(Review Edit: 2020 Dec. w/4.7k Hours, last review @1.7k Hours.)

ArmA 3 is one of those games that you see many people with thousands, if not tens of thousands, of hours in game time. And unlike War Thunder where people regret these hours at times - it is one of the best experiences still to this day. And the fact that it still maintains the top 100 in terms of Steam player base amount, speaks for its value.

At a glance, ArmA can be taken as a big, buggy, complex mess. And! I totally agree. But even then it is still played and its faults are often - overlooked. I personally think that this is the charm of ArmA, a buggy horrible mess that in of itself - is hilarious at times. Imagine attempting to land a helicopter on the side of the hill when all of the sudden, you and your team are sent flying ten million kilometers away at light speed, getting lost in the clouds as you can't stop yourself.. But this actually happened to me once and it was ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hilarious. I implore you that if you want a good experience from ArmA, having to overlook its bugs and oddities and just taking it all in stride is what makes ArmA fun.

Now - ArmA in of itself can be described as a Tactical Military Sandbox Shooter, that is complex and hard to access in terms of learning curve. It is a game that is almost like every other tactical miltiary shooter (Squad, Post Scriptum, Hell Let Loose, etc.). If you're playing ArmA in the military, sandbox shooter type of way it requires you to be able to make quick and snappy decisions but also tactical and strategical choices in the battlefield. Unlike the fast paces of COD or Battlefield - this game can often require you to jog or walk kilometres or hundreds of meters just to get to an objective safely. And also unlike COD - lone wolfing can often be hard. You will often find yourself stuck with team mates, and depending on who is the leader of the squad they (or you) will have to make aforementioned tactical and strategical decisions for the people they lead. This is something that can turn people off, but I assure you, the community is what keeps you walking and talking at the same time (That is if you're willing to speak and communicate.)

But its not only ground combat but also the combined arms aspect of ArmA. You can assume the role of a transport pilot, CAS (Close Air Support) Pilot that flies in from the skies in an A10, or even an Armored Fighting Vehicle crew member. From the ground to the air, its all possible in ArmA along with the militaristic strategy and aspect to it not found in other games.

I often like to compare the control scheme to Dark Souls - imagine having to learn every pattern of every boss except this time its a set of keys that do a specific thing. But that isn't all bad because this challenge in of itself is rewarding like Dark Souls in a way. Learning a key bind for the compass or learning how the collective on a helicopter works is actually rewarding - and not only that but being able to apply these tools to different situations is also part of that reward feedback.

Now just like every gaming community this game also has its toxic players. Personally I don't really care but if a community reaches League levels of toxic then I just won't play that game. Speaking of the community, GOOD milsim groups can sometimes be hard to come by. Some aren't dedicated enough to their own group that they usually fall out, others often have inner fighting that can sometimes really break the community - but if you find the right one for you it can last years, and those years can build up many fond memories. But anyways - If you're willing to talk or even type, people will respond. Sure you have some ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ here and there but the community is what reeled me in. Being able to laugh with others as a buggy ass glitch happens that sends you flying or dying, or literally just blowing up is honestly funny as hell. In a way - its almost like Garry's mod with its sandbox aspect - because you'll almost never know what will happen.

ArmA's story is nothing to really gossip about. You play as a NATO soldier that has gotten cut off from main forces and is forced to survive in a battle against more powerful enemies by allying with Guerilla forces. I haven't personally finished it myself so I can't speak much about it.

DLC is one of those icky topics I don't really know how to approach to others - but personally I think all the DLC content is great. Sure you might get annoying ads in game when you find yourself using a DLC item - but hey at least they're letting you use it or try it out - and I also like to note that Bohemia also unlocks some parts and systems of DLC to the playerbase. Like for example radar sensors in the Jets DLC or tank Interiors from the Tanks DLC.

Now one of the greatest things about ArmA is that it is a SANDBOX game. And like the sandbox genre attached to Garry's Mod - ArmA is a moddable base game. Now - ArmA has a ton of mods that you can download from Workshop and off-workshop. These mods can vary from introducing modern weapons or literally bringing in futuristic HALO/Star Wars/Warhammer 40k factions into the game. It is crazy the amount of things people have made possible in this buggy ass mess, and it's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ awesome.

All in all, ArmA is one of those games I still play to this day. I can't wait for the release of ArmA 4, but hopefully you will join me on the buggy ass battlefields of ArmA.

If you ever want someone to play with - hit me up. I'm glad to teach you some things or just play with you. :)