[ArmA] Buds Especas by shark attack

Review by Cheetah

Overview

None. Cooperative mission that isn't meant to be played in SP.

Intro

A short cutscene is displayed in order to introduce you to the weather and surroundings. Nothing special and nothing frustrating.

Briefing

Multiple typos are present in the briefing, also the lack of capitalized words looks a bit careless coupled with a layout that could've used a bit more work. However, the information present in the briefing is a good read and introduces the player to the setting.

The objectives are easy to understand, linked to markers and some require a bit of a search. Nothing wrong here, plus they are all updated properly in the mission. As this mission involves a number of allied AI troops, they are all at the expert skill level.

Finally, the briefing offers a weapon selection, with a broad range of weapons to complete your objectives. With it, everyone can select any weapon they want. Some might argue that US weapons shouldn't be present. I disagree, the story allows the use of such weapons due to the player being a SF operator - often they have access to a broad range of weapons.

Mission

NOTE: Thanks go to the Regiment of Grenadier Guards (RGG) for assisting with the review of this mission.

After playing this one rather succesfully with three RGG'ers, we discovered that the other group of three had abandoned playing the mission pretty soon. For them it was too hard, most likely because of their bad habit to play rambo style.

Buds Especas is an updated version of the original Especas, allowing each player to command a small number of soldiers. This not only gives him more controllable firepower, but also provides him with multiple respawn options - and these will be required. Due to most of the fighting taking place in a jungle layout, the enemy has a strong advantage over you - they are almost invisible at some points. Numerous times you will be shot at from the jungle, tracers flying past you in the dozens, only to find out after your death that two rebels were hiding behind a pair of trees.

It is evident that the mission offers a great challenge, only to be completed in good fashion if you and three teammates know how to handle certain situations and how to cover your back.

I wrote certain situations, because the objectives aren't all stationary. Sometimes, fast movement is required if you want to complete an objective, and this is contradictory to the best method in this mission - stealth. Casualties guaranteed in most plays?

A special script is in place to detect if loud - bad -  or surpressed - good -  weapons are being used to fight your way through the jungle. And what a jungle feeling it is, the exotic looking huts, dense forest and rebels running around in shorts make it a decent setting to play in. You will happily watch the ending text of this mission appear, but not without first fighting a way towards your extraction point.

That covers the postive side of the mission, as always, this mission has a number of not so great elements. First and most important, the difficulty is way up. This makes the mission unsuitable for most newcomers to Armed Assault.

The use of AI teammates provides the mission with another dimension, but in turn also makes it less playable. Most, like we did, will use the AI as mobile respawns rather than essential assets in completing your mission. Still, this doesn't stop you from enjoying the mission with three of your best friends.

Finally, the last two objectives are hard to complete, because they are somewhat dynamic. Should you fail at first, a cloud of uncertainty will reach down for you. This is a potential showstopper for some who aren't determined in finishing a mission.

Outro(s)

None. Could have been rewarding after the long and tough mission it is.

Special

The mission is hard to complete and requires a lot of teamwork like covering each other's back. The use of stealth is greatly encouraged, for example by a surpression script. This makes for a challenging mission.

Overall

The mission is a lot of fun if you play it with human veterans of Operation Flashpoint or Armed Assault. You will need their expertise to keep yourself alive. Every hut, every bush can hide an enemy rebel - therefore it can become a frustrating mission if your playstyle isn't stealth or if you are new to the game. I recommend this mission for any clan, or group of friends in for a realistic Special Forces mission, you'll like it!

All in all, we had a couple of great hours with this one. The other group had a terrible half an hour.