Bohemia Interactive announces today is the 16th anniversary of the
Arma
series, which is a bit of a stretch that harkens back to the launch of
Operation
Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (the first actual Arma title was some five years later).
They celebrate the occasion with the release of free
Malden DLC for
Arma 3 as
well as
Argo, a free five-vs-five tactical first-person shooter. Here's the
Malden DLC trailer,
here's a Ben Affleck-free
Argo launch trailer, and here's word:
Both Argo and the Arma 3 Malden
DLC deploy players to a re-imagination of Malden – the iconic island terrain
from the first Arma game (originally titled Operation Flashpoint: Cold War
Crisis*), which was released today sixteen years ago on June 22nd 2001. The new
Malden (also referred to as ‘Malden 2035’) spans 62 km2 of landmass, and with
many of its unique locations having been designed to support Argo’s infantry
focus, the new terrain is specifically suited for close-quarters combat. Malden
2035 features 15 towns and villages, and many other special points of interest
such as an airfield, bunkers, a radio station, a goat farm, a fjord and rock
formations, orchards and vineyards, a desert area, and more. In comparison to
the original Malden, the number and names of the towns and villages, and all
locations of hills, crossroads, gas stations, have remained the same. For those
who do not remember or did not experience Arma’s first deployment to the island,
Bohemia Interactive posted a new video in which someone people might know from
the Cold War Crisis campaign, U.S. Special Forces veteran James Gastovski,
shares his memories of his deployment to Malden back in 1985.
Graduating from Bohemia Incubator,
Argo is an Arma-based hardcore tactical multiplayer first-person shooter, in
which players fight as mercenaries over the remnants of a crashed space station.
The game features three competitive 5-vs-5 game modes (Clash, Link, and Raid),
and based on their performance, players earn experience points, which can be
used to unlock new weapons, weapon attachments, and gear. The game also features
a 10-player cooperative game mode (Combat Patrol), where players need to team up
to fight against AI in an open-world setting. As a bonus, Argo includes a 3D
Scenario Editor. Here players can set up their own military operations and alter
or create game modes. Argo is available completely for free on Steam and will
not require any form of payment to play the game. Those who would like to
support the game do have the opportunity to purchase the Argo “Supporter’s Pack”
at € 9.99 / $ 9.99 / £ 6.99 on
Steam or the
Bohemia Store.
As a token of gratitude, this pack comes with a few special in-game rewards
which do not affect gameplay: 13 exclusive animations for the MVP screen at the
end of each match, a bundle of 23 unique apparel items, the ability to use
vehicles in the 3D Scenario Editor, access to premium Argo Supporter servers,
and the names of supporters are highlighted on the leaderboards.
The development of Argo also benefits Arma 3 players, who will today be
receiving the free Arma 3 Malden DLC, and which is automatically added to their
Steam Library. The Malden DLC features the re-imagined 62 km2 Malden terrain
also used in Argo, plus a variant of Argo’s Combat Patrol cooperative sandbox
mode, supporting up to 12 players. In addition, the Malden DLC delivers new
structures and buildings to Arma 3 content creators, the ‘Escape from Malden’
and ‘Escape from Tanoa’ survival multiplayer scenarios, and orchestral
renditions of the classic Arma Cold War Assault and Arma 3 main theme songs
(music is available only to owners of the Arma 3 Digital Deluxe Edition, Arma 3
Extended Edition, Arma 3 Apex Edition, Arma 3 Special Edition, and Arma 3
Supporter Edition). Meanwhile, Arma 3 is currently on sale for the lowest price
it has ever been on
Steam and the
Bohemia Store, with discounts up to 66% on the Arma 3 base game, Arma 3 Apex
expansion, and Arma 3 DLC.