Poki Games Preview: ArmA 2

The history of the emergence of the Armed Assault project (or ArmA, as the developers themselves prefer to call it for some reason) is unusual and instructive. Once upon a time there was a development company Friv5Online Games Studio. In 2001, these comrades became famous all over the world, releasing the inimitable Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis. Next, two add-ons debuted, a full-fledged sequel loomed on the horizon, but the publishing company Codemasters unexpectedly broke off relations with the studio, which caused the latter to lose the rights to the Operation Flashpoint brand. The Czechs were not at a loss and implemented all their developments in Armed Assault, which became the successor of the OF concept... Contrary to pessimistic forecasts, gamers quickly figured out what's what, and did not deprive ArmA of attention, so that soon we will be able to enjoy its sequel - Armed Assault 2.

The Poki game takes place in the fictional post-Soviet country Chernorus. A serious civil war broke out in the state between supporters and opponents of the totalitarian regime. The West could not help but intervene and sent a peacekeeping detachment of marines into the conflict zone. The matter promised to be hot anyway, but the further you move towards the goal, the more unexpected problems emerge. So you will have to fight not only for the civilian population of Bela... oh, excuse me, Chernarus, but also for their own lives. By the way, an attempt to end the conflict, which has lasted more than two years, will be undertaken by a group of only five people: a sniper, a medic, a grenadier, a private errand and, finally, the commander of a mini-unit. The player will be able to directly control only one special forces, but, according to official announcements, Clive Barker`s Jericho).

The ArmA 2 genre was defined by the developers themselves as a universal military simulator (Ultimate Military Simulator). Simply put, they decided to bring the Poki game as close as possible to the harsh military reality and tried not to allow distortions either in the direction of the shooter (one aimed shooting is not enough for victory), or in the direction of RPG (there is a role-playing element, and even what), or in the direction of the simulator (although the management of armored vehicles is well thought out). The guys from Friv5Online they have not even forgotten about the economy (you must admit, a phenomenon for this genre is extremely rare): to maintain weapons and vehicles in a combat-ready state, resources are needed (for example, fuel, lubricants), the availability of which will have to be constantly monitored. The harmonious combination of all these components is the secret of the success of the first part of ArmA , it is not surprising that they decided to use it again.

Artificial intelligence has undergone a serious revision. Czechs beat themselves in the chest with their fists and swear that the "stupid bots" are now over. No senseless stomping on the spot, concentrated freezing in corners and attempts to shoot the enemy hiding behind a blank wall. The soldiers cheerfully move around the territory, cover each other and themselves actively use all kinds of shelters. Moreover, all fighters - both members of the group we control and opponents - will actively borrow tactical techniques from real-life special forces.

The Poki game world promises to be quite extensive - about 320 square kilometers. It is expected that this entire area will be created by hand, which will help avoid "stamped" locations. Physically, this universe is also on a level: not everything and everything is destroyed, but a lot. The most realistic ballistics awaits us. But the graphics, alas, are not very impressive: neat and tasteful, but not spectacular. Representatives of Friv5Online explain this with a noble goal: they wanted to take pity on the players' wallets and provide an opportunity to enjoy ArmA 2 even for those whose computers can hardly be called modern. Marek Spanel , head of the Czech studio, mentioned that the overall system requirements of ArmA 2will be very close to those presented in the first part. Well, if this is true, we would like to thank the authors very much.

The promises made by Friv5Online Games Studio are colorful and warm the subtle gaming soul. Let's hope they don't just remain promises.