ITV documentary that featured ARMA 2 footage declared “materially misleading” by regulator
In September last year, an ITV documentary, Gaddafi and the IRA, ran a clip that they claimed to show an IRA attack on a helicopter. It was actually footage from ARMA 2. While most of the world facepalmed, British TV regulator, Ofcom, launched an investigation. Their verdict is in. They’re not impressed.
The Guardian report Ofcom’s findings, which declared the film “materially misleading” and labelled the error “a significant breach of audience trust, particularly in the context of a public service broadcaster.”
Arma 2 montage is a love letter to cooperative military simulation
Shack Tactical is a particularly wonderful Arma 2 hardcore community. Its guide-manual is probably the best resource for Armaers that want to play seriously. Above, I’m sharing Shack’s nine-minute distillation of a year’s worth of Arma: ambushes, missions-gone-FUBAR, heroism, and concentrated realism. Even if Arma or mil sims offend you, watch the hell out of this and delight in what PC gaming lets us do.
God, that Carl Gustav shot at 1:50 is nuts.
Arma 2 patched with 158 tweaks
Realistic military sim ARMA 2 has been updated to version 1.60 by developers Bohemia. The patch covers Operation Arrowhead, the British Armed Forces and Private Military Contractors DLC, the original Arma 2 and Arma 2: Free. Among the whopping 158 changes are a new anti-aliasing mode, new scripting commands, smoother multiplayer, netcode fixes and improved AI. More important fixes include, “AI no longer considering a car horn as a threat,” and “Dead body temperature was not saved.”
The Bohemians have also created a Christmas message for all their fans, which is so incredibly festive we’re about to explode in a shower of tinsel and fake snow.
Changelog highlights after the break.
Take on Helicopters launch trailer takes off
Helicopters are brilliant. Unlike boring old planes, they’re not confined to just going forwards and tilting a bit. That makes them perfect for plopping SWAT teams on rooftops, sneaking through thick jungles, rescuing people from listing boats and all that other exciting stuff that planes miss out on because they’re going too damn fast.
Complete all the tasks mentioned above and more in Bohemia Interactive’s Take On Helicopters, out today. The launch trailer not only shows off the wide variety of missions, but also the enormous cityscapes Bohemia’s excellent Arma tech generates so well. Find out more in our Take On Helicopters interview with Bohemia Interactive creative lead, Jay Crowe. You’ll find a list of physical and digital retailers at which to purchase Take On Helicopters on the Take On Helicopters site.
Media regulator investigating ITV Arma 2 blunder
Remember the ITV documentary that claimed ARMA 2 footage to be a secret IRA film? The Guardian report that the slip is getting the broadcaster into trouble with the british media regulator, Ofcom, who today announced that they will be launching an investigation into the incident to see if the mis-labelling of the documentary footage constitutes a breach of its broadcasting codes.
The scene showed a helicopter being shot down by a soldier taking cover near an armoured vehicle, and was instantly recognised by Arma fans on the Bohemia Interactive forums. The documentary was the first in ITV’s new Exposure series, which hoped to expose links between Muammar Gadaffi and arms supplied to the IRA. ITV ended up issuing an apology instead.
Arma 3 website goes live with Gamescom presentation videos
One week ago I got a press release telling me that in one week’s time, ARMA 3 would get a brand new website. Excited, I set my WAR CLOCK OF DOOM to T-minus 7 days, turned all the lights off and lay in wait. Now, that time has come. The Arma 3 site is live, with eight new videos of the Gamescom presentation. You don’t even have to go to the new Arma 3 website to watch them, because I’ve nabbed them and hidden them under the camo net below. Don’t tell anyone.
Arma 3 screenshots show tank column and stratospheric jet
Four new Arma 3 screenshots have appeared on the Bohemia Interactive forums, spotted by VG247. They show some more of Arma 3′s vehicles, including a column of tanks and a jet flying so high we swear it’s possible to spot PC Gamer towers somewhere below.
For more Arma 3, check out the E3 screenshots, the recent tech demo video showing the improved physics engine, and make a note of the system requirements. The new Arma will need a beast of a machine to run when it comes out next year.
Arma 3 trailer shows awesome vistas, underwater footage and tank physics
This video demonstration for German mag, GameStar, spied by RPS, gives us our first look at Arma 3 in motion. Bohemia designer Ivan Buchta takes us through some of the improved physics, grenade effects, vehicle interiors and underwater sections that will feature in Arma 3, though the astonishing vistas threaten to steal the show.
Those impressive draw distances will require a hefty machine to render. Bohemia released the game’s system specifications when they announced Arma 3 at E3. you can find full details in our Arma 3 announcement post, and get closer to those landscapes in the E3 Arma 3 screenshots.
Arma 3 will have sandbox singleplayer with side quests
Arma 3 was announced at E3 this year with talk of an “open-ended” single player campaign and “sandbox-oriented combat gameplay.” In a recent interview with Everyeye, spotted by Blues News, Bohemia designer Ivan Buchta expanded on this, revealing that Arma 3 single player will let you take quests form NPCs in an open-ended environment, and even pursue side missions to get hold of better equipment, support or new vehicles.
Operation Flashpoint to be re-released as Arma: Cold War Assault
Following the release of Arma 2: Free earlier today, Bohemia Interactive drops another surprise. Operation Flashpoint, the landmark military-sim originally developed by Bohemia a decade ago, has been rebranded as Arma: Cold War Assault, and will be re-released with the Operation Flashpoint: Resistance expansion thrown in as a bonus.
If you already own Operation Flashpoint, you’ll be able to download the new version for free. The rest of us will be able to buy the pack when it’s released “through various online stores in the near future.” There’s no news on a precise date or pricing details just yet. Bohemia are re-releasing the classic to celebrate ten years of making military shooters, and promise that “more exciting releases will be made in the coming days and weeks ahead.” Head over to the Bohemia Interactive site for more.
Arma 2: Free is free to download and play right now
One of the biggest surprise announcements of E3 this year was that Arma 2 would be going free to play. Just a few weeks after that announcement, Arma 2 is now free to play. You can grab the 960MB download right here. Thanks to RPS for the heads up.
The free version will let you play the full game, including multiplayer, but locks off the highest graphics settings and cuts out mod support and the single player campaigns. Full map editing tools are present in the free version. If you’ve always been tempted to try a hyper-realistic war sim, this is one you have to try. We’ll see you on the battlefield.
E3 2011: ARMA 2: Free announced. Multiplayer, completely free, and released in June
Bohemia Interactive have just announced a free-to-play version of their outstanding war sim, Arma 2. It’s going to be totally free, but 100% Arma. Click through for the details.
Arma 3 system requirements revealed
Arma 3 is coming! In between all ofthe new Arma 3 info and shiny, shiny screenshots, Bohemia also released the system requirements for the game. Be warned, they’re pretty high. It looks like some of us are going to have to upgrade if we’re going to run the military sim when it’s released in summer 2012.
Arma 3 announced, releasing Summer 2012, first screenshots
After weeks of puzzles and hinting, Czech developer Bohemia Interactive has confirmed that a follow-up to its landmark military simulation game, Arma 3, is in development. It’s still a PC exclusive, it’s set somewhere in the Mediterranean, and it’ll retain the fine, sandboxy, multiplayer-friendly, emergent warplay that we expect from the franchise with some key improvements. Within: I dissect every detail of the announcement, play Where In The World Is Arma Sandiego?, and change my pants.
Arma 2 webpage hacked, ARG senses tingling
Something’s afoot in Armaland, lads. Earlier today, Arma 2′s official website was replaced with a message from a group named the “p3R51An 8lacK Hat5 8oy5.” It’s since been amended, but fake-real news site AAN continues to follow the details. We’ve previously seen AAN, which is run by Arma’s developer Bohemia Interactive, used to build excitement for new releases. Hmm.
Whatever information this probable ARG is prepping, it isn’t being terribly cagey at this point. “Spukayev,” who’s referenced in the hacked webpage, is an Arma 2 character–you blow up his house with a satchel charge in the original campaign. The militant mystery solvers of Arma 2′s community are assembling other pieces here. I’ve posted another clue within.
