American General George S Patton once said, “An army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, fights as a team. This individuality stuff is a bunch of bullshit.” And when it comes to ArmA: Queen’s Gambit, no other statement describes the game quite as well.

Its creators claim that the series is arguably “the most realistic warfare experience among PC games ever”. Trust UrbanWire when we say, they weren’t lying about the realism.

ArmA: Queen’s Gambit is the expansion pack to ArmA. Boasting 2 new single player campaigns, a few multiplayer scenarios along with a number of improvements to the player’s weaponry and equipment; it seems war just got a bit more interesting.

 Basic Military Training

Like Patton said, individuality isn’t the best attribute to have in the military. The same is true of ArmA, so if you’re the type who enjoys the mad adrenaline rush that comes from playing first-person shooter (FPS) games like Counter-Strike or Deus Ex, you’re probably not the sort who’ll enjoy the game.

Like the original, ArmA: Queen’s Gambit hasn’t changed the winning formula that requires teamwork (either between you and the bots you command, or online players), tactics and strategy in order to be victorious. This is what sets ArmA apart from the rash, hell-blazing charging commonly found in this genre, which in military terms amounts to little more than a kamikaze attack.

However, even if you’re a master tactician, there’s still a high probability that you and your team will get shot to pieces because the game’s Artificial Intelligence is tricky enough to give you hell even at regular level with the enemy taking up different positions in each game to give you the sense of the unexpected.
Campaign Briefing

The original ArmA was centred on the fictional democratic state of South Sahrani, which was invaded by the communist North who had perceived its oil-rich neighbour to be at its weakest. With US military intervention, the Royal Army Corps of Sahrani (RACS) and her allies fought the enemies and succeeded in defeating them.

Now with ArmA: Queen’s Gambit comes two new campaigns that carry on from the ArmA saga, but with storylines that seem a tad indulgent and unrealistic for a game that stresses military realism.

First up is Rahmadi Conflict, recognised by its creators in its manual as “the true ending to the original ArmA story”. The plot falls along the line that many from the Sahrani Liberation Army (SLA) forces have evaded capture by US and RACS forces following the victory in Bengang. As always, the US military is poised to strike the remnants of the enemy forces with you as the leader of a Special Forces team called Nightwing.

In Royal Flush (one of the two new story campaigns in the game), two years after the conclusion of ArmA, trouble’s brewing in Sahrani following the death of King Joseph III in a helicopter crash. With his daughter’s ascension to the throne, the situation is heating up and her forces are hunting insurgents who are wrecking havoc from the country’s northern hills. You and a team of six mercenaries are hired in secret to put an end to the chaos.

Other Theatres of War

In the multiplayer mode you’re working together with other players online instead of commanding bots. But as always, teamwork and tactics are important elements for success.

The expansion pack has new online multiplayer levels like the Battle of Porto (a new island created for this game) where up to 40 players are split between two sides and they battle to take hold of different parts of the island. Talk about carnage and mayhem.

There’s also another level known as Urban Raid which calls “for a group of six battle-hardened Special Forces soldiers” to get past obstacles such as SLA forces to annihilate various installations on Porto.

Logistics

Now with ArmA: Queens Gambit and the mandatory 1.08 patch (which fixes kinks reported by players in the original ArmA), the inventory weaponry and vehicles in the original game receive a welcome upgrade, with a more extensive arsenal. Like all the weapons and vehicles in the original, they’re authentic. According to the game’s creators, the 6G30 Grenade Launcher, which is a new addition to the family is said to be in actual use with the Russian Army.

And if you ever find yourself out of weapons or ammunition during Royal Flush, try buying from your ever-friendly street arms merchant. Now that’s what we call service.

Extra Intel

Besides the weaponry and equipment plus fixes of previous kinks, there haven’t been any drastic changes to the game. Graphics-wise, the game is a visual spectacle with finely detailed scenery and characters.

However, while the game’s voiceovers are pretty decent, we do wish that the voices had more emotional impact on us, especially when a fellow soldier/mercenary bites the bullet. Simply going “three is down”, just seems a little too cold and inhuman even for even the most professional soldiers.

Mission Debrief

Overall, there’s nothing really spectacular about ArmA: Queen’s Gambit. With its new additions, it actually seems more like solid add-on rather than an expansion pack.

While the campaign storylines might seem a little excessive, the game’s structure is pretty much left untouched and the graphics are still a sight to behold. Essentially, what matters most is the realism and, on that count, it delivers brilliantly.

Platform: PC
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Bohemia Interactive
Genre: Tactical

Score:

Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 7/10
Plot: 7/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Addictive Rating: 7/10
Overall Rating: 7.5/10