graphical progress, lack of content(no shotguns, not enough fixed-wing aircraft), laziness and oversights to vehicles(no interiors for armored vehicles, unrealistic armor, all vehicles share the same turrets, most vehicles of a side use the same hull), unrealistic mechanics. (tab locking, magical radar, vehicle cobmat in general), some highly wanted features not implemented (shooting from vehicles, weapon resting, an alternative to the action menu), no campaign on launch.    … Expand
  34. mcmanusaur
    Sep 7, 2013
    8
    ---Rating---
    Design: 4 /5 (ambitious scope unmatched by other "shooters", but poor SP campaign)
    Polish: 3 /5 (somewhat mediocre graphics, certain mechanics are slightly finicky) Value: 5 /5 (immense replay value, a playground of nearly unlimited potential) ---Review--- The execution leaves a bit to be desired, but I can't fault Bohemia for their ambition. Most of the included    ---Rating---
    Design: 4 /5 (ambitious scope unmatched by other "shooters", but poor SP campaign)
    Polish: 3 /5 (somewhat mediocre graphics, certain mechanics are slightly finicky)
    Value: 5 /5 (immense replay value, a playground of nearly unlimited potential)

    ---Review---
    The execution leaves a bit to be desired, but I can't fault Bohemia for their ambition. Most of the included campaign missions are rather poor to put it simply, and other issues include poor performance, a clunky interface and general lack of user-friendliness, inconsistent graphical quality, a prevalence of minor bugs and glitches, and mediocre AI. That said, ARMA II offers a unique experience unmatched by other games, as long as you drop any "lone wolf" tendencies and make the most of its industrious community.    … Expand
  35. gstiker5
    Sep 1, 2013
    9
    a very realistic Sim not exaclty game but the way in which you co-ordinate with your team-mates and it feels like your'e in a war I rember I was playing with some friends and the voice chat is essential. He was sniping and I had a LMG and was sprinting across a field and then my friend said he had spotted someone and then i realised that I was getting shot at and then I told him to shoota very realistic Sim not exaclty game but the way in which you co-ordinate with your team-mates and it feels like your'e in a war I rember I was playing with some friends and the voice chat is essential. He was sniping and I had a LMG and was sprinting across a field and then my friend said he had spotted someone and then i realised that I was getting shot at and then I told him to shoot but he was actually a spotter and my steam friend shot him then later one of my other friends was in a tank under heavy fire and I was i a jet they called for support and I killed the enemies what other game lets you do that okay Battlefiled 3 comes close but the realism helps it If you have a PC buy it it really is that good… Expand
  36. parpabico
    Aug 31, 2013
    3
    What's the point in making something that doesn't work properly? Like a ferrary with an engine that stalls every 100m, that's exactly what arma 2 is. Controls are horrible, I cannot believe they couldn't have done a better job with the controls. The whole scheme reeks of utter irrationality. Gameplay is practically absent, a silly sandbox experience, online is broken as well. HorriblyWhat's the point in making something that doesn't work properly? Like a ferrary with an engine that stalls every 100m, that's exactly what arma 2 is. Controls are horrible, I cannot believe they couldn't have done a better job with the controls. The whole scheme reeks of utter irrationality. Gameplay is practically absent, a silly sandbox experience, online is broken as well. Horribly optimized engine to put glazing on this "cake".… Expand
  37. Osmium
    Jul 30, 2013
    5
    Still no major improvements to the good old Operation Flashpoint. AI is still abysmal, graphics are not really that great. Controls and interface are not good and haven't really been improved. The singleplayer campaign is unbelievable slow and tedious. Operation Flashpoint with some good mods is still almost as good as this game released some ten years later. Disappointing.
  38. dam1730
    Jul 17, 2013
    7
    ArmA II is a game that isn't for everyone. For some people, this will be the best game they have ever played, for others it will be the worst. If you want a game with constant action like Call of Duty, Battlefield, or Halo this probably isn't the game for you. If you want an ultra-realistic experience that requires strategy and tactics, this game will fit your needs. The game plays more asArmA II is a game that isn't for everyone. For some people, this will be the best game they have ever played, for others it will be the worst. If you want a game with constant action like Call of Duty, Battlefield, or Halo this probably isn't the game for you. If you want an ultra-realistic experience that requires strategy and tactics, this game will fit your needs. The game plays more as a simulation than a FPS. While there is a campaign mode that is non-linear, the story isn't anything special and the voice acting for the characters is laughable. For me, the best part of the game is the ability to create and play my own missions. The map is very large and you have quite a bit of flexibility with what you can do. Editing missions isn't difficult and you can learn how to use the most advanced features from some well made YouTube tutorials. This game became popular because of its mods, most notably DayZ, but the base game is fun as well.… Expand
  39. DGDrocks7
    Jul 16, 2013
    9
    Video games will never totally emulate real life, but if there is a game that is closest to real life, it's ArmA II. This is the ultimate infantry war-simulator. I say infantry because the vehicles aren't really simulated like other vehicle simulators. In other words, ArmA doesn't simulate aircraft as much as combat flight simulators like DCS: A-10C. There is a free version of ArmA on theVideo games will never totally emulate real life, but if there is a game that is closest to real life, it's ArmA II. This is the ultimate infantry war-simulator. I say infantry because the vehicles aren't really simulated like other vehicle simulators. In other words, ArmA doesn't simulate aircraft as much as combat flight simulators like DCS: A-10C. There is a free version of ArmA on the website, which only has the editor and multiplayer. Give that a spin, and if you love it, get the full version. Be warned, you need a beast of a PC to play this game!… Expand
  40. yameli
    Jul 13, 2013
    10
    El mejor juego de guerra que puede haber.Lo tiene todo.ya no solo este juego sino toda saga y todos sus dlcs.Al principio cuesta pero luego le coges el truco y si formas grandes amigos teneis buen equipo.Recomendable 100%
  41. lord_joshi
    Jun 27, 2013
    0
    The game seems terrifying bad to me. The controls are outdated, the physics and AI are quite weak. Dialogues and video sequences can't be skipped. And the worst thing: Really annoying bugs everywhere. I won't ever buy any game from Bohemia Interactive again.
  42. zigazaga
    Jun 25, 2013
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I couldn't stop replaying the many and varied OFP single player missions and hoped that ARMA would be as good or even better by its second incarnation. But, no, the developers appear to have spent all their effort on the cosmetic aspects, and on making the interface less logical and more awkward and unnecessarily complicated and counter-intuitive, rather than fixing the aspects that so badly need fixing: a horrendous AI (vehicles drive into walls and get stuck on rocks and trees rather than following a straight road, your team-mates run into enemy fire), vehicles still drive in an unnatural "gliding" manner and dont hold your breath it's still as bad in ARMA 3 alpha as well. I consider OFP to be one of the most intelligent games ever made, and was prepared to accept the limitations of ARMA 2, but I can see that the game is being ruined by the questionable decisions of the apparently not very intelligent developers/management. OFP had a simple and logical interface that was easy to learn and fun to play. It's the only aspect that didn't need improving and the one that they've wrecked with too much unnecessary tinkering. I personally don't need any cut-scenes and, to add insult to injury, the developers are trying to present some of these third-rate examples of bad animation and voice-acting as missions! The "vanilla" edition lists 6 missions but it's actually only 5! Do they seriously think that anyone is tricked by this and doesn't notice how poor the single-player experience has become? Each mission seems to have a new way of annoying the player from the use of ULB's which I just find too boring and cumbersome to try to learn how to use to having to write down some silly made-up squiggles from a piece of paper to defuse a bomb. I do have a feeling that the small but vocal group of devotees are posting positive reviews en-masse whereas normal people who haven't devoted their whole life to ARMA tend to become understandably fed up very quickly and just give up. I'm angry because I no longer have a game to play and it;s always sad to see idiots in charge make stupid decisions that affect us all. It's not a question of the developers "not having enough time" or players like me being too stupid for anything but COD, it's a question of stupid decisions and wasting time and effort on "fixing" only the parts of the game that didn't need fixing. On a positive note the surfaces are now more shiny.… Expand
  43. JohnnieConcrete
    Jun 12, 2013
    10
    Arma 2 OA is a game that takes some getting used to, but once you do all other games of this kind pale in comparison 99% of DLC is user made and is free or you can make your own, Add the ACE mod with its bits n pieces and what a game. It still gets updated and new stuff is still being added.

    For some people this isn't a game its an obsession
  44. Limey
    Jun 6, 2013
    10
    Whilst ArmA 2 was diverse and thrilling as a realistic, precise experience, it has a downfall with both bugs and a lack of smoothness, but ArmA 3 has removed all flaws with a perfected engine, rendering ArmA3 into a perfection of the loved formula to ArmA 2 without changing too much which was appreciated. It has not only improved the ArmA2 engine in smoothness, it has created a standardWhilst ArmA 2 was diverse and thrilling as a realistic, precise experience, it has a downfall with both bugs and a lack of smoothness, but ArmA 3 has removed all flaws with a perfected engine, rendering ArmA3 into a perfection of the loved formula to ArmA 2 without changing too much which was appreciated. It has not only improved the ArmA2 engine in smoothness, it has created a standard for polish with the explosive dynamics of the franchise formerly thought of as impossible due to complexities inherent to the chaotic, vast nature.… Expand
  45. IonXtreme
    May 25, 2013
    8
    Arma 2 has got to be one of the best FPS games I have played. It puts you like as if you were really at war with someone, and makes you feel like as if you are experiencing the harrowing effects of war already, without going out of your chair into a army. This is the "Saving Private Ryan" of all war FPS games.
  46. Scuba
    Apr 20, 2013
    10
    This game is one of the few that I'll always remember playing. While there is obviously the army simulation of arma, this game's main feature is that it allowed the community to take the code and mold it to whatever they could imagine. This is a game with about 50 games inside of it.

    While Arma is a bit clunky, and it is slow paced at times (you can't play this game like battlefield 3    This game is one of the few that I'll always remember playing. While there is obviously the army simulation of arma, this game's main feature is that it allowed the community to take the code and mold it to whatever they could imagine. This is a game with about 50 games inside of it.

    While Arma is a bit clunky, and it is slow paced at times (you can't play this game like battlefield 3 or cod. You need to think and move smartly), the game is still beautiful to look at even today, in 2013. The graphics aren't the best, but I've found myself completely immersed and having to look twice since it looked so realistic (This is on full settings.).

    Now we have arma 3, with outstanding graphics, but issues with fps and such.    … Expand
  47. Killer_X
    Mar 18, 2013
    7
    First let me start off by saying that Arma 2 is the best military sim I have ever played. It feels very authentic in its atmosphere. The graphics are really good if you have the computer to handle it. My review is based solely on the single player campaign. I keep hearing that the mission editor is where its at, but I havent touched it.
    I just recently finished up the Red Harvest    First let me start off by saying that Arma 2 is the best military sim I have ever played. It feels very authentic in its atmosphere. The graphics are really good if you have the computer to handle it. My review is based solely on the single player campaign. I keep hearing that the mission editor is where its at, but I havent touched it.
    I just recently finished up the Red Harvest campaign and although I hear people saying how boring the campaign was, I really enjoyed it when it worked properly. I must warn anyone picking up this game that It really tested my patience due to the insane number of bugs. This game imho is the buggiest I have ever played. You need to constantly manual save because Arma 2 misssions will break or crash and there are bugs that won't allow the missions to end so you will have to restart mission from beginning if you don't save. You will need a lot of patience to see the campaign through to the end. Also the keyboard commands can be intimidating and does feel sluggish. Also targeting enemies feels sluggish.
    When it works it truly one of the best combat sim experiences ever. I give it a 7 which does not seem to match this review, but had this game had all the bugs fixed and better use of interface this could easily be a 9 or 10.    … Expand
  48. TriggzSP
    Mar 13, 2013
    10
    Even though the ArmA 3 ALPHA has been released, his game still holds its ground as possibly the best shooter/simulator out there. For 2006 these graphics were outstanding and the game play is always amazing. The devs did a good job making you feel stress, anxiety and fear while under fire and I cant wait to see what ArmA 3 has in store for us.
  49. judgefx
    Mar 12, 2013
    2
    Garbage with a pretty face.
    When it takes more effort to change weapons in a game than it does in real life, there is a problem.
    Outrageous learning curve with a million controls for very simple tasks. Voice acting that makes the Resident Evil series blush. It feels very unfinished, unpolished and unprofessional. On the other hand the graphics look nice, most of the time. Only a few    Garbage with a pretty face.
    When it takes more effort to change weapons in a game than it does in real life, there is a problem.
    Outrageous learning curve with a million controls for very simple tasks. Voice acting that makes the Resident Evil series blush. It feels very unfinished, unpolished and unprofessional.

    On the other hand the graphics look nice, most of the time. Only a few graphical hiccups that I saw.    … Expand
  50. behastie
    Mar 5, 2013
    4
    I really wanted to like this game; I really would like to play a good realistic military simulator. Unfortunately, confusing controls, bad AI and a lack of tutorials kept me from doing anything that I would consider engaged enough to count as "playing." Maybe I'm too mainstream for this game, but I just don't see why you need a specific button assigned to hopping over a fence. I couldn'tI really wanted to like this game; I really would like to play a good realistic military simulator. Unfortunately, confusing controls, bad AI and a lack of tutorials kept me from doing anything that I would consider engaged enough to count as "playing." Maybe I'm too mainstream for this game, but I just don't see why you need a specific button assigned to hopping over a fence. I couldn't get the AI to do anything resembling normal behavior. Very buggy. 4/10… Expand
  51. theUn4given
    Feb 22, 2013
    2
    I am a hardcore old skool Operation Flashpoint fan but this game makes me sick.If you dont have enough time to finish the game at least make sure the mission triggers work.
    You will find that even the first tutorial and the first mission are very hard to finish simply because they are buggy as hell. They are too complex for the medieval mission system to work. First missions should be    I am a hardcore old skool Operation Flashpoint fan but this game makes me sick.If you dont have enough time to finish the game at least make sure the mission triggers work.
    You will find that even the first tutorial and the first mission are very hard to finish simply because they are buggy as hell. They are too complex for the medieval mission system to work. First missions should be immersing, rewarding and easy to complete. Not like this. The engine is very slow and choppy and it prevents you from enjoying the GFX.
    I have no good things to say because I didn't get far enough to see them.    … Expand
  52. Wumlsag
    Feb 18, 2013
    7
    This game is truly the ultimate military sim. However, it has some flaws that hold it back fundamentally and prevent it from being even better. First, the campaign is brutally boring, and I cannot bring myself to finish it. Second, controls require lots of practice and are often akward and strangely laid out for a shooter. Third and finally, this game, while great, is nothing like anyThis game is truly the ultimate military sim. However, it has some flaws that hold it back fundamentally and prevent it from being even better. First, the campaign is brutally boring, and I cannot bring myself to finish it. Second, controls require lots of practice and are often akward and strangely laid out for a shooter. Third and finally, this game, while great, is nothing like any other shooter you have ever played. This almost stopped me at first, and many less open-minded gamers will hate this game due to its difference. However, with practice and understanding, this game opens up to those willing to put in the time. The multiplayer is great, the editor mode has lots of potential to make your own playable and sharable levels, and the DayZ mod is always an excellent diversion from the game's usual themes.… Expand
  53. melli06
    Feb 8, 2013
    10
    This game is honestly great, although, its physics are completely terrible. You will just have to deal with it if you want to play what I would call one of the better games of this decade. The game is not actually that glitched out as some of these moronic articles claim it is; the controls once you use them for a while and make a few minor tweaks they begin to become a great format. it isThis game is honestly great, although, its physics are completely terrible. You will just have to deal with it if you want to play what I would call one of the better games of this decade. The game is not actually that glitched out as some of these moronic articles claim it is; the controls once you use them for a while and make a few minor tweaks they begin to become a great format. it is actually very strategical as well and with the best mission editor practically ever you can continue to lay down new scenarios constantly. I will say the campaign has the worst presentation so you will find it hard to get into I couldn't exactly even comment on the campaign because I haven't even finished it It also features a great modding system with plenty of mods I would actually recommend these mods/maps Sound of Anders Zeus AI and the map Panthera This game is quite amazing in what it delivers and for a cheap price on steam. I believe it was just lowered to 24$ not sure the Euro or pound translation, but in short get it… Expand
  54. Dekko
    Feb 7, 2013
    9
    Arma II to me is the pinnacle of PC gaming. Enthralling, nerve-shredding militaristic game play in a huge, open, real-world environment. The modding community is massive and there are some terrific mods to tweak all aspects of the game. Really excels in multiplayer and the editor is very powerful. Has been patched by the developer, so no more excuses! Can't recommend it highly enough
  55. snaphoo
    Jan 8, 2013
    0
    wow is this game ever crap.anyone who thinks for one second this game is a quality simulator has obviously never played a real simulator this games controls are crap the worst are the vehicle controls if you have ever played a REAL simulator and then get in a vehicle on this pile of junk you will be very disappointing i feel like i threw 30 bucks in the trash when i bought this pile ofwow is this game ever crap.anyone who thinks for one second this game is a quality simulator has obviously never played a real simulator this games controls are crap the worst are the vehicle controls if you have ever played a REAL simulator and then get in a vehicle on this pile of junk you will be very disappointing i feel like i threw 30 bucks in the trash when i bought this pile of crap.you can call it anything you want the devs can call it a amazing simulator but its just a lackluster buggy pile of crap.. and the controls are not very customizable at all try getting a pro flight setup to work right on this game you cant.i play full on military flights sims regularly and this is so bad.save yourself some money and just buy battlefield 3 its a lot more fun then you will have with this junk.if you want a good flight sim try falcon 4.0 or a-10c warthog or even microsoft flight but don't waste your cash here.… Expand
  56. CallOfDuty
    Jan 3, 2013
    5
    I can say ARMA 2 is not that bad,i like its modding community,it's a beautiful game with beautiful maps (and the community maps),extremely huge map. it's not that terrible but i have to admit there are many bugs,i lagged,took me 3 hours to done a single objective,guess what? the game had glitch and i have to reset the mission again!
  57. SittinginBasket
    Jan 1, 2013
    5
    Let's start off with controls. There is a difference between complex controls, and overly complicated and messy controls. If the controls were all organized logically, then a player's first impressions and ability to get into the game would be vastly improved. However, not only will you be forced to constantly check your control settings, but you will simply have to learn how to do everyLet's start off with controls. There is a difference between complex controls, and overly complicated and messy controls. If the controls were all organized logically, then a player's first impressions and ability to get into the game would be vastly improved. However, not only will you be forced to constantly check your control settings, but you will simply have to learn how to do every single thing in the game by yourself, as the tutorials are extremely sloppy, slow, and unclear. Controls that make sense are even more important when the movement in the game is sloppy and to be honest, just complete **** There is a difference between realism and sloppy movement. You will never feel in control of your character, and will be constantly reminded that you are controlling a game character who can't seem to move properly, as if it has physical disabilities.

    Also sadly, in a game that prides itself on realism, physics in the game also feel sloppy, vehicles are sloopy, graphics are sloppy (could be justified by scale of world), firearms and weapons sound like paintball guns, AI troops seem to be complete idiots, the list goes on.

    This game truly is for the dedicated player who does not mind sinking hundreds of hours into the game, just to play a sloppy game with no real entertainment value other than as a bland and boring shooting gallery. If you aren't willing, stay away.    … Expand
  58. Cyper
    Dec 23, 2012
    9
    At release, Arma II was in horrible condition. Very bad performance, loads of bugs and glitches. Keen point to stress though: Bohemia Interactive never abandone their games and their support is great. Arma 2s current state is very stable. However, this game is for those who enjoy realism and tactical combat. There is no progression system. This is not Battlefield nor Call of Duty. Try toAt release, Arma II was in horrible condition. Very bad performance, loads of bugs and glitches. Keen point to stress though: Bohemia Interactive never abandone their games and their support is great. Arma 2s current state is very stable. However, this game is for those who enjoy realism and tactical combat. There is no progression system. This is not Battlefield nor Call of Duty. Try to use any of the tactics you use in most arcade games and arma will shovel a boot up your ass. The enemy AI is designed to kill you - not to amuse you. Controls are very complex. The environment is HUGE - 220km2. Missions are not scripted til death; on the battlefield you'll often be confused in the heat of the combat because the battlefield is ever changing. With that said, the game isn't streamlined, its not a railshooter. Graphics is great on highest settings but the game requires a great computer. Mission editor is improved a lot. Huge of free user-made mods for this game. If you like games that actually CHALLANGE you, then arma is for you, because this game will for sure teach you a lesson! This is for the tactical gamer.… Expand
  59. kodeee
    Dec 12, 2012
    3
    I LOVED Cold War Crisis and was very excited to play Arma 2, but I'm extremely disappointed. Still has the open ended aspect and the potential to feel very real but the gameplay kills it. Friendly units run into things and get lost, or are impossible to give effective commands to, especially in combat situations. NPCs are useless. "hey helo pilot, there's a group of enemies down there.I LOVED Cold War Crisis and was very excited to play Arma 2, but I'm extremely disappointed. Still has the open ended aspect and the potential to feel very real but the gameplay kills it. Friendly units run into things and get lost, or are impossible to give effective commands to, especially in combat situations. NPCs are useless. "hey helo pilot, there's a group of enemies down there. mind hovering a minute so i can shoot them with the minigun mounted on the side here?" Nope, no command for that, just gonna drop you off in the middle of a bunch of **** shooting at you. Not to mention I just spent a hour reloading saves trying to sneak up on a group of enemies sitting around fires next to their tents, but as soon is I get anywhere near them they start shooting through the trees and bushes and kill all of my team before i can even get a good look at them, and this was once I resorted to putting the difficulty on recruit! WTF. I love the "get shot once and you're injured or die" aspect. I'm not saying it's too hard, the AI just ruins it. You'd think that these issues could be resolved considering the game came out years ago. I too was hoping the negative reviews were just being too critical, but they're accurate. If your getting this for the campaign, DON"T. I miss cold war crisis, arma 2 is somehow a big step backwards. If those asses are gonna turn out another arma like this let em stay in jail in greece… Expand
  60. Opi
    Dec 2, 2012
    5
    First off I think most reviews on games are stupid, be it a major reviewer or ordinary people on Metacritic. People love to rate games in extremes, it's always the lowest or highest numbers. And most on this site rate and follow up with "stupid, dumb, overrated" but rarely go into brief detail on why they rated the game so.

    This concept for this game is great. There are not too many    First off I think most reviews on games are stupid, be it a major reviewer or ordinary people on Metacritic. People love to rate games in extremes, it's always the lowest or highest numbers. And most on this site rate and follow up with "stupid, dumb, overrated" but rarely go into brief detail on why they rated the game so.

    This concept for this game is great. There are not too many simulators. Graphics look decent on everything (and I mean everything AA max etc.) but suffers from poor optimization. I get lag sometimes even when I lower AA and shadows. My rig is very powerful (i5 2500K 4.7, 7970 OC'd 1115/1500) but still suffers from lag. This game utilizes the CPU more than the GPU which I don't understand why some devs choose this route for their games, you'd think the GPU is much more efficient at running a game than a CPU. The AI, ohhhh, the AI. What AI? The AI is horrible, just horrible. Try commanding a tank and a convoy of Abrahms and Bradleys and you will have patches of hair gone from pulling it out. They run into building even though if they had moved 10 ft to the right they would of avoided it, but nooo, that would be too easy. You have to manually drive the vehicle until you are at the point you need to be or fire from and then switch to the gunner and shoot. Controls. Oh man. I understand completely that a simulator is very complex and is bound to have more actions than your run of the mill FPS like COD or BF but I really think if they would of spent a little more time on this they could of come up with a system that is alot more user friendly and simpler than what they have now. You are much better off spending half an hour or an hour configuring the controls so they are tolerable.

    In a nutshell the game has it's good and it's bad. It is very frustrating at times and very enjoyable and satisfying in others. This game is a slow paced SIMULATOR. If you are looking for a fast or semi face paced game like COD or BF then this is not for you. Even if you like simulators this game is frustrating as hell. Think of it like Americas Army with polished graphics and a billion more controls. You'd be well advised to download their demo on Steam before purchasing this game. There is one thing I forgot to mention about this game. There is a great modding community with some kickass mods out there. Such as Day Z. I read alot about Day Z which is the reason why I bought this game.    … Expand
  61. Marcballer
    Oct 20, 2012
    3
    Bought it for dayZ, love it for dayZ, the DayZ mod gets a 10/10 for me.

    Otherwise it's just too control complex to be fun, especially (plane) flight. The beauty of a PC game vs a console game (among a long list of things) is that controls don't have to be limited to four - 8 buttons. But seriously.... you dont need to use all 116 keys and every part of the mouse for EACH control scheme    Bought it for dayZ, love it for dayZ, the DayZ mod gets a 10/10 for me.

    Otherwise it's just too control complex to be fun, especially (plane) flight. The beauty of a PC game vs a console game (among a long list of things) is that controls don't have to be limited to four - 8 buttons. But seriously.... you dont need to use all 116 keys and every part of the mouse for EACH control scheme (infantry, land vehicle, helicopter, multiple types of aircraft etc.) It's near impossible to fly without a joystick. imagine, if you will, the following:

    A + D = roll W + S = pitch ...so far so good =) now add
    Q + Z = trottle up and down... ok so it's hard to bank left and use throttle, I can handle that... but wait there's more!
    X + C = Yaw.. so now that you're trying to make fine adjustments to properly lead and strafe you need to completely forget you're throttle because you're trying to maintain your bank to match your're adversary. but wait... turning too hard makes you loose velocity.... so stop tuning with yaw, correct speed. return to yaw. But wait there's more!

    F = to select your weapons, which aren't quite clear what they even are at first. until you accidentally fire one of the 2 only missles, 2 bombs, or 300 bullets you have (which you can empty in 4-5 seconds.)

    But wait! There's more! While you're trying to simply stay away from the ground and fumble in utter dumbfoundedness with you're weapons while trying to hit a peanut sized target with next to no ammo remaining, you moved you're mouse! Oops it controls pitch and roll too, at the same time as the keyboard! While trying to grasp all this at once you realise your landing gear is still down.... ok so now it's off the the scroll wheel menu to retract it (which is actually quite alien at first). Now you're distracted for a few seconds from the incoming ground with your upside down aircraft seemingly resisting all your movements by about 25%. So on top of all this you now need to compensate for the resistance to your movement. Oh and remember to close/retract/lower your flaps. Whatever term the game uses is useless because you're scroll menu offers "flaps up" or 'flaps down". Am i lowering them from the top of the aircraft to close them? Or was it bring the flaps from the bottom up to retract them... Oh hey, there's a note on the top right of the screen, something about using TAB to acquire targets... Wait... there were instructions there.... that's ok I'll restart again.... *reading* Welcome to the tuto... *switch* times up! new message! In this excercise we will be going to *switch*. There is litterally a 5 line message that is on screen for less than a second.

    Did I mention this is only the boot camp?

    Now lets clear something up. I LOVE complex games. From ROTK to Total War to Crusader Kings II to Europa Univeralis. I enjoy a steep learning curve because the time invested usually nets a fantastic game that not every moron can just jump on to "pWn HiS n0oBzoRs" or whatever it is they do. I have over 14 hours of play simply in the tutorials. I have nearly given up on the main game. But I'm a stubborn type that will keep doing it till it's done. But most people will have given up ages ago, which is a bit of a shame. The game has a fantastic engine overall and is almost unerringly realistic. If the tutorial gets a very extensive tune-up I could see many more positive reviews. But too many people are kicked flat in the teeth with this (fun but) incredibly newbie unfriendly game.

    Ending on a positive note thought, glitches have been non-existant to me. So I don't know if I'm just missing them out of sheer dumb luck or they have been fixed by now.    … Expand
  62. TheHumbleCritic
    Sep 25, 2012
    7
    Arma 2 is an outstanding war simulator, but that is really all it is. It's not very immersive and there is no depth. Go here capture this, go there secure that, in a sense, it's a little bit too realistic.
  63. epitek
    Sep 5, 2012
    10
    Hands down the most interactive and self fulfilling game on the market to date. The hidden gem of FPS and military shooters. Really can't wait for ARMA III to be released.
  64. russ-angel
    Aug 20, 2012
    8
    Its a flawed masterpiece.With such a big order to take on,Bohemia has done a grand job.Still buggy in places but lets forgive and forget this is such a huge game and it deserves a high rating for sheer guts to take this type of game on.Hard learning curve,demanding specs,but worth every penny if you have a high end gaming rig and the patience.I bought the Anniversary pack even though IIts a flawed masterpiece.With such a big order to take on,Bohemia has done a grand job.Still buggy in places but lets forgive and forget this is such a huge game and it deserves a high rating for sheer guts to take this type of game on.Hard learning curve,demanding specs,but worth every penny if you have a high end gaming rig and the patience.I bought the Anniversary pack even though I already had 1&2.A couple of idiots on the multiplayer can be annoying but find a good server with players who want to play seriously and its just ace.looking forward to Arma 3.… Expand
  65. Hudson633
    Aug 15, 2012
    7
    Mildly enjoyable, but annoyingly it's quite user-unfriendly and infested with awkward features and little bugs. I imagine what an older game could have been in the same genre, and this grew up from that genre and sprouted hideous defects. I'm being harsh because it really annoys me when a developer ruins a product by leaving it rough around the edges, but this is honesty and not spite. AtMildly enjoyable, but annoyingly it's quite user-unfriendly and infested with awkward features and little bugs. I imagine what an older game could have been in the same genre, and this grew up from that genre and sprouted hideous defects. I'm being harsh because it really annoys me when a developer ruins a product by leaving it rough around the edges, but this is honesty and not spite. At least I'm having fun on the popular DayZ mod with it, so all is forgiven.… Expand
  66. Satyrion
    Aug 12, 2012
    2
    This game is very bad and can only be fun for people who is in the army or plan on joining. This is more like a simulator with tons of bugs than it is a game. The objectives are hard to complete and when you think you have completed an objective some bug happends and you have to restart the whole mission all over again.

    The campaign is horrble because of this and some missions are    This game is very bad and can only be fun for people who is in the army or plan on joining. This is more like a simulator with tons of bugs than it is a game. The objectives are hard to complete and when you think you have completed an objective some bug happends and you have to restart the whole mission all over again.

    The campaign is horrble because of this and some missions are almost unplayable. Stay away unless you love the US army    … Expand
  67. xDpPx_abno96
    Aug 4, 2012
    1
    I wouldn't say this game is terrible, but it's pretty bad. It's was written so badly I can't imagine how it is so popular. The graphics aren't that good so considering the game eats up more memory then say battlefield 3 or Crysis 2. The sound effects are terrible and the engine is extremely bad. The control system (the way to change them and the default control setup) is just a joke. ThisI wouldn't say this game is terrible, but it's pretty bad. It's was written so badly I can't imagine how it is so popular. The graphics aren't that good so considering the game eats up more memory then say battlefield 3 or Crysis 2. The sound effects are terrible and the engine is extremely bad. The control system (the way to change them and the default control setup) is just a joke. This game should be about £5.99 at the most not anywhere close to £20.00. Total waste of money and so disappointing.… Expand
  68. Gabcd
    Aug 3, 2012
    2
    2/10 = 1 star in a 5 stars system = Bad. ( Scale: Bad, Poor, Ok, Good, Excellent )

    This game is unplayable: 1) Controls are bad (unjustifiably bad, even for "simulation", which usually gives you more options, not less usability) 2) Gameplay (does NOT feel realistic, feels like your soldier is physically challenged.) 3) BUGS AND GLITCHES (And not "complex" ones either, really stupid    2/10 = 1 star in a 5 stars system = Bad. ( Scale: Bad, Poor, Ok, Good, Excellent )

    This game is unplayable:
    1) Controls are bad (unjustifiably bad, even for "simulation", which usually gives you more options, not less usability)
    2) Gameplay (does NOT feel realistic, feels like your soldier is physically challenged.)
    3) BUGS AND GLITCHES (And not "complex" ones either, really stupid ones, even in the tutorial!)

    Playing this game feels like I have failed in life and am now stuck in a soul-grinding job that I hate.    … Expand
  69. Ghoster
    Jul 24, 2012
    0
    What a waste of money. That game is soo annoying that this is hard to understand. The put a lot of effort to make most realistic possible but every step they did was total fail. Will not mention graphics which is on 1997. level! Avoid this!!
  70. Scottixboy
    Jul 24, 2012
    5
    Giving this game a 5 is fair, as this is a game with great potential, great realism; that's unfortunately let down by outdated graphics, physics, animations and detail in general. Textures are blurry and most of the time the game looks horrid, also to add injury to insult; this game requires a super-computer to run it.
    (IF I'M LUCKY) I can get a nice 54-60 FPS on low settings(For    Giving this game a 5 is fair, as this is a game with great potential, great realism; that's unfortunately let down by outdated graphics, physics, animations and detail in general. Textures are blurry and most of the time the game looks horrid, also to add injury to insult; this game requires a super-computer to run it.
    (IF I'M LUCKY) I can get a nice 54-60 FPS on low settings(For comparison purposes i run Crysis 2 on High-Maximum and it looks a TON better than arma 2; at 60 FPS)

    Object collisions are terrible, and the game is bug packed, This game is NOT worth even the £15 I paid for it, If the game costed £5, yes, it'd be worth it, but this is an outdated game which doesn't lack in content by any means-But does lack in modern technology-For example, Rag-doll technology in games was introduced with Half Life 2 in early 2004 along with detailed post processing effects and high resolution textures and has been used in A LOT of games since, Arma 2 is a 2009 game, and does not include any of these features. It also lacks steam achievements and friend integration in-fact, this game has NO built in friend system which is slightly flawed for a game that supposed to be an ultra realistic game that requires co-operation!

    But it's not all bad, the game can be a ton of fun with friends; Forget DayZ(as its crap) this game can be really fun just with mates doing some assassination missions or sweep missions and is really fun, and yet these flaws always let it down.

    IMO: it's obvious the engine was build in-house for this game, when there are plenty of engines open for use, they could have built this game on unreal or Cryengine and none of these problems would occour, also the poor optimisation would also be fixed and those 2 engines are VERY well refined

    Overall: A good game with A LOT of flaws and bad Development choices, In-fact i missed a lot out but there is too much to explain, basically, if you want an ultra realistic game, this isn't it, because it looks like a PS2 game gone wrong with physics about as realistic as GTA 3. People may disagree, but the next best thing is Red Orchestra 2, which does everything right that arma 2 does wrong.    … Expand
  71. callyboy1
    Jul 22, 2012
    0
    Terrible, absolutely terrible. I bought this game including operation arrowhead just for DayZ mod which is why the majority of people have this game, and i cant even play it. Here are my PC specs:
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2100 CPU @ 3.10GHz
    4.1 GB Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 (build 7601), 64-bit Nvidia GeForce 405 Video RAM 2.7 GB Pixel Shader version 5.0    Terrible, absolutely terrible. I bought this game including operation arrowhead just for DayZ mod which is why the majority of people have this game, and i cant even play it. Here are my PC specs:
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2100 CPU @ 3.10GHz
    4.1 GB
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 (build 7601), 64-bit
    Nvidia GeForce 405
    Video RAM 2.7 GB Pixel Shader version 5.0 Vertex Shader version 5.0

    And here is Arma 2 Specs:
    OS: Windows XP or Windows Vista
    Processor: Quad Core CPU or fast Dual Core CPU (Intel Core 2.8 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or faster)
    Memory: 2 GB RAM
    Graphics: Fast GPU (Nvidia Geforce 8800GT or ATI Radeon 4850 or faster) with Shader Model 3 and 512 or more MB VRAM
    Hard Drive: 10 GB free HDD space

    The only words in which express my anger and dissapointment are:
    £15 wasted, I might as well of gone out and bought 15 packets of £1 sweets as they would make me happier right now.

    Do not buy this game, it is a piece of ****    … Expand
  72. John_Burmingham
    Jul 19, 2012
    2
    Terrible controls.
    This game is horribly ridden with bugs and glitches, the controls are very difficult to use (Specifically mouse- controlled aiming) and it is very easy to get frustrated with this game very quickly. I cannot get past the first mission just because of how difficult the controls are to use, and there is a 3 second delay between moving my mouse and the game responding to    Terrible controls.
    This game is horribly ridden with bugs and glitches, the controls are very difficult to use (Specifically mouse- controlled aiming) and it is very easy to get frustrated with this game very quickly. I cannot get past the first mission just because of how difficult the controls are to use, and there is a 3 second delay between moving my mouse and the game responding to that. This would be a great game otherwise, but I literally cannot do anything if my character cannot even aim properly.    … Expand
  73. Oroneill
    Jul 8, 2012
    2
    Okay...where to begin.
    This is one of the worst engines and platforms I have ever seen in the history of gaming. The controls are terrible, the physics are mediocre, the character movement is horrifying, the lack of a jump button makes me think Mario never happened, and to top it all off, the graphics are extremely sub-par for when this game was released.
    The sheer amount of controls    Okay...where to begin.
    This is one of the worst engines and platforms I have ever seen in the history of gaming. The controls are terrible, the physics are mediocre, the character movement is horrifying, the lack of a jump button makes me think Mario never happened, and to top it all off, the graphics are extremely sub-par for when this game was released.

    The sheer amount of controls is silly. There are much simpler ways to accomplish an experience that is just as dynamic as one that only gets there by making me use a hundred different controls to do everything.

    DayZ was the reason I bought this game, but it is unplayable because the designer decided to use the worst platform in FPS history. Huge waste of money.

    If someone tells you this game is good, take that with a sixty pound grain of salt. That person is most likely looking for a complex immersive experience and are grasping at the few straws that made this game unique.

    I tried playing single player, and it is even worse than multiplayer. Extremely boring and slow paced, 2003 graphics, choppy, error prone moving objects...just overall an incomplete game without really any shining qualities to make it worthwhile other than the potential of DayZ.

    I'm running this at maximum maximum graphics on a fairly modern PC bought in August 2011. 16 gigs of ram, 1 gig GeForce 560, quad core 3.1 ghz intel i5.    … Expand
  74. UndeadKiller123
    Jun 11, 2012
    8
    This game is great and everyone should at least try it once. The problems with the game consist of glitches where you can walk through walls and other sorts of weird bugs. Another fact is the game requires a pretty good graphics card to run at a 30+ consistent fps at all high settings. The game kind of feels undeveloped but that doesn't stop you from having a great time playing it. YouThis game is great and everyone should at least try it once. The problems with the game consist of glitches where you can walk through walls and other sorts of weird bugs. Another fact is the game requires a pretty good graphics card to run at a 30+ consistent fps at all high settings. The game kind of feels undeveloped but that doesn't stop you from having a great time playing it. You have to want to play a realistic simulator to enjoy the game since this isn't anywhere near a COD but it is normally enjoyable for all.… Expand
  75. Reaper1990
    May 29, 2012
    9
    Simulator which makes everything in large scale, no tiny maps, no small numbers of bots/people.
    Huge possibilities, editor, nice graphics and so on...
  76. Enzio
    May 20, 2012
    3
    The good: Incredible graphics, massive maps and vast array of beautiful vehicles and hardware
    The bad: Terrible single player campaign, awful input lag, shocking voice acting, mindless voice script written by schoolkids (subtitles riddled with typos), broken or inexplicable events in missions... Prepare to fail a mission because something happened miles away which you have no idea about,    The good: Incredible graphics, massive maps and vast array of beautiful vehicles and hardware
    The bad: Terrible single player campaign, awful input lag, shocking voice acting, mindless voice script written by schoolkids (subtitles riddled with typos), broken or inexplicable events in missions... Prepare to fail a mission because something happened miles away which you have no idea about, or you didn't find an item or say the right thing to someone an hour earlier... W...T...!

    Surely the worst thing is the interface. To call a helicopter to your location and get it to travel to where you want to go requires psychic powers. If you do get the helo to come to you, make sure all your squad get in, the AI aborts getting into vehicles if the person and the vehicle aren't in perfect sync. Finding out how to do it will require forum help or a youtube vid - unbelievable. Otherwise you'll find yourself sitting in the helo with your squad with no way to instruct the pilot where to take you.
    Honestly, the interface is appalling and unintuitive, much like ARMA was and Op Flashpoint before that. The new flashpoint games didn't review so well, but I played one of those too and was so pleased that the menus work and the missions were actually interesting. It wasn't as ambitious as ARMA2, but I played it through... I've tried that with ARMA2 a few times, but always got sick of the interface or stupid scripting. I went back with a much faster computer today, for a third go. Loaded up the old saves and it still looks great. Two hours of frustration later I'm venting on the internet. Save me.    … Expand
  77. Ordish
    May 2, 2012
    4
    The concept of the game is fantastic. If not for the horrible optimization in the engine and the terrible net code it would by all accounts be a brilliant game. As it is, the poor performance and terrible online performance make this shooter virtually unplayable. This is a game that I wanted to love but the actual game play is just frustrating with the bugs and poor performance on mediumThe concept of the game is fantastic. If not for the horrible optimization in the engine and the terrible net code it would by all accounts be a brilliant game. As it is, the poor performance and terrible online performance make this shooter virtually unplayable. This is a game that I wanted to love but the actual game play is just frustrating with the bugs and poor performance on medium to high end machines built for gaming. The A.I. is simplistic but the true measure is playing against live opponents. Hopefully ARMA 3 does a better job of engine optimization.… Expand
  78. Wadeyboy
    Mar 30, 2012
    5
    This could potentially have been a classic as it has many great ideas. However, it's one of the buggiest games I've ever played in over 30 years of computer gaming. However they had the nerve to release expansions for this game is shocking! They should have cleared up the AI issues and fixed their broken game first. Just one example (I could write a long, long list); When you try to call aThis could potentially have been a classic as it has many great ideas. However, it's one of the buggiest games I've ever played in over 30 years of computer gaming. However they had the nerve to release expansions for this game is shocking! They should have cleared up the AI issues and fixed their broken game first. Just one example (I could write a long, long list); When you try to call a helicopter to transport you to another location, you would think it could land in a large, empty car park without continually crashing into surrounding tress or buildings. Then when you do finally get it to land safely, your squad gets fatally injured when you order them to board it! The ambition of the game is admiral and there are loads of good ideas, but that is all negated by the bugs that make it unplayable. I bought this in a sale and I still feel ripped off! The worst case of a game released in a wholly unfinished state I've ever seen! Ironically, if you are looking for a realistic squad based shooter, I would advise going for Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising or Operation Flashpoint Red River. Ironically because this is done by the team that did the original Operation Flashpoint but couldn't keep the name of that franchise because of the change of publisher.… Expand
  79. GLYDESIDEWAYS
    Mar 11, 2012
    10
    1. if it lags your computer is **** 2. if you think its complicated go **** yourself because its a SIMULATOR. 3. its all about realism, DO NOT criticize it if you are coming from COD or BF or OF, about its complexity.
  80. ghos7bear
    Feb 14, 2012
    10
    There is something special about this game, it manages to be amazingly bad and amazingly awesome at the same time. There are bugs, glitches, problems, strange things, some stuff unoptimized and so but but still game is so good and addictive, it will kick your ass and chop your head off at the beginning of learning curve but will become extremely rewarding as soon as you will know what toThere is something special about this game, it manages to be amazingly bad and amazingly awesome at the same time. There are bugs, glitches, problems, strange things, some stuff unoptimized and so but but still game is so good and addictive, it will kick your ass and chop your head off at the beginning of learning curve but will become extremely rewarding as soon as you will know what to do and how to do it. There is always something new to discover in the game, something new to try. Amount of user-created missions is already enough to play the game until the end of times.… Expand
  81. themoore117
    Jan 21, 2012
    10
    This game could've had soooo much more put into it, but unfortunately, it didn't. For me, it's the small things that make a game an enjoyable experience. Some things I noticed that annoyed me was the medic healing...you see something happening when you heal someone, but apparently all of the band-aids are invisible or something. Some other things is if you actually saw your men get in andThis game could've had soooo much more put into it, but unfortunately, it didn't. For me, it's the small things that make a game an enjoyable experience. Some things I noticed that annoyed me was the medic healing...you see something happening when you heal someone, but apparently all of the band-aids are invisible or something. Some other things is if you actually saw your men get in and out of tanks, boats, helo's, etc...it would be much better, but as most FPS games "insta-pop" you into Vehicles, it's not a big deal. Although these small flaws, along with the sometimes idiotic AI, poped at first to me, It was over shunned by the pure "awesomeness" that the editor holds. For the longest time, I was ignorant to about 95% of the editors features. After discovering them, making some kickass missions, and pretty much enjoying my self, I learned that this game was a definitive good buy. ARMA is, and will remain, the best combat simulator, and sandbox of all time.… Expand
  82. gonorrheahd
    Jan 4, 2012
    10
    At first I was told by a friend that this game was supposed to be really awesome, I wasn't sure about it, being a military sim and all, but this game is the best investment in FPSing games that I've bought. The way your team and everyone you play with all fight together, this game isn't another **** COD this is a real mans game, if you want to go to the extreme of realism this is the game,At first I was told by a friend that this game was supposed to be really awesome, I wasn't sure about it, being a military sim and all, but this game is the best investment in FPSing games that I've bought. The way your team and everyone you play with all fight together, this game isn't another **** COD this is a real mans game, if you want to go to the extreme of realism this is the game, not cod or battlefield. It took me a while to get used to this game with all the advanced controls but after a while in BOOTCAMP which is part of the main campaign which people seem to miss and try to dive right into the game, I was able to fall in love with every aspect of this game. Every time I play you get the feeling of "being" or "living" in this army like experience and its the best feeling ever! And for the people that say you need a high end computer, what are you talking about, I maxed this game out easily.… Expand
  83. Mikefdk
    Jan 3, 2012
    10
    Little harder to just jump in then cod, but when you get use to it is awesome. I rate it 9.5/10 some bugs with the AI some times. If you are looking for a realistic shooter this is the best game to play.
  84. Firebad
    Dec 25, 2011
    9
    Great game, loved the adventure. nothing more fun than taking your friends, piling in a Humvee, tank, helicopter, or any other vehicle, and blazing out into the unknown to kill every single enemy soldier. while the mechanics are a little rough around the edges, that shouldn't deter you from enjoying this massive, tactical, sandbox shooter.
  85. JymmyQuidd
    Nov 23, 2011
    8
    One of the best games i ever played, when i tried this game i was expecting another typical fps (run, shoot, reload, run, shoot, reload), but this... this is the most complete FPS game ever seen (bcause its not only a fps), the thing is it has some issues that made the game lose credibility, such as some bugs, the controls complexity, and the playability style. A lot of bugs are fixed withOne of the best games i ever played, when i tried this game i was expecting another typical fps (run, shoot, reload, run, shoot, reload), but this... this is the most complete FPS game ever seen (bcause its not only a fps), the thing is it has some issues that made the game lose credibility, such as some bugs, the controls complexity, and the playability style. A lot of bugs are fixed with the patches, personally i never had any issues while playing since the last ones; the control complexity is a part of the game, there are too many options and actions to make, maybe too complicated for the casual player or the classic fps player. The playability is a big factor, cz team playing is the pilar of this game, the thing is u can't fully enjoy this while playing Single player mission or campaigns, the IA is not capable of taking too complicated orders or actions, so the best thing is to play a multiplayer map to enjoy the team play (the domination maps out there are amazing), i had plenty of good moments while playing this on MP.
    Graphics are good, but don't expect the best graphic engine of the market. Finally, the best thing of this game is the modding comunity, there are plenty of mods to try and enjoy (like fallout 3), a lot of playability options can be changed, u can literally create a whole new environment.
    Anyway, if ur tired of classic run and shoot fps and ur looking for some realistic action, to use a big bunch of different weapons, drive tanks, jets, helos, cars, even mountainbikes xD, to command people in the field, and a lot more, just stop reading, shut up and buy this diamond!    … Expand
  86. BriTisH
    Nov 15, 2011
    5
    this is for a hard core military nuts dream so much stuff so many key commands feels like a game from 98 runs like you are playing it on a pc from 98 sp runs fine but mp is a whole outer bag . if you dont work as a team you wont get any were in it need to play with a whole platoon of friends for fun. if you want a simulation this is it there's even a mod to make it more of a simulation butthis is for a hard core military nuts dream so much stuff so many key commands feels like a game from 98 runs like you are playing it on a pc from 98 sp runs fine but mp is a whole outer bag . if you dont work as a team you wont get any were in it need to play with a whole platoon of friends for fun. if you want a simulation this is it there's even a mod to make it more of a simulation but for me i spent most of my time running from grass plane to the woods and getting killed when i thought it was safe. it is free to play now so give it a go put the time in and you will sound like one of the guys on the mic graxs can be incredible but if you wanna play it you gota tone it down a notch. performance is all over the place kinda like the controls . die you might spawn as a bird i dont know wtf that is about lol… Expand
  87. BlackOmega
    Nov 8, 2011
    0
    Hmm.. how to describe this game. In one word BORING! This game is really not any fun at all. Do I really need to map a control to every key on my keyboard? And why can't get in a vehicle be the same key that I use to get out of it? Is the game buggy, sure. I couldn't care less, It's so boring and sucks so bad that being buggy is the least of it's issues.Sure the graphics are nice, but onceHmm.. how to describe this game. In one word BORING! This game is really not any fun at all. Do I really need to map a control to every key on my keyboard? And why can't get in a vehicle be the same key that I use to get out of it? Is the game buggy, sure. I couldn't care less, It's so boring and sucks so bad that being buggy is the least of it's issues.Sure the graphics are nice, but once again what does that matter when a game is as boring and simply NOT FUN, as this game is.… Expand
  88. Illuminous
    Aug 29, 2011
    6
    I've been a great fan of Bohemia's simulatiors since they released Operation Flashpoint, but ArmA II just doesn't live up to it's predecessor. The graphics are great, almost to much for my PC to handle from time to time, and some missions gives you alot of open space to travel, but I've experienced just to many bugs within the game to continue, especially with the Co-oP campaing wereI've been a great fan of Bohemia's simulatiors since they released Operation Flashpoint, but ArmA II just doesn't live up to it's predecessor. The graphics are great, almost to much for my PC to handle from time to time, and some missions gives you alot of open space to travel, but I've experienced just to many bugs within the game to continue, especially with the Co-oP campaing were saving didn't work or missions were totally bugged. Hopefully ArmA III will put it all right, but this time I'll hold onto my money and not preorder it.… Expand
  89. andytimber
    Jun 26, 2011
    4
    ArmA II is a strange beast. It looks gorgeous, possesses an incredible coolness factor and can be highly immersive and engaging at times. But ultimately it's a false friend. A friend you simply cannot trust. You cannot trust the AI of your buddies, you cannot trust the mission triggers and you cannot trust the insanely complicated control system. On top of all, It crashes every 30 minutesArmA II is a strange beast. It looks gorgeous, possesses an incredible coolness factor and can be highly immersive and engaging at times. But ultimately it's a false friend. A friend you simply cannot trust. You cannot trust the AI of your buddies, you cannot trust the mission triggers and you cannot trust the insanely complicated control system. On top of all, It crashes every 30 minutes (even with the latest updates installed). Sorry Bohemia. I really wanted to like that game but it's simply too ambitious for it's own sake.… Expand
  90. HF2
    Jun 5, 2011
    10
    This is a must for all who love war sims or ex servicemen who miss the old days. Completely believable war sim game, ideal for myself as the action is thought out and executed using tactics rather than running around in a linear corridor like most so called war games which propose to be realistic but never are. This game is great.
  91. Agera
    May 20, 2011
    10
    Ignore the people complaining its too much of a simulation and too complicated. This is not **** Call of Duty or **** Battlefield. This is a SIMULATION, bullet drops, gasoline, you need to play SMART and with TACTICS. Use a mic', join a squad. HAVE FUN! THIS GAME IS AWESOME, HELL YEAH!
  92. EmuChicken
    Apr 28, 2011
    1
    I'm only taking the single game experience into account, on version 1.09 (newest)... BUGS GALORE! I feel ripped off, even if I only paid 7.99$ for it (steam)
    The reason I hated it were not due to the "feeling of realism" or "its not an arcade game standard FPS" ... But more of the case of almost everything is bugged. Examples : Boot Camp (eg Tutorial), assault course, no problem. Move    I'm only taking the single game experience into account, on version 1.09 (newest)... BUGS GALORE! I feel ripped off, even if I only paid 7.99$ for it (steam)
    The reason I hated it were not due to the "feeling of realism" or "its not an arcade game standard FPS" ... But more of the case of almost everything is bugged. Examples : Boot Camp (eg Tutorial), assault course, no problem. Move to shooting training, the instructor kept asking nonstop If I wanted to retry (I choose yes) ... he asks again. < restart bootcamp >, same again, this time it works, and then I get asked to carry an injured officer. Move over him, hit drag, then carry. cant move. put him down, still cant move / drag or anything. so I accidentally shoot him in the head, and then I hear a "well done" - WTF?!?
    So, I moved to single player (campaign), where I get treated to another tutorial - "shoot targets". I clearly hit the targets and the sergeant randomly shouts out "too bad, you missed" or "good shot" even though I hit them all fine.
    Real mission starts, complete black, no clue to even having NV goggles until Im half dead. "computer like" orders are being given through the radio.
    So, the sound ... works, badly (speech orders) ... Music is .. OK, no wait, its naff. No idea why they chose poor Duke 3D imitation music for such a "realistic setting"

    Its fairly obvious that this company has had no testing done at all on the game, and to wonder what it was like BEFORE the patching, where in the world did these high reviews come from?!?

    I gave it a 1 to say "well done for the idea", but what I mean is...

    DONT BUY! NOT EVEN FOR A DOLLAR!


    + "Serious"
    + Decent-ish graphics (for 2009)

    - Bugs
    - Bugs (as to say its REALLY buggy)
    - Awful music
    - Naff tutorial

    Bottom line; Stick to maybe the battlefield series if you fancy some all out warfare... if you want realism, you'll need to wait that bit longer!    … Expand
  93. Incorruptible
    Apr 26, 2011
    10
    If you are looking for a COD clone, stay away. If you are looking for something similar to the travesties named "Dragon Rising" and "Red River," stay away (and kill yourself shortly afterwards, for shame). ArmA 2 is none of these, and will disappoint you immensely. The simplest way to review ArmA 2 for the PC is to look at its long and distinguished heritage.

    Bohemia Interactive Studios    If you are looking for a COD clone, stay away. If you are looking for something similar to the travesties named "Dragon Rising" and "Red River," stay away (and kill yourself shortly afterwards, for shame). ArmA 2 is none of these, and will disappoint you immensely. The simplest way to review ArmA 2 for the PC is to look at its long and distinguished heritage.

    Bohemia Interactive Studios (BIS), the designer, made a name for themselves in 2001 with the ground-breaking Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (hereafter referenced as "the original Flashpoint"). The original Flashpoint was a PC gaming triumph; it was a battlefield simulator of an unprecedented scale. No longer were players bounded by invisible walls and boundaries - if you saw it on the horizon, you could head there, if you saw a better position or approach to a target, you could use it. You could command or simply be a cog in the war machine. One enemy (or friendly, for that matter) bullet in the right place would end your brief career. Combined arms operations became a reality. You could fly, in fixed wing or rotary wing aircraft. You could drive tanks, cars, trucks, go-karts, mountain bikes and almost any conceivable type of vehicle. You could use an immense variety of weaponry. The revolutionary AI operated totally sans scripting, and would often prove (in the hands of a cunning mission designer) your undoing again and again. And this was simply the vanilla game.

    The Crown Jewel in the original Flashpoint's crown was its "modability." The game itself was ported with the most powerful mission editor seen at that point in gaming, allowing almost infinite replay value - want to create D-Day? Go for it. Paradrop yourself and your buddies behind enemy lines to whack some HVTs? Easy. Huge tank battle? No worries. This was compounded infinitely (again) with the advent of the Oxygen 3D tools, which allowed the burgeoning community to port their own models into the game.

    The community work was small scale at first - a retexture here, config change there. However, merely a blink of an eye later, with logarithmic speed, a burgeoning source of creative output was realised. The most appreciable thing about the modding of the original Flashpoint was that it was ACCESSIBLE to ANYONE. Tutorials sprung up on basic modeling and texturing, which allowed even new players to put their dreams into the game. New vehicles, new weapons, entire armies, never-before-seen islands and terrains, unique scenarios, both PvP and coop (and all mixtures of the two!) and no less than entire modifications were spawned out of the minds of the community. There was a goddamn Lego Wars mod, and a ROFLcopter, for Christ's sake. Cold War Crisis became THE benchmark of what a game imbued with a passionate community could become. Mods are still being produced for the venerable engine of 2001 even today.

    Apart from modding, another hallmark of the original Flashpoint (hah, there I go again) was the outstanding community support. BIS, an independent developer, maintain a professional stance with their products, and are renowned for supporting their games and listening to community suggestions. They do not suddenly fade away or abandon their works, unlike many a modern studio.

    ArmA 2 was released in 2009. It is the spiritual successor to the original Flashpoint, and I don't refer to the abortions produced by Codemasters, who own the Operation Flashpoint name and nothing more. I don't mean "spiritual successor" in the way that Bioshock was to System Shock, and how the continual intellectual depredations and hardware limitations of the console crowd have degraded that franchise. ArmA 2 is the essence of Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis packaged for modern technology. The limitless potential remains potent; the mission editor more powerful than ever, the community immensely strong, still producing content of a quality that is second-to-none, the campaigns and scenarios fresh and engrossing. When PC Gamer stated that "Only boring people get bored with the ever-evolving ArmA 2", they told a truth more profound than ever.

    ArmA 2 is not a game - it is the latest iteration of a way of life. I bought the original Flashpoint when I was 14, and still played through the original campaign not a year ago. I am now 24, and the latest brainchild of BIS has yet to let me down.

    For God's sake, if you are not in one of the unfortunate categories listed at the beginning of this spiel, and are remotely interested in military operations, do yourself a favour, and download ArmA 2 and its DLC packs today.    … Expand
  94. KartoonHead
    Apr 24, 2011
    0
    A training program, NOT a game. Impossible to control without lots of practice and tuition, that's the main issue with it. The graphics look alright, but hog SO much processing power that you'll be needing to tone the graphics down even on really high-end cards, despite the fact that it only looks average on its highest settings. Down-right BORING! Buggy as hell. Just stay the heck awayA training program, NOT a game. Impossible to control without lots of practice and tuition, that's the main issue with it. The graphics look alright, but hog SO much processing power that you'll be needing to tone the graphics down even on really high-end cards, despite the fact that it only looks average on its highest settings. Down-right BORING! Buggy as hell. Just stay the heck away from this, it's just awful.… Expand
  95. Rcoop
    Mar 31, 2011
    10
    Simply, the best combat simulator out there. Much improved in latest patches and continually supported by the developers and community. Multi-core support added, improving the game immensely. Watch for the stand alone/add-on Operation Flashpoint and Reinforcements. They add new maps and units and also even more game improvements. An epic game!
  96. barillas
    Mar 13, 2011
    3
    Awful gameplay, they wanted to make it complicated even to move yourself, I mean, If your press forward the soldier will go 1 FULL step, this means I can't go just a little forward. The mouse lag is awful too, some people said its was to simulated the weigh of the gun, c'mon, this game really needed more work from Bohemia.
  97. Liquidlizard
    Jan 5, 2011
    7
    ARMA II is a game for people who are into real action. But the problem with this game is that there are too many controls. It is way to complicated compared to any other first person shooter out there. You have controls for flying a helicopter, plane, car, boat... anything. They need to separate all of the controls into separate columns. There are controls where you need to push 2-3ARMA II is a game for people who are into real action. But the problem with this game is that there are too many controls. It is way to complicated compared to any other first person shooter out there. You have controls for flying a helicopter, plane, car, boat... anything. They need to separate all of the controls into separate columns. There are controls where you need to push 2-3 buttons just to do one action. Another thing is, when you fire the weapon, it is not very realistic at all... I have no idea if it is just my PC or what, because all the gun does is barely nudge when you fire it... like a little jolt. Above that... I would say this game is pretty realistic and fun.… Expand
  98. Chromium
    Aug 18, 2010
    10
    ArmA 2 -- let me put it this way. If you ever wanted to play a combat game that would be bigger, more involved, more dynamic and customizable than anything you've ever imagined, ArmA 2 is it. Having played the game for over three hundred hours at this point, I can safely say that there isn't a finer battlefield simulator around.

    The true gem to ArmA 2, however, lies not in the game    ArmA 2 -- let me put it this way. If you ever wanted to play a combat game that would be bigger, more involved, more dynamic and customizable than anything you've ever imagined, ArmA 2 is it. Having played the game for over three hundred hours at this point, I can safely say that there isn't a finer battlefield simulator around.

    The true gem to ArmA 2, however, lies not in the game itself, but in the community of modders and 'teams' of players who group up to do battle on a regular basis -- such as Shack Tactical. Even after the campaign and single missions are well over, you're a few forum posts away from finding a group of people who like the same multiplayer things you do and having hundreds of hours of fun.

    At least, I know that's how it went for me!    … Expand
  99. KB
    Jan 16, 2010
    2
    Pros- Great graphics, if it was optimized correctly. -Hug open land and editor Cons- -Optimization is wretched. -Control scheme was idiotic -AI is either cheap, or stupid -Voice acting is terrible. In The demo scenario, I swear the one guy who talked in the helicopter the most was 14 years old. -Bugs galore -In the demo, there are only 4 voices, two of them a replicas It just feels Pros- Great graphics, if it was optimized correctly. -Hug open land and editor Cons- -Optimization is wretched. -Control scheme was idiotic -AI is either cheap, or stupid -Voice acting is terrible. In The demo scenario, I swear the one guy who talked in the helicopter the most was 14 years old. -Bugs galore -In the demo, there are only 4 voices, two of them a replicas It just feels unfinished even for a demo. I greatly enjoyed Operation Flashpoint 1 and 2, but this is so poorly constructed. I dislike CoD because of it's arcade shooter, that is why I play OP flash point and Far Cry 2. But this, this is almost a joke.… Expand
  100. stigp
    Jan 4, 2010
    9
    You have to see it for what it is, the wast majority of people will not enjoy this game. But for those longing for its unforging, nervwrecking, realistic gameplay and teamwork, there is a goldpot at the end of the rainbow in this game.
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Awards & Rankings

61
#61 Best PC Game of 2009
14
#14 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
45
#45 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. Gamers.at
    72
    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!
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  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    70
    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.
  3. GameStar
    66
    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.
    Read full review
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