Modern Infantry combat is a subject that is always popular in games. With so much turmoil in the modern world, the appeal of first person infantry action is a natural for the gamer, and if it's realistic combat is so much better. ArmA Armed Assault is such a game of infantry combat in the modern world.

ArmA Armed Assault is a first person shooter game of modern combat. In it players will experience a simulation of Infantry combat while a member of the USMC in a South American nation that is in the midst of revolution. The player character must carry out a series of missions and remain alive to move forward in this game, and staying alive is not easy.

Unlike many first person shooters, this game has a heavy emphasis on realism. Players must adopt proper tactics and strategies if they hope to survive the dangerous world of small unit combat. Running about with a quick trigger finger will not make for a very successful game, as you have to keep looking around and for enemies who can be extremely hard to spot, as well as carry ammo and weapons that are not in endless supply.

Every attempt was made to make this game as realistic as a game permits. Combat is often fought between forces that are quite far apart, so far in fact they appear to be barely visible. You must work with your squad to defeat the enemy, because just as in real combat lone wolves usually end up dead. Like many first person games these days you can issue orders and play in third person mode, which helps make the game a bit easier. In the first person mode the movement and fire commands can be a bit confusing and difficult to use properly. As is common in this type of game, you are heavily outnumbered in battles and ease of command and control goes a long way towards addressing this weakness.

As a highly trained Marine you are able to do more then simply fight on foot. You can also drive tanks, Humvees, even attack helicopters. The controls of such weapons are quite a challenge to master, but a tank is a much better place to be when hordes of enemies are attacking you. You can also be the gunner of a tank and fire the weapons of the vehicle, and this takes some getting used to also.

The game has a huge number of missions to accomplish and none of them are easy to accomplish. Since this game is a total three-dimensional environment, there is no set way to carry out a given mission. The missions are the standard fare of infantry combat such as patrols, blunting enemy assaults, destroying bridges and so on.

The graphics of this game are quite good even if the coloring is a little on the dull side. Units and men move in a realistic way and the weapon systems are portrayed very realistically. There are a large number of American and Soviet weapons available as well as some third world and European items. The voiceover attacking is not bad, but be advised that there is profanity in the game.

Overall this is an excellent effort to make a realistic first person combat game. Extremely difficult and frustrating at times, yet rich in detail; squad leaders and Marines can find a lot to keep themselves entertained with here.

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