And shot by somebody they never saw.įor the uninitiated, Arma 3 is the tactical first-person shooter equivalent of games like Euro Truck Simulator or Train Simulator: a quiet endeavour towards realism and authenticity over the troublesome business of gameplay design. Arma 3 earns a gold star, then, for having actual gameplay that showcases why sending people off to join the army is a bad idea – specifically because they'll be overwhelmed by tedium for hours on end.
Gameplay is much more conducive and solid in that respect: a horror game with an unnerving story is good, but a horror game that forces you to do something unnerving is much more deserving of being pigeonholed thus. That was all just storytelling, though, and stories are unreliable things that are open to interpretation. Spec Ops gets the honorary mention for its story arc and that particular scene, of course, but even the latest Call of Duty had a modicum of self-awareness nestled amongst all the rampant nationalism. I'm prepared to forgive their butchery of the first-person shooter, see, because it seems they've finally grown up enough to try and convince people that war is shit.
You know, I'm starting to feel like modern military shooters might be finally doing some good in the world.
