I did some modding for OFP. This is a good Mod. Its not a great new game.
I personally can no see the point in totally redisigning a new game to be just like an old one, so I am just going to assume that this game is a well developed OFP mod, because it may as well be. It has almost nothing in common with ARMA1 and given that fact, its like the devs looked back at OFP and went, screw it lets just redo the original.
Having said that OFP is one of my all time favorite games, so to land in ARMA2 and discover it is just like OFP was a pleasant surprise. The unpleasant thing is that games have moved on significantly since OFP and the control system that seemed pretty intuative 5 years ago, seems clunky, slow and labour intensive in 2009.
ARMA2 billed itself as "one of the most ambitious titles of all time" I read that in the ads and thought.... "yeah well I have an ambition to fly a helicopter, but right now Id suck at it" Unfortunately ARMA2 wants to fly a helicopter... but it sucks at it despite having ample ambition.
The game is playable but raw, rich in detail but low in ease of play, broad in scope but lacking in polish. Another 12 months of development spent in QA and multiplayer would have made this the benchmark military sim of this decade. Without it, its just another game that trys hard, but doesnt quite deliver.
Multiplayer is flat out ridiculous. It has the elements of brilliance with massive maps and detailed environments, but the stamp of idiocy with only 25 players in total in some maps. Maps so huge that even with vehicles you spend most of the time just trying to find another player let alone shoot at them or do anything constructive.
Right now ARMA2 offers nothing that BF2 Project Reality doesnt already offer, in a far cleaner, more fun and team orientated setting.
I sincerely hope OFP2 is better than this particular pretender.