Arma 3: Liberation
As some of you may know, my favorite game these days is Arma 3. Being the realistic military simulator that it is, I can really appreciate the gameplay, and don't have to focus too much on skill points, or leveling my character.
Anyhow, I have a few game modes I really tend to enjoy on Arma 3. There is of course BECTI, which is a whole island, dynamic PvE/PvP mission involving pretty much every dynamic the game has to offer. It is a fun game mode, yes... But it is missing something.
Then there is Antistasi. Antistasi is a fun but challenging game mode where you play as a rebel leader, in a anti establishment based rebel group, whom is trying to overthrow an oppressive government. The small David, versus the giant Goliath in a way. The tactics involved there, and the fact that you have to win over hearts and minds in order to be successful, are a great gameplay aspect which BECTI doesn't have. But what it lacks is the firepower, and ability to call upon heavy military equipment as a full fledged army would.
Which brings us to Liberation. Liberation is a game mode which has indeed been out for a while. I will admit that I have played it before, but was a bit intimidated by its complexity and lack of any real explanations on how to really play. The in game tutorial is very basic, indeed. But to sum it up, it is basically BECTI, and Antistasi, combined. I say this because it is a whole island based dynamic mission, where the NATO forces (The player) has to capture and liberate the island, from the CSAT forces. There are a number of ways to do this, but CSAT will also respond dynamically and counter attack you if you are too aggressive, and push too hard, too fast.
Liberation also has a civilian element that traditional BECTI lacks. Civilians dynamically populate the towns and the roads, going about their business. Killing them will lessen support of the local town, for your cause, and killing too many may make a town no longer capturable.
Liberation may be played solo, with friends, or with AI in your group. Commanders may also recruit full AI squads, which they can control via the Zeus feature. Some sites and missions can be played with a single player, sniping from a distant hilltop. Others, such as the military bases generally require a full assault, with at least a platoon of troops. As with other missions in Arma 3, there are roles for everyone in Liberation. Support roles like Logistics, Medical, and Engineering, can be very vital roles for people to fill. And as always, the combat roles are just as varied as well, with the need for pilots, mechanized, snipers, and ground troops always at hand. Really, the game seems intimidating, however it is quick to learn. Really it is not as complex as it initially seems.
Liberation is PvE. It is a co-op game mode which is perpetual, and meant to take a while to play. The game is dynamically based to offer resistance based upon the number of players online at the time. If only a single player is online, it isn't going to trigger a huge CSAT offensive against your main FOB's. But if you have 10 guys on, CSAT is likely to become more aggressive.
Your FOB's or Forward Operations Base('s) are where you conduct most of your squad building ans resource management duties. They are where you may purchase vehicles, or squad members. You may also choose to para-drop anywhere on the map from these locations. Your main base, is typically a last resort respawn point, and doesn't allow you as many options as the FOB's do.
I am very happy with the performance of this game mode on my new server. It averages about 50fps both server side, and client side, with a view distance set to 7000 meters.
A rather long gameplay video is embedded below for those curious...