I never thought I would actually use this phrase, but one thing that really grinds my gears is the amount of session-based shooters claiming to be an MMOFPS. To be quite honest, there aren’t enough true MMOFPS titles available for gamers, however there are a few that games that go above and beyond the normal constraints of a session-based shooter and offer more MMO style features. ArmA 2: Combined Operations is one of these titles that offers massive scale multiplayer battles that often exceed the player count of your average MMOs battleground or PvP map.
Primarily a sandbox military shooter that features military simulator features, ArmA II hosts a dedicated community that has turned this shooter in to something for everyone. If you’re a milsim fan, or just love large-scale warfare – no matter what you’re style of play, ArmA can offer almost an entire games worth of gameplay for every type of player and role.
Whether you’re an infantry grunt, a logistics guy, or an aviation expert – this game offers more than you probably realise. It’s easy to miss this shooter, it hasn’t exactly had a huge marketing budget or found the best way to show off some of the amazing gameplay that lies within. If you ever wished there was a huge open-world shooter with non-linear campaigns and a massive modding community – stop looking. Here’s why you should be playing ArmA II.
Whether you’re a grunt who just loves to be deep in the sh*t, or your a spec ops squad looking for a more low and slow playstyle – Infantry plays a major role in ArmA 2, when the aviation aren’t stealing all the glory that is. From ranged operations to Closed Quarter Battles (CQB), the infantry will often be on the frontlines – pushing to cap objectives, destroy enemy facilities and eliminate enemy forces.
Players who enjoy the company of a beautifully crafted sniper rifle have often received a bad welcome in other shooters, mainly due to the way less serious players tend to use them. Those type of players are still shunned from the community in ArmA, however a sniper who takes his role very seriously and doesn’t try go “lone wolf” will find open arms from squads who need someone to run overwatch operations.
Playing as part of a tank crew or driving another armored vehicle is an entire game in itself, with several crew members required to operate a tank. With communication, co-ordination and great teamwork – players can dominate the battlefield with intense firepower, or crumble under the might of their enemies. From APCs to Tanks, players have a wide variety of vehicles to drive and fight with.
Some people were born to fly, and if that’s you – ArmA II has plenty to offer. With a full spread of aircraft to choose from, players can find a somewhat simplified flight simulator within the game, offering a realistic but not overly complicated piloting experience. From planes, to helicopters, and even UAVs, pilots and aviation crews will fly them all – transporting troops or raining death from the sky.
It may not come as a surprise but a lot of the core ArmA community are actually serving members for their country, or veterans who have served in the past. This not only goes for the military but also members of various Emergency Services and Response Teams. ArmA II is used for training by militaries across the globe, so naturally some players like to take their gameplay to another level. With so many serving members in the community, it’s natural that others would adopt things like ‘army speak’ and play with a more tactical approach.
With extensive support for modding, many members of the community have taken it upon themselves to take the game even further – sometimes changing the game completely, other times just fixing what was considered broken or unrealistic. From Project Reality, which gives a complete facelift to ArmA 2: Combined Operation in the realism department allows players to experience tactical realism and pvp like never before, to Invasion 1944 which turns ArmA II into a WWII Military Shooter, and DayZ which has become the ever popular persistent-world sandbox survival mod.
Whether you just wished Battlefield 3 took place on maps that span over 200 and 300 square kilometres are looking for a realism clan with a game to support it, or want a completely different type of shooter – it’s available with ArmA 2. With ArmA 3 well on its way, there’s never been a better time to get in to the game and start practising.
We love ArmA 2 combined operations here at MMOGames, and if you can look pass its flaws and somewhat high system requirements – it’s one of the best shooters around. You can buy a copy of ArmA II for steam directly from the developers on their official store by clicking here. Or you can try the free multiplayer version of ArmA 2: Combined Operation by clicking here.
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