As most of you will already know, ArmA: Armed Assault is the spiritual successor to possibly the most advanced real-time first-person combat simulator the gaming world has ever seen. Bohemia Interactive are the geniuses behind the remarkable Operation Flashpoint, a simulation so extreme they even modelled the speed of sound! And although the actual Operation Flashpoint name is held by another publisher, ArmA is still the sequel to their distinguished creation.

And just for those thinking that this sequel might possibly be a little more user-friendly, or simplified, you may be interested in a snippet from a conversation I had with Project Leader Marek Spanel last year:

"With the sequel to Operation Flashpoint for PC, we hope to redefine the genre of military games again and offer even more freedom, realism and immersion with the new generation of our state of the art technology. This technology in its current version is already widely used as a simulation by soldiers in various armies as part of our VBS1 program."

That's right, you heard correctly. Various military organisations from countries around the world use this technology as actual training simulators, so extreme is its semblance of realism. If you really want to know what it feels like to get on a battlefield and exchange lead pleasantries with a bunch of trained soldiers, then ArmA will help you achieve your desire.

An updated graphics engine sees a major overhaul on the visual side of things, with improved facial models, better sculpted landscapes and even constellations flickering in the sky at night. Despite being better than the original game, this is still not quite cutting edge and could have done with even more updating to make it really quite special. The audio is good, with reasonable voice acting and adequate sound effects.

The mission variation is particularly noteworthy; your objectives vary greatly from one mission to the next and place you in some really quite imaginative scenarios. Objectives rarely start to drag or become a chore, as you are always doing new things. And of course, the non-linear nature of the game means there are heaps of possible ways to accomplish every mission, so you can use your initiative and the mission variation to carve some distinctly personal experiences into the gameplay experience. This is abetted by the welcome addition of even more driveable vehicles; some missions see you driving/piloting said vehicles in order to accomplish certain goals, and these add a whole new element to the more limited warfare we saw before.

There are some tutorial missions to get you started, then you can head through a single player storyline, following the demise of an island overrun by a pesky rebel army, where you have to hold the fort until reinforcements arrive. Alternatively, multiplayer is a refreshing change from the usual brainless online slaughterfests. With up to 100 players per battle, there are a delightful number of battle modes to try out and this time you'll see grown men cowering in ditches, unlike the usual gung-ho charges that most online games revel in.

But sadly, ArmA inherited more than just its astounding warfare engine from its forbear. It also inherited the infamous bugginess that plagues so much of the experience. Despite the astounding actual mechanics of warfare in ArmA, the construct within which you must enjoy this experience is full of weak coding and bad integration. The AI in particular is a very odd fish, sometimes having moments of genius and then proving to have the mental faculties of a squashed frog. The mission objectives are also poorly recognised with the in-game triggers at times, meaning that it is all too easy to break the game, and subsequently the careful immersion that you have painstakingly shrouded yourself in.

Let's head back to our discussion with Marek Spanel. Here is what he envisions regarding what AI will be capable of in the future:

"Characters in games may become real digital actors, able to move, talk and react in a way that it will be very hard to differentiate between a digital actor and a real actor. Interaction between characters in games will no longer be mostly physical and violent, but we'll start seeing more of a psychological and emotional interaction as well."

Well, Bohemia haven't exactly managed that just yet, but if they can pull off such an accomplishment in future titles, combining it with their current warfare replication, then things are going to get very exciting indeed.

For now, ArmA: Armed Assault is a hardcore first-person combat simulator that will have any genre veteran smacking their lips in delight. Sure it's far from perfect, but it still offers a remarkable gaming experience that will occupy many hours of our gaming lives. A rough diamond, ArmA has an impure surface, but that conceals a deep and lasting beauty within. Unhesitatingly recommended!

Reviewed by Adam Shirley for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).