Without further ado then, let’s get started.

HALF-LIFE 2

As one of the most iconic PC games of all time, it makes sense to kick things off with Half-Life 2- and though there’s been no shortage of mods for Valve’s masterpiece over the years, one in particular really stands out to this day. That mod is the Cinematic Mod, made by FakeFactory. The improvements in visual quality that it brings about it staggering. From the sharpness of textures to the detail in models for characters and weapons and environments, the Cinematic Mod breathes abundant new life into Half-Life 2.

Red Dead Redemption – Undead Nightmare

One day, honest working man John Marston wakes up and realize his wife and son are zombies. Not only that but the entire world has given in to the undead. There are survivors though and Marston must work with them to fight off the zombies. Keep in mind that the original plot is about atonement and redemption in the Wild West.

Bohemia Interactive has announced a new “spin-off expansion” for its military shooter ARMA 3, called Contact. Why is it called Contact? Because you interact with aliens, the first of any kind of interaction for humanity. The developer did say that no one would have seen this coming, and they were right.

According to the team, Contact sees players investigating an alien aircraft. Combat inevitably breaks out, and you’ll have to work with field science, electronic warfare, and combat reconnaissance. This could mean studying anomalies or even using the electromagnetic spectrum for navigation. It’s pretty far out.

Project lead Joris-Jan van ‘t Land stated in a press release, “Many of us have wondered if humanity is alone in the universe. I, for one, want to believe we are not. The premise of intelligent life visiting Earth from outer space has fascinated me since childhood, and combining that with the military authenticity of Arma 3 always seemed like it would make for a very cool and unique experience.

“After our team’s previous project — Laws of War DLC — proved that players enjoy gameplay that’s a little different, our team felt motivated to go for it. I am personally very grateful for the opportunity to explore this theme, and I want to thank all Arma 3 players for their support and making it possible for this dream to come true.”

Along with the Livonian Defense Force and Russian Spetsnaz available as factions with their own weapons, vehicles, and gear, players will also explore Livonia. That’s 163 square kilometers of terrain to navigate. ARMA 3 Contact will be available on July 25th for PC via Steam and the Bohemia Store. It will cost $28, with a discount available until August 1st.

Even amid all the reveals and teases leading up to E3 2019, to say nothing of the show itself, Bohemia Interactive has something up its sleeve for ARMA 3. The studio recently released a teaser for a new expansion, with a full reveal coming on May 23rd. Check it out for yourself below.

The teaser itself notes that “none of us were expecting this”, while the video’s description talks about some kind of “Emergency Alert” that advises one to “go inside immediately, close all doors and windows.” Could this expansion bring hazardous weather systems? Some crazy battle royale mode? A sequel to ARMA 3 Karts? It’s hard to say, but we’ll be keeping an eye out this Thursday for more details.

ARMA 3 is currently available for PC. It first launched in September 2013, less than six years ago, but has seen numerous DLC packs and updates since then. The latest was in December 2018 with the addition of Warlords missions, in which two teams battle to control the enemy’s base, capturing AI-controlled sectors along the way.

Do keep in mind, that though it’s natural to assume that when we talk about big game maps, we might be talking about open world games only- but that’s not the case. Whether its an open world game, or an open ended game that’s not particularly open world, or a huge map that we’ve seen in multiplayer play- it’s all fair game for this list. Also, do keep in mind that randomly generated maps were not considered for this feature.

A final note before we begin- there’s every possibility that we might have missed out on some game you were expecting to see on this list, and if we did, it’s either because the exact sizes of their maps aren’t known to us, or because we simply forgot! If it’s the former, and you know what the sizes are, please tell us! If it’s the latter, please remind us.

So without further ado, let’s jump into it.

#50. ASSASSIN’S CREED UNITY

The open world action by developers Ubisoft has its fair share of issues, sure, but its world is one aspect that can’t be faulted. It’s a joy to explore, and it’s also pretty big. At about 2.4 km2, there’s more than enough space in this virtual world to explore and lose yourself in.

Though it’s often against the very point of the medium of video games, more and more we look for realism in video games- realism in visuals, in the way they tell their stories, in their mechanics, in the world. And there’s a very good reason for that- that greater sense of realism lends more believability to the virtual world we find ourselves in, making it more immersive and easier to invest in. Sure, realism isn’t something that’s required in every game – in fact in many kinds of games it actively works against them – but where it fits, and is done well, it can be a powerful tool. It can be something that’s found throughout the game, or something that defines singular moments in games that might not otherwise be too realistic.

In this feature, we’re going to take a look at fifteen games that fit the bill- games that were either almost too realistic or times, or had maybe a few choice moments of realism, but made it all work surprisingly well. Do keep that last bit in mind- we’re not suggesting that a game with dinosaurs in it or another where you can slow down time to gun down your enemies in a single flurry are realistic- only that they offer moments of realism.

With that out of the way, let’s jump right in.

SURVIVAL MECHANICS IN RUST

 By definition, survival games are built around some degree of realism, where your character is much more vulnerable, and there’s a lot of things you need to be mindful of to make sure of your, well, survival. But Rust often take is one step further. From diseases to weather, from health to severely limited resources, from the game itself to the hostile environment it creates for all players (who’re all constantly turning on one another), Rust is a game that can actively stress you out. That, of course, means, that it isn’t for everyone, but for those who get into it, there’s a lot to lose yourself in.

]]> https://gamingbolt.com/15-times-your-favorite-video-games-were-too-realistic/feed 0 380776 https://gamingbolt.com/arma-3-is-free-to-play-on-steam-this-weekend https://gamingbolt.com/arma-3-is-free-to-play-on-steam-this-weekend#respond Fri, 27 Apr 2018 10:03:04 +0000 https://gamingbolt.com/?p=334834

For Honor and Day of Infamy aren’t the only games offering free weekends. Bohemia Interactive’s ARMA 3 has a free weekend for Steam players, celebrating over 4 million players in the game’s lifetime. The free weekend is currently live and will end on April 30th at 1 PM EDT/6 PM BST.

If you want to play the full version after this weekend, then you can pick up the base game at 66 percent off. Its two DLC bundles are also discounted at 66 percent and 22 percent respectively. While announcing its +4 million players, Bohemia also released a number of other statistics about ARMA 3.

Thus far, it’s player base has logged 600 million hours with over 50,000 items in the Steam Workshop. Hilariously, the best selling DLC for the game thus far has been ARMA 3 Karts which started as an April Fool’s prank before evolving into an actual kart racing mode.

Now, what about Bohemia’s open world zombie survival title DayZ, which has yet to leave Steam Early Access? You can read what its users say about it here.

At the PC Game Show at e3 2015, Bohemia Interactive took the stage to announce brand new content that would be coming to Arma 3 next year- the game will be getting Tanoa in 2016, a brand new Pacific island map, which is a first for the series. It features some all new kind of terrain, which is unlike anything we have ever seen in an Arma game before, and will add 100 square kilometers of terrain for you to play on. The new expansion will also add support for DX12.

Bohemia hopes that this new terrain gives players a canvas to play and create new and compelling stories on- as with everything else that Bohemia does, Arma 3’s Tanoa content will feature extensive mod support. In fact, Bohemia took the time to point out how, every time it designs anything new, it has to consider mods and the modding community as a major factor to consider in the balance.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage from the PC Game Show at E3 2015.

At this point, Bohemia Interactive’s Arma 3 really does not need any selling- everyone knows about it, and those who are enamored by or interested in its highly authentic military simulation have already jumped on board. Those who haven’t probably prefer the more arcadey experience that other shooters on the market can provide.

That isn’t stopping Bohemia from trying to sell it to more people, though, as the newest video that they released for the game shows off the thirty three most impressive things about the game to us. A lot of this is focused on the game’s realism and authenticity, but still, it might catch the attention of Call of Duty and Battlefield fans hoping to graduate to something more serious.

What’s notable about this video is also that it teases the upcoming expansion pack for the game. It’s really not much of a tease, honestly, but it’s there. And for many Arma fans, that will be enough.

The best thing about Steam is how many chances you get to get your game noticed (and maybe eventually purchased) by potential gamers and customers. I mean, Steam highlights new releases on its front page, the community features means that it’s easy for great games to go viral, Steam sales are an easy way to break into many users’ libraries. And then there are the free to play weekends, where Steam effectively lets you make your game free to play for all players for a limited period- after which, if they like your game, they’ll have to buy it to continue playing it.

Not that a game like ARMA 3, which is one of the more popular PC games these days, with its uber realistic take on war shooters, needs extra publicity, but hey, it never hurts, does it? So, if you’ve always heard of the ARMA games, but for some reason have never jumped in- maybe you weren’t sure if the games were for you, and didn’t want to buy something you weren’t sure you’d like. Or hey, maybe you just didn’t know if your PC would even run it- then good news, you get to play it for free to decide for yourself what the deal is.

And if you do want to buy ARMA 3, it is available for for 50% off until 10AM Pacific on Monday October 27, bringing the price down to £18 ($30).

So yep. Good time to be an ARMA player right now.