New player first impressions
Hello everyone 🫡
Picked this game up the day before yesterday. Never played an Arma game before. Only Operation Flashpoint back in the day.
Booted up the game. The main menu music immediately welcomed me with appropriately heroic yet tragic music. It set the vibe perfectly. It was time for action but the things we need to do are sad at the same time.
Time for the training mode. I loved how it was put together. Nothing revolutionary but it sucked you right in. It was exciting to learn the very basics of each part of the game. Couldn’t put the game down before completing the whole training experience.
Coming from Operation Flashpoint, I already knew that you have to have patience with this game. All games are, in the end, games. But this game does have tons of milsim elements.
Next day I fired up my first Scenario. It was a 6-person co-op scenario where you play as FIA. I managed to identify that I was part of a squad. And that I could locate the squad leader on the map. Beyond that, the game doesn’t hold your hand. You need to rely on the map and compass. Read the terrain and structures. Absolutely fantastic.
Combined with the visuals and ambient sounds, the experience felt immersive immediately. I said to myself: “this is amazing”.
Training and Field Manual had taught me about using a radio. I carefully transmitted my location and where I was going for the first time. My squad leader answered to me immediately. I was encouraged to find my way to my squad.
This was not an easy task as the scenario took place in night time. I knew it was dangerous but I decided to have my flashlight on as I was making my way to my squad. I was blindly trusting that the game couldn’t be so brutal that there would be enemies immediately next to a spawn zone.
Eventually, around a click later, I arrived to the outskirts of a little town. I had seen that my squad leader had been stuck there this whole time. To his credit of course. Much better than the alternative.
He quickly advised me to turn off the flashlight. I already knew that I needed to be intentional and careful with the radio because the enemy will hear.
He had another new player with him. He also had the urge to use the flashlight because he could not see anything in the dark either.
What a fantastic atmosphere and situation. Darkness will challenge you but it is also your best friend in concealment.
I didn’t stay alive for very long. Would have never expected to feel such accomplishment for just running around and navigating in the dark. Finding my way to where I was planning to go. There are so many steps and layers to just surviving in this game. Let alone contributing to the team effort and overall scenario. Exciting!
Then it happened. As our squad leader continued to push us forward with the mission, we started chatting over the radio about other things as well. We went through the usual steps of small talk. Then we went a little deeper. By the time it was time to call it for the day, we tried to find a way to add each other somehow. Unfortunately, there wasn’t an easy way as we were playing on different platforms.
While we might not bump into each other again, this was an amazing introduction to the kind of camaraderie you can develop while playing this game. I’m happy to report that my next session didn’t fall short on this front either.
In short, I find this game immersive, challenging and social too. Of course the focus needs to be on the mission, but just like you would in a more real situation, you will make acquaintances, friends, along the way.
I warmly recommend the game to anyone who might be wondering if they should pick this game up. Version 1.7 is “just around the corner”. The playerbase is growing. And this Arma game is the one that will lead us to Arma 4. Can’t wait to enjoy this one more first.