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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.
Contest:
11:46 AM on 11.24.2008
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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.
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?
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.
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).
Will buy.