Bohemia Interactive’s ArmA 3 takes place on the fictional island of Altis, a 270 square kilometer island somewhere in the Mediterranean. Rather than sit down and try and explain to you simply how mind-mindbogglingly huge that is, I thought I’d show you.
This week Bohemia finally acquiesced to my demands and began the Alpha test for ArmA 3. For the measly price of £20, you can now buy access to an early release build of ArmA 3 from either Steam or the Bohemia store.
The alpha is an incomplete version of the game, featuring a small selection of the weapons, units and vehicles you’ll be able to get to grips with in ArmA 3. It’s also limited to the smaller of ArmA 3’s maps, Stratis, but this is only ‘small’ in ArmA terms, which still leaves you with 20km² of Greek (sorry, NOT GREEK) terrain to wander, drive and most definitely not take photographs of.
Before the inevitable zombie plague swept the planet, ArmA 2 was a place of peace and security. Ok, perhaps that’s not altogether true, but there were definitely less dead people. Less dead people still wandering about, that is. Beyond the mad success of its mod-child, DayZ, the ArmA franchise has long existed as a niche product. Foregoing the CoD approach in favour of long walks followed by even longer periods of being dead, ArmA has always valued realism over accessibility. Now, with ArmA 3 rapidly approaching from the front, a surprise flank attack from ArmA 2 has been released on Steam in the form of the Army of the Czech Republic DLC.
One of the first games I ever laid my hands on as a child was Rainbird Software’s Carrier Command. It came bundled with our state-of-the-art Atari ST and from the very first time I loaded it up I was hooked. Providing a futuristic naval simulation, it took place in a beautifully rendered 3D environment, in which you commanded a technologically advanced naval carrier in attacks on gorgeous tropical islands.
PRAGUE: The ARMA forces, led by the Interactive Bohemian Forces, are soon to expand into the regions of Bystrica and Bukovina, Czech Republic. Military experts and international observers expect them to bring new weapons and vehicles to the conflict. Our reporter has the latest from the front. UPDATED.
I am running. Running for my life. With two bullets remaining and a pair of zombies hot on my tail, the likelihood of getting out of this one is slim to none. Besides, even if I do manage to score a pair of lucky headshots, I’ll then be out of ammo, out of food and with absolutely no idea where I am or which direction I’m going in. In short, I’m screwed. Welcome to DayZ.
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