Arma 2

Arma 2 is a tactical shooter focused primarily on infantry combat, but significant vehicular and aerial combat elements are present. The player is able to command AI squad members which adds a real-time strategy element to the game. This is further enhanced by the high command system, which allows the player to command multiple squads using the map. Arma 2 is set primarily in the fictional Eastern European state of Chernarus (meaning "Black Rus"). The Chernarussian landscape is based heavily on the Czech Republic; the home country of the developer.

Arma 2, plus all expansions, features eleven distinct armed factions, each with their own vehicles and weapons. Caught in the middle are the Chernarussian and Takistani civilians. The factions included in Arma 2 are: USMC, Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Chernarussian Defense Forces (CDF), Chernarussian Movement of the Red Star (ChDKZ), National Party (NAPA), and the citizens of Chernarus.

Arma 2's single-player campaign takes place in late 2009, in the province of South Zagoria in the north-eastern region of the fictional post-Soviet state of Chernarus, as well as the remote Chernarussian island of Útes. South Zagoria's approximately 225 square kilometers are based on actual satellite photos of České Středohoří, in northern Bohemia, Czech Republic. The precise location used is the remote area between Děčín and Ústí nad Labem.

Chernarus is in a state of political unrest, with its democratic government embroiled in a civil war against pro-communist rebels known as the ChDKZ (Chernarusskiy Dvizheniye Krasnoy Zvezdy, lit. Chernarussian Movement of the Red Star), led by communist revolutionary, Gregori Lopotev. After several months, the Chernarussian government asks the international community for assistance against the rebels, and the United States responds by sending a U.S. Navy Expeditionary Strike Group off the coast of Chernarus, hoping that a presence of an Amphibious Ready Group would calm any tensions in the area. However, the ChDKZ remains undeterred, and by late 2009 the ChDKZ launch a coup d'état against the Chernarussian government, taking control of the northeastern Chernarussian province of South Zagoria and forcing the remaining Chernarussian military forces in the area to retreat towards the inland town of Zelenogorsk.

Arma 2 was announced in 2007. It is named after the Latin word "arma", meaning weapons, soldiers, and war. Due to the fact that the previous game in the series was named Armed Assault, Arma 2 is often referred to as Armed Assault 2, albeit in error. Although Arma 2's title is stylized as ArmA II, it is done as an homage to the previous game in the series, because the game's title is a slight contraction of Armed Assault in the first game in the series.

During development, Bohemia Interactive stated at the Electronic Entertainment Expo that Arma 2 was to have a "roleplaying feel to it", with in-game events affecting the character as well as the entire campaign. For example, terrorizing non-playable characters would result in losing their trust, thus encouraging the victimized NPC(s) to give away valuable information to enemy forces. The entire campaign can be played either offline, as single-player, or online co-operative play for up to four players.

Arma 2 received generally positive reviews. The game has been praised for its realism, graphics, and the sheer scale of the game. However, as with the original Armed Assault, the game has received criticism for the number of bugs it contained on release and the quality of the AI. A reviewer at TheReticule.com ultimately felt that though at times it "doesn't work", the game is "a genuinely excellent game of the same pedigree of Operation Flashpoint and has done a lot of [sic] regain my faith in BIS". Another reviewer noted that the game managed to show the "job of a real soldier today: contact with the population", something that is lacking in other similar games The developers have since released several patches addressing common bugs.

In PC Gamer's leaderboard of top 100 greatest PC games of all time, Arma 2 received 22nd place. The game was also awarded by PC Gamer as Most PC Game of the Year for its complexity, community, technical perfection and miracle of simulation.