Arma 3
Infantry, ground vehicles, aircraft and boats share the same open terrain in Arma 3, from the Mediterranean islands of Altis and Stratis to the later-added Tanoa and Livonia. The game runs as a single-player campaign, a co-op game or a PvP sandbox on PC, and Bohemia Interactive released it on September 12, 2013.
Top 3 Reasons to Play
- Community game modes add variety to multiplayer. Antistasi is a persistent guerrilla campaign, KP Liberation has up to 34 players build forward bases while liberating an island, and Vindicta gives the enemy a commander AI that answers player activity with patrols and quick reaction forces.
- Mods change how the game plays: ACE3 adds a medical system, stamina, logistics, weapon heating and ballistics.
- Creator DLC reaches beyond 2035: S.O.G. Prairie Fire, for one, is set in the Vietnam War.
Story and Lore
The story starts in 2035 on the Mediterranean islands of Altis and Stratis, where a NATO peacekeeping mission has outlasted a shaky ceasefire. The US-led force is gradually withdrawing, and the opposing CSAT alliance is moving in to fill the space it leaves. The campaign was released in three free episodes between 2013 and 2014: Survive, Adapt and Win.
Later content widens the map without replacing it. Apex, released on July 11, 2016, adds the Tanoa terrain and the Apex Protocol campaign. Contact, from July 26, 2019, is a military science-fiction spin-off set on Livonia. Old Man, a campaign added for free on April 14, 2020 that requires Apex, takes place on Tanoa.
Gameplay and Mechanics
Combined arms is the core of the sandbox: weapons come with attachments and customizable loadouts, land, air and sea vehicles can be driven or piloted, and a virtual arsenal and garage handle equipment setup. Official multiplayer scenarios include Combat Patrol, Warlords, Vanguard, Zeus and Race, and the game supports LAN play as well as online PvP and co-op.
- The Eden editor builds missions in 3D.
- Zeus puts a game master in charge of the battlefield while the mission runs.
- Workshop scenarios tagged Multiplayer or Co-Op are hosted from Multiplayer, Quick Play, Host Server.
Characters and Factions
NATO and CSAT are the two major powers. NATO is the Western alliance, weakened by economic and political strain by 2035. CSAT, the Canton Protocol Strategic Alliance Treaty, is the Eastern coalition that gains influence as NATO falls back. On Altis itself, the AAF (Altis Armed Forces) answer to the island's government and focus on counterinsurgency against the FIA, the Freedom and Independence Army.
- The Combat Technology Research Group (CTRG) is a secretive special operations unit linked to NATO.
- Syndikat, a criminal paramilitary cartel, operates in Tanoa in the Apex content.
- In Contact, the Livonian Defense Force protects Livonia, a Polish-speaking NATO member state.
Each campaign brings its own lead. Ben Kerry, a NATO soldier, anchors Survive; Santiago, a retired Legionnaire who uncovers a malaria conspiracy, carries Old Man; and Specialist Aiden Rudwell leads Contact.
Community content adds factions of its own. RHS contributes US Armed Forces and Armed Forces of the Russian Federation units, CUP ports assets from earlier Arma titles, and the Aegis series extends the 2035 Futura setting with new factions and equipment.
Editions
You can buy these editions besides the standard one:
- Gold Edition: the base game, the Apex and Contact expansions, the Karts DLC and exclusive digital content.
- Platinum Edition: everything in Gold, plus all official DLC created by Bohemia Interactive since the game's release in 2013.
- Arma 3 Pass: a monthly subscription covering the base game, Apex and Contact, the official DLC (Tanks, Jets, Helicopters, Karts, Marksmen, Laws of War and the Tac-Ops Mission Pack), all Creator DLC, and free content such as Malden, Zeus and the Art of War Charity Pack.