After diving into the various scenarios for the ARMA 3 Alpha, I’ve come away with the following:
The Good:
- This is war and it is pretty! Graphics are slick, detailed, and sharp. And runs a hell of a lot better than ARMA 2 does on my mid-powered gaming rig.
- I am a terrible pilot, but vehicles are more accessible without being arcade-ish. Impressive for alpha.
- Gun feel powerful and lethal. Bullets whizzing by your head and cracking into your cover are exciting and thrilling. Their weight and accompanying sounds are top-notch.
- The AI voices are less hilariously robotic. I do not know if this is good or bad. Many laughs have been had at the “ENEMY soldier 100 yards EAST!”
- You can swim now! I can’t wait to harpoon sharks. Ancillary point: there should also be sharks.
ARMA 3: SHARKHORSE FORCE
The Bad:
- Bohemia Interactive still struggles with overly complicated control schemes. Even simple explanations as to what certain controls even do would be extremely helpful for new players. Controls have cryptic names, like “Optics Temporary”, which just means hold for iron sights.
- The generative voices can be noisy, crowded, and muddle the experience. Squad leaders bark orders without a clear sense of priority.
- Who or what am I shooting at? There’s an option to “mark targets”, but on the Infantry Scenario I played, it wasn’t clear exactly how this mechanic worked, and it often glitched out. BF:BC2 had the best version of this.
- Overhead maps are confusing. There’s very little indication of what I can click on or not, or what icons mean. Needs an on-screen legend.
- Oh, I’m using the grenade launcher now. Sometimes weapons just change erratically, and there’s no ready HUD element that informs you it’s happened. I was never quite sure why I couldn’t have something like the ”Quick Weapon Switch” in Source where I could cycle through weapons and they would automatically equip.
Find out more at the ARMA 3 Alpha hub.
UPDATE:
There’s this, too!
About the Author:
Carl Wilhoyte makes funny on the Internet. He also loves to complain about video games. You’re welcome. You can follow him on the Twitters at @carlwilhoyte
