{"id":7582,"date":"2015-09-24T19:37:59","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T02:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/arma-3-is-the-third-time-a-charm\/"},"modified":"2024-01-24T16:41:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T00:41:05","slug":"arma-3-is-the-third-time-a-charm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/arma-3-is-the-third-time-a-charm\/","title":{"rendered":"Arma 3 \u2013 Is the Third Time a Charm?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"ArmHead\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Arma 3
\nBohemia Interactive<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our four-man team was hunkered down in a lush valley; an enemy checkpoint was up ahead as indicated on our maps, but all I could blurt out was: \u201cWhoa! Look at how the sun cascades through the trees\u2026\u201d My teammates ignored me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019d begun as POWs, and after overwhelming our captors, we found our original weapons and gear and left the camp along with a few dead bodies. To get to a possible extraction point, we had to get through the heavily guarded vehicle checkpoint. We ditched our pilfered cargo truck and approached our target on foot. But still, all I could think about was how lovely the scenery was. After all, it was the first time I\u2019d played the game on a decent (newer) gaming PC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Arm1\"<\/a>
Courtesy – Bohemia Interactive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The leader of our squad suggested that we break into two 2-man teams and flank the checkpoint from higher ground on each side. As my partner and I scrambled up our side of the valley, a snake slithered by our boots, and a little later, a bunny hopped across our path. \u201cWhoa! That is so cool,” I thought admiring the wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My friends chuckled this time, but then our leader reminded us to get back on point since we each had only one life to live (no re-spawns). We got to a certain point up the incline and decided that we\u2019d dip down behind a large out-cropping of rocks just ahead of us. Big mistake. As soon as we arrived, I looked at the detail; the smoothness of the edges\u2014their strata lines. \u201cLook at the detail on these boulders\u2026incredible!\u201d I murmured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time my ramblings proved dangerous. Instead of surveying the checkpoint from our elevated position, I was entranced by the graphics of Arma 3<\/em>. All of a sudden bullets were whizzing around us and the only reason we weren\u2019t dead at that moment is because of the aforementioned big beautiful boulders. The next ten minutes were a desperate battle for survival as we were set upon by a multitude of enemy soldiers. Even though we managed to revive one another several times, we were eventually wiped out by our ambushees, mainly due to my own personal lack of vigilance. This resulted in being heckled to no end, with remarks such as: \u201cHe\u2019s like a blind guy who just got laser surgery and can see for the first time, haw haw haw!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Arm2\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yes, the buzz around Arma 3<\/em> being a super-realistic military simulator is well deserved, especially on a decent gaming PC as I quickly learned. In fact, the visuals are so good that, to me, they were distracting. I\u2019d never before witnessed such immersive, detailed graphics in a military-themed shooter. In fact, it\u2019s almost insulting to call Arma 3<\/em> a mere shooter, since there are so many other facets to the game itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arma 3<\/em> is set in a fictitious group of Greek islands within the Aegean Sea, where NATO forces are on the defensive against a sudden Iranian military offensive. Unlike the Battlefield<\/em> or Call of Duty<\/em> series, in Arma 3<\/em>, players must learn how to traverse and utilize terrain (instead of gawking at it) in order to improve their odds against the all-too-dangerous enemy elements occupying the islands. I wasn\u2019t surprised when I was told that the developer, Bohemia Interactive, worked with the military for the purpose of enhancing actual military training programs and applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Courtesy<\/a>
Courtesy – Bohemia Interactive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While many have complained that Arma 3\u2019s<\/em> interface can feel a little unwieldly at times, since there so many keyboard keys that are utilized, from everything to minor adjustments in your stance to how you are holding your weapon, when one finally learns to bind their keys to specific tasks, the learning curve can be crested. And when it is, it\u2019s one heck of a game to play indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arma 3\u2019s<\/em> adversarial multiplayer modes are still coming into their own, so don\u2019t expect to jump into a fast-moving free-for-all experience like Call of Duty.<\/em> The real gem within the game is its mission editor, combined with its extremely fun co-op mode. There\u2019s nothing like getting together with a few of your gaming buddies and pouring over maps in order to figure how you will collectively approach each particular mission during the briefing phase, and deciding which roles each of you will take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Courtesy<\/a>
Courtesy – Bohemia Interactive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One mission had our group take a submersible craft to a shoreline under the cover of darkness, and then swimming ashore in our wet gear. Spotlights beamed over our heads as we swam toward the beach and the tension of being spotted was gripping to say the least. Finishing a mission, especially some of the more difficult, multi-tiered ones, can take a few hours or so, so the sense of accomplishment when you do can be through the roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, Arma 3\u2019s<\/em> controls can be a little wonky, and its learning curve a bit on the steeper side, but those with the patience to learn them will be in for some military realism nirvana.  Adding to the base game\u2019s value is a vibrant modding community, with some mods that feature survival-horror elements, and even a cops vs. criminals-type mode as well. This, combined with Arma\u2019s<\/em> robust and relatively easy to grasp mission editing tools, make for one of the finest military themed games I\u2019ve played to date, especially on the realism side of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Courtesy<\/a>
Courtesy – Bohemia Interactive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SCORE: 90%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kane\u2019s suggestion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to really get immersed in Arma 3,<\/em> consider investing in a dedicated gaming PC. Those who are into 4k gaming will be blown away by the game\u2019s graphics, but even in 1080p they are real eye-pleasing. Here\u2019s a one such awesome machine for playing Arma 3<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"FALL<\/a>
CyberPowerPC Instant Ship Gaming Systems<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Visit CyberpowerPC\u2019s website<\/a> to find more great deals as well!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arma 3 Bohemia Interactive Our four-man team was hunkered down in a lush valley; an enemy checkpoint was up ahead as indicated on our maps, but all I could blurt out was: \u201cWhoa! Look at how the sun cascades through the trees\u2026\u201d My teammates ignored me. We\u2019d begun as POWs, and after overwhelming our captors,… Read More »Arma 3 \u2013 Is the Third Time a Charm?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":7575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2732,2741,2742],"tags":[2520,2896,2897,2673,2521,2527,67,2486,2898,2524,2532,1791,2899,2569],"class_list":["post-7582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-games","category-gaming-reviews-news","category-product-reviews","tag-4k-gaming","tag-arma-3","tag-bohemia-interactive","tag-co-op-games","tag-cyberpower-pc-game-review","tag-game-reviews-2","tag-gaming-pc","tag-ian-kane","tag-labor-day-z97-i7","tag-laptop-gaming","tag-military-games","tag-pc-games","tag-realism-games","tag-shooter-games"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7582"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15487,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7582\/revisions\/15487"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}