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
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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.
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