Quantcast





This video has moved! Try our new Destructoid HD video section

Perhaps you guys can help me out here. I've watched this trailer about half a dozen times now and I'm still at a loss to understand what's so damn wonderful about the "Real Virtuality" engine powering this game. I'll concede that the character models move pretty well in most situations, which counts for something. Maybe it's the low resolution at which the video was sent but this just doesn't strike me as awe-inspiring.

It's especially mediocre when you couple this with the revelation that this engine has supposedly been in development for over a decade. The publisher claims that military forces worldwide are using this in their simulations. It really makes me wonder which ones.

And, seriously, "Team Razor?" Is that the best they can come up with?

ArmA II is planned for release by 505 Games in Europe sometime in 2009 and currently has no US publisher attached to the project. Hit the jump and read the press release accompanying the video and tell me if there is some revelation that I'm missing in all of this.

Milton Keynes – 505 Games is today pleased to release a new video showcasing the incredibly realistic military action on offer in ArmA II, the follow-up to the hugely popular PC shooter Armed Assault. ArmA II will be available on PC in 2009.

Developed by Czech-based studio Bohemia Interactive, ArmA II features incredibly in-depth combat and tactical warfare on a massive scale. In fact, the game engine that powers ArmA II (Real Virtuality) is so realistic that armies across the globe use it as a framework for their virtual simulations and it’s been constantly refined and improved during more than 10 years of development.

This first in-game trailer showcases the Real Virtuality engine and demonstrates its ability to produce incredible military simulation. Whether you’re flying an attack chopper, blowing up houses in a tank or creeping through the forest ready to pick off your enemy, ArmA II offers unprecedented realism and intense action.

In ArmA II, you’re part of an elite squad of American soldiers sent behind enemy lines to restore peace to Chernarus, a Soviet country ripped apart by civil war as warring rival factions fight to take control of the troubled state. In an epic story full of plot twists and turns, it becomes clear that the troubles plaguing Chernarus are deeper than anyone thought and the battle intensifies to extreme levels.

Building upon the foundations laid by its predecessor, ArmA II features refined graphics; unscripted AI opponents that ensure no skirmish ever plays out in the same way; 225sq km of gameplay area including more than 50 different towns and villages, alongside lush forests and wind-swept beaches; 136 different vehicles variants including helicopters, tracked armoured vehicles, boats and even bicycles and 81 weapon variants.

ArmA II will be published by 505 Games in Europe in 2009.








More gaming stories around the web. Got news? Submit yours to tips@destructoid.com

Conrad Zimmerman is Destructoid's News Editor and home to the busiest mustache in the gaming press. An amateur historian and pop culture fanatic, Conrad possesses a nearly limitless wealth of videogame factoids and a passion for the power of games to teach, inspire and entertain. He enjoys reading, writing and turning things which should be fun into work. Likes Mega Man 2, Arcade Games, Books about games, Board games, Having cultural interests that aren't games Meet the rest of the team



Post a comment! You can also post a photo below:

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

16 comments | showing # 1 to 16
prev next

taterchimp's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 11:45
taterchimp
Huh...looks like Half Life 2 meets World War 2, graphics and theme wise. Looks pretty shibby.
Suprore's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 11:49
Suprore
Yes man, you are missing the point. Armed Assault is the successor to Operation flashpoint -- the game features realistic ballistics, realistic squad systems, vehicles, hellicopters, 1 GIANT island where all missions are set, and a realistic, non 'gamey' movement and aiming system, instead of just gliding along the ground with a perfectly steady weapon.

It doesn't look spectacular by shooter standards since it isn't really a normal shooter. Closer to an infantry simulation. I don't know which all millitaries use it for training, but that's actualy their most successful market: http://www.vbs2.com/ is the training sim product running on the same engine.

You can also fit 60+ players comfortably in co-op. And almost all missions online are user-generated with a built in editor.
king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 11:51
king3vbo
It's trying to be a "realistic" simulator of modern warfare, not a game in the traditional RUNNAN SHOOTAN sense
rel123's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 11:52
rel123
That looks like it would have been impressive 3 years ago.
elsteveo's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 12:00
elsteveo
Reminds me of battlefield games
TheGuero's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 12:07
TheGuero
[quote]..I don't get what the big deal is, in a few instancies the graphics actually look bad.

As for the movement, it doesn't really look too advanced to me, generic shooter X has this amount of animation these days.[/quote]

Why don't we wait for a higher resolution video before passing judgments like that?
TheGuero's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 12:07
TheGuero
Need a better video.
Druid 01's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 12:28
Druid 01
guns in a video game? noooooooo way
Josh Tolentino's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 12:32
Josh Tolentino
It's not the graphics. Even OpFlash looked terrible at release, but [OpFlash's] real draw was the super-realism, bullet physics, and all that. Battlefield for AirSoft nerds, if you will. OpFlash at least showed some impressive attention to detail. A mission where I had to ambush a tank column had me observing the tank from a ways away as they passed through an area we had mined. The tank blew up, but we saw it before we heard it. They had actually simulated the sound delay over distance.
xe-cute's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 13:20
xe-cute
@: Conrad


You need to realise that this is not your typical FPS game.


It is free roaming with 30 v 30 games over Kilometers and kiloters of land and realistic (as much as possible) physics.


Even grand theft auto IV has to dumb down its graphics online.


This aint no 8v8 on a tiny map multiplayer experience, hence the graphics have to suffer or we would have a very pretty but unplayable lagfest of a game.
Darren Nakamura's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 13:30
Darren Nakamura
Uh, I dunno, it looks like pretty standard fare to me.
jkh13's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 14:50
jkh13
Reading this will make you understand ARMA: http://dslyecxi.com/armattp.html
Emrah's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/24/2008 15:12
Emrah
This is a simulation, and I don't think the graphics are bad. Don't expect far cry 2 graphics here.
JustLikeBuck's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/25/2008 03:36
JustLikeBuck
Operation Flashpoint didn't impress graphics wise (except for the amazing draw distance, and realistic celestial effects).

ArmA doesn't impress either. That's why their so brilliant. The Graphic fanboys stay out, and those who want a great squad based strategy stay in.

OpFlash got me through many a year at Uni just playing Co-Op against the "Advanced AI" (seriously, no mission would play the same).
Seolfer Wulf's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/25/2008 08:30
Seolfer Wulf
This is seeing a 360 release BTW if anyone didn't know.

Will buy.
BattyAdroit's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/26/2008 02:25
BattyAdroit
If you're seriously hurting for a realistic infantry simulation, go hit up the recruiting office. I've heard there's at least two MMRLs being played out right now.
prev next

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

Comments policy

Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?

Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!