View All (4)

View All (2)

Most of the campaign is set-up in this branching sort of gameplay. New to the game is the ability to team switch. In some missions, you can switch to any unit in the game and play from any perspective. Those who’ve played Opflash know this is a welcome addition, because you tend to die a lot. This is excellent addition to the game, because it keeps you from starting over and gives the player some added realism.

It also adds a sense of dynamic gameplay, you can continue on as you would in real life. Multiplayer has the usual options, i.e. Gamespy, LAN and the Internet. There are plenty of game servers to be found, with the best one at SimHQ.com. Setting up a multiplayer game is very easy the only problem is all of the international versions of ArmedA. Because of this crashes and lock-ups are frequent. Fortunately there’s a patch on the way that will make all of the versions compatible.

Gameplay is a mixed bag. There are some things that are good and some things that are bad. The open-endness of gameplay is very good and compensates for the lack of a dynamic campaign. The inclusion of the mission editor will definitely add legs to the game. After a couple of months, you’ll soon see dozens of missions and campaigns. The graphic models and vehicles look great when not corrupted, and are a step above the original Opflash. Although, playing at the highest graphic details will strain even the most powerful computers. It will take most users a while to find the most optimal setting for decent frame rates.

The game’s sound leaves something to be desired. Most of the weapons sound like firecrackers. This is in direct contrast to the ambient sounds, which are quite good. The first time you hear a fly buzzing by your ear, with a decent sound system, you’ll be swatting at the air around your head. I highly recommend downloading the “FDF Soundmod”. You can find it using any search engine.

It greatly enhances ALL of the sounds in the game, everything from individual weapons to the vehicles. It’s also easy to install and use. The newest addition to the game is the inclusion of the Track IR support. Track IR from Natural Point specializes in putting your head into the game by using a device to monitor your head movement and translating it on screen. You can aim your weapons and peek around corners just by using your head instead of the keyboard. It takes a little getting use to, but it greatly enhances your gaming experience.

There are some things that will frustrate the player to no end. Such as, getting your troops to follow you or enter a vehicle. It took me 20 minutes to load all of five troops into a raft! These were some of the glaring problems that were in Opflash as well. You will continuously hear your troops yelling out “where are you” because they can’t keep up. Tactical combat for the AI can be good at times. Units will provide cover fire and the enemy AI will try to outflank you when they can. Only problem is, the same super AI that existed in Opflash also exists in ArmedA. Meaning that the AI can shoot the wings off a fly at 500 feet, see through trees and bushes, and see at night without the use of night vision goggles.

Fortunately, you can tone down the AI a bit to suit your tastes. ArmedA provides some aircraft for you to fly, such as the A-10, the Harrier and the Cobra attack copter. For those of you that are expecting a full-fledged flight simulator, don’t get your hopes high. The flight model, while vastly improved from Opflash, is still very basic.

This is first and foremost a ground simulator. As long as you approach it that way, you shouldn’t have any problems. There are some technical problems, such as crashes. I haven’t been able to determine the reason why. That along with the texture anomalies, a sometimes-uncooperative AI, ArmedA appears that it was released too soon. In spite of all of this, it does draw you in. I’d still recommend it to anyone looking for a modern warfare tactical simulator.