Got Armed Assault
Posted: 2006-12-18 06:47pm
Since Im a neighbour of the Czech Republic, which hold the awesome Bohemia Interactive Studio and its team, I gladly went to the shop today and bought Armed Assault. The rest of the world (apart form Czech Rep. and Germany) will have to wait untill Q1 2007.
Anyways, some quick impressions that I got after 2 hours of gaming.
The whole game actually feels like an upgraded Operation Flashpoint. But the stuff they did to the game is really impressive. I'll leave out the graphical galore, since my comp specs only allow me to witness them on screenshots.
Anyway, they fixed the animation system. Although animation sequencing (like, cant begin the next one until the current one is finished) is still here, most of the animations are quick, so you don't move like Galactus.
Characters move in a very nice "tactical" way. Very nice to look at. "Casual" anims are also done very nice - a squad on patrol looks like a squad on patrol, with men holding their guns at waist level, looking almost bored.
Cutscenes show some strengths of the new animation system - there was a journalist having an interview with a soldier. The guy stood calmly clearly looking a bit uneasy before the camera, and the journalist waved her hands, looked at her notes, sticked the microphone out to the soldier et cetera. Really very nice.
Sounds are a bit outdated. The system is nice, for example they took into account the distance to the hearer and delay the sound accordingly. Works VERY nice with huge distant explosions. First you see the flash, then hear the sound. But when it comes to quality of the gunshots...I have a feeling that these are the very same sounds as in the original OFP.
AI has been clearly improved. Soldiers now navigate cities and buildings with ease, although combat engagements are a bit different story. Sometimes they react quickly, sometimes they just stand and stare at each other...so there are things that need to be worked out.
Command system is the same as in OFP. That means you have a bar which shows you your units, accessible under F1-F12 buttons. Command menu is the same, meaning that you can access different commands from a pop-up window, choose formation, behaviour, issue orders etc. The major improvement is that it feels sturdier and is much quicker and accurate than before.
Okay, Im going back for some more, I'll probably post some pics tomorrow.
Anyways, some quick impressions that I got after 2 hours of gaming.
The whole game actually feels like an upgraded Operation Flashpoint. But the stuff they did to the game is really impressive. I'll leave out the graphical galore, since my comp specs only allow me to witness them on screenshots.
Anyway, they fixed the animation system. Although animation sequencing (like, cant begin the next one until the current one is finished) is still here, most of the animations are quick, so you don't move like Galactus.
Characters move in a very nice "tactical" way. Very nice to look at. "Casual" anims are also done very nice - a squad on patrol looks like a squad on patrol, with men holding their guns at waist level, looking almost bored.
Cutscenes show some strengths of the new animation system - there was a journalist having an interview with a soldier. The guy stood calmly clearly looking a bit uneasy before the camera, and the journalist waved her hands, looked at her notes, sticked the microphone out to the soldier et cetera. Really very nice.
Sounds are a bit outdated. The system is nice, for example they took into account the distance to the hearer and delay the sound accordingly. Works VERY nice with huge distant explosions. First you see the flash, then hear the sound. But when it comes to quality of the gunshots...I have a feeling that these are the very same sounds as in the original OFP.
AI has been clearly improved. Soldiers now navigate cities and buildings with ease, although combat engagements are a bit different story. Sometimes they react quickly, sometimes they just stand and stare at each other...so there are things that need to be worked out.
Command system is the same as in OFP. That means you have a bar which shows you your units, accessible under F1-F12 buttons. Command menu is the same, meaning that you can access different commands from a pop-up window, choose formation, behaviour, issue orders etc. The major improvement is that it feels sturdier and is much quicker and accurate than before.
Okay, Im going back for some more, I'll probably post some pics tomorrow.
