Arma 2
Arma 2 is a 2009 tactical shooter simulation video game developed and published by Bohemia Interactive for Microsoft Windows. It is the second main entry in the Arma series and the third installment in the series overall. The game is set in the fictional Eastern European country of Chernarus during a civil war between the Chernarussian government and communist revolutionaries, and follows escalating tensions when the United States Marine Corps is deployed to defeat the rebels.
Arma 2 was first released on 29 May 2009 in Germany, with further releases in Europe, North America, and other regions throughout June and July of that year. The game was positively received by critics who, like its predecessor Arma: Armed Assault, praised its realism and accuracy but criticized its difficulty and bugs. Arma 2 has sold 2.3 million copies as of February 2015. Arma 2 maintains a significant modding community and is well-known as the origin of DayZ, a survival game conversion that was later developed into its own standalone game in 2018 and contributed to the development of the battle royale game genre.
An expansion pack, Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead, was released in 2010. A free version of the game was released in June 2011 but was discontinued by 2014. The game's sequel, Arma 3, was released in 2013.
Gameplay
Arma 2 is a tactical shooter focused primarily on infantry combat, but significant vehicular and aerial combat elements are present. The player is able to command AI squad members which adds a real-time strategy element to the game. This is further enhanced by the high command system, which allows the player to command multiple squads using the map. Arma 2 is set primarily in the fictional Eastern European state of Chernarus. The Chernarussian landscape is based heavily on the Czech Republic; the home country of the developer.Arma 2, plus all expansions, features eleven distinct armed factions, each with their own vehicles and weapons. Caught in the middle are the Chernarussian and Takistani civilians. The factions included in Arma 2 are: USMC, Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Chernarussian Defense Forces, Chernarussian Movement of the Red Star, National Party, and the citizens of Chernarus.
Arma 2 features around 80 realistically represented weapons with many variants including assault rifles, machine guns, and missile launchers, with realistically simulated ballistics.
There are around 130 vehicle variants, and any vehicle that exists in-game can be controlled by the player, including civilian cars, tractors and bicycles. Similarly, all aircraft encountered in the game can be flown by the player, with limited fuel and realistic weapon loadouts.
Arma 2 includes a mission editor which makes it possible to create user-made single player missions or campaigns and multiplayer missions through use of the in-game wizard. More complex missions can be enhanced with scripting commands. The syntax and interface have both been kept largely consistent with the Arma series, meaning that missions are ported across games.
Synopsis
Setting
Arma 2Chernarus is in a state of political unrest, with its democratic government embroiled in a civil war against pro-communist rebels known as the ChDKZ, led by communist revolutionary, Gregori Lopotev. After several months, the Chernarussian government asks the international community for assistance against the rebels, and the United States responds by sending a U.S. Navy Expeditionary Strike Group off the coast of Chernarus, hoping that a presence of an Amphibious Ready Group would calm any tensions in the area. However, the ChDKZ remains undeterred, and by late 2009 the ChDKZ launch a coup d'état against the Chernarussian government, taking control of the northeastern Chernarussian province of South Zagoria and forcing the remaining Chernarussian military forces in the area to retreat towards the inland town of Zelenogorsk.
Following this, the ChDKZ proceed to invade the island of Útes. Despite fierce resistance, the Chernarussian military forces on the island are eventually overwhelmed, and the island falls to the ChDKZ. In response, U.S. Marines launch an amphibious invasion of Útes to liberate the island from the ChDKZ forces, ultimately succeeding in pushing rebel forces out of the area.
A few days after the liberation of Útes, the Marines prepare to deploy to mainland Chernarus for Operation Harvest Red to bring an end to the civil war in Chernarus and re-establish Chernarussian sovereignty. Though the U.S. Marines are officially being deployed to Chernarus as a peacekeeping force, the true purpose of their deployment is to capture Lopotev and to end the rebellion.
Plot
Operation Harvest Red
In preparation for Operation Harvest Red, elements of the U.S. Marine Corps' Force Recon are deployed behind enemy lines into Chernarus to weaken ChDKZ coastal defenses for the invading Marine Expeditionary Unit. Among the Force Reconnaissance Marines is Razor Team, a five-man special operations team, which includes second-in-command Master Sergeant Matthew "Coops" Cooper, and team leader Master Sergeant Patrick "Eightball" Miles.Razor Team is to conduct a raid on the small Chernarussian town of Pusta, to disrupt ChDKZ communications in preparation for the invading Marine Expeditionary Unit. During Razor Team's raid on Pusta, the team rescues torture victims, and subsequently uncovers a mass grave, revealing that the ChDKZ have been conducting acts of genocide and war crimes in South Zagoria. After the raid on Pusta, Razor Team is tasked with helping to unite the Chernarussian Defense Forces with National Party guerillas led by Prizrak.
As the civil war in Chernarus continues, a terrorist bombing occurs in the middle of Red Square, killing dozens and wounding several more. The ChDKZ blames the attack on the National Party, and Russia, unhappy about U.S. forces operating near its border, demands the unconditional withdrawal of U.S. forces from Chernarus. Russia also proposes to the United Nations Security Council that the United States withdraw its forces from Chernarus, whom the Russians allege are escalating the conflict. The United States' mandate in Chernarus expires, and U.S. forces quickly withdraw from the country. Shortly after the U.S. withdrawal, Russia sends a United Nations-backed peacekeeping contingent into South Zagoria to replace U.S. forces. However, Razor Team is left behind in the confusion as the remaining U.S. forces withdraw from Chernarus. Later, it is revealed that the terrorist bombing of Red Square was in fact a false flag attack committed by the ChDKZ to paint the National Party as terrorists. Razor Team is then tasked to acquire evidence which will prove the ChDKZ's involvement in the bombing of Red Square and the National Party's innocence.
The ending of the campaign depends upon a number of different factors: whether or not Razor Team eliminates Prizrak, who is opposing the alliance between the Chernarussian government and the National Party, and if Lopotev remains in custody. The campaign's endings range from Razor Team escaping safely, their elimination by the ChDKZ, or Russia's eventual nuclear strike against Chernarus.
Development
Arma 2 was announced in 2007. It is named after the Latin word "arma", meaning weapons, soldiers, and war. Due to the fact that the previous game in the series was named Armed Assault, Arma 2 is often referred to as Armed Assault 2, albeit in error. Although Arma 2's title is stylized as ArmA II, it is done as an homage to the previous game in the series, because the game's title is a slight contraction of Armed Assault in the first game in the series.During development, Bohemia Interactive stated at the Electronic Entertainment Expo that Arma 2 was to have a "roleplaying feel to it", with in-game events affecting the character as well as the entire campaign. For example, terrorizing non-playable characters would result in losing their trust, thus encouraging the victimized NPC to give away valuable information to enemy forces. The entire campaign can be played either offline, as single-player, or online co-operative play for up to four players.
Technology
Arma 2 uses the third-generation Real Virtuality game engine, which had been in development for over 10 years prior to the game's release and of which previous versions are used in training simulators by militaries around the world. This engine has full DirectX 9 support. It features realistic day-night cycles, changing weather, fog and visibility, and a view distance of up to 15 kilometres. Every weapon in the game fires projectiles with real trajectories, bullet drop, and penetration characteristics. As such, no weapon system in the game is "guaranteed" a hit – only after the engine has simulated the event can it be determined if a given shot or missile has hit the target. The number of agents supported by the engine is limited mainly by computer performance. This allows a wide range of scenarios to be played, from small unit actions up to large-scale battles. Almost all events in the game are dynamically defined, including most unit speech and AI choices about how to evaluate and respond to specific situations in the game world: scenarios rarely unfold the same way twice – although a side with an overwhelming advantage will tend to win consistently. The player can choose to turn their head independently from their weapon / body, unlike in most shooters where the view is locked to the weapon. This allows players to look left and right while running forwards to maintain awareness of the battlefield or to look around while in a confined space without having to lower or shift their weapon.Arma 2 provides a battlefield with all necessary data loaded in the background, with no interruptions by loading screens. However there are loading screens between episodes and missions. In order to augment player immersion in the gameplay, Arma 2 features an optional "ambient battle" feature in which the world around the player can automatically be populated by friendly and hostile units who will engage in combat.