I bought Arma2 again this weekend - Steam version instead of the German download version. I'll give it another try.

I am not that impressed with OFPDR to be honest. I like the tactical orders option though the fact that you stop when doing it is annoying, it is however much more intuitive than Arma. AI aren't that bright as has been gone over before. Though some aspects of the movement (leap frogging) and response to orders is good. Lack of Track ir as infantry is also annoying. Bullet drop is also rather annoying seems way over done. The fact that AI can see you when you can't see them (them lying in the undergrowth), having said that their accuracy sucks so you don't need to worry about cover too often. No leaning. Artillery is nice feature and so is the performance in FPS. I like the thermals even if unrealistic. Is there a way to aim the under slung grenade launchers? Flying helos with a mouse sucks. Sounds like they took the radio work right out of generation Kill "we're oscar mike" but in general the sounds are excellent. It is a game of highs and lows with more lows than highs.

Fran, when you give A2 a second run trough, you should try and focus more on user created content (missions) as well as MP Coop. To me it sounds like you started off with a - back then unpatched - SP campaign and lost interest. For me, my system does not yet handle the larger A2 missions, so I'm editing my own. But that actually allowed me to explore it more toroughly. Same example why people like A2 (maybe more than DR)

1) A2 allows you to command a platoon and up of separate squads in a nice clean interface next to your normal squad control interface. So even for single player, you can get huge realistic engagements with armor, air and infantry all under your control.

2) A2 Multiplayer means a lot of people in different vehicles, on foot and in the air all working togehter on a huge battlefield.

3) A3 is in many parts very unscripted and dynamic, for example in the "Warfare" MP missions (which you can also play alone vs. the computer). You can wage war for the whole map with ever changing encounters and tactical situations. As good as DRs campaign seems to be, it's story-driven and of limited randomness, whereas A2 really made a lot of effort to get these dynamic elements right.

Just trying to help you enjoy the game, playing default SP campaign is not the true meat of it IMHO (albeit the patched campaign is pretty good now).

Well I already suspected that you must work with for Codemasters, with all that "PR" of yours. But that's not what I want to "discuss" here.

I'm posting here in order to "explain" you the "whole Arma2 thing".
I can explain this because (fortunally for me) a friend of mine bought OFP:DR (not so fortunate for him) and he borrowed me so I played a bit with OFP:DR so I can say that I know both ArmA2 and OFP:DR.
For starters, I want to say that I agree with Magnum, ArmA2 is so superior to OFP:DR that there is almost NO point in posting here what are the advantages of ArmA2 compared to OFP:DR since it would take many, many pages to describe those same advantages. But neverthless I'll post a few:

- Starting with the most obvious one - Graphics! The graphics in ArmA2 are definitly superior to the OFP:DR ones. Anyone who says otherwise must either be blind or suffers severelly from his/hers eyesight. Curiously the graphics in OFP:DR kinda reminds me of the graphics in M1 Tank Platoon 2, but of course with modern day technology. The graphics in OFP:DR lacks color and texture quality and even the 3D models look poorer when compared to ArmA2. Of course that OFP:DR runs faster (higher FPS) and it's setting can be maxed out even in "moderate" systems but that's IMO a "normal" thing since OFP:DR graphics are inferior to the ArmA2 ones.

- The AI in ArmA2 may have some quircks but it's light years ahead from the OFP:DR. For example, in OFP:DR the AI accuracy is so lame that if you keep sidewalking the enemy AI will never hit you! Hell, even if you don't move the enemy AI in OFP:DR rarelly hits you. And the rare times that the AI in OFP:DR hits you simply get a "wound" 99% of the times.
I think this video CLEARLY describes how lame and weak the enemy AI accuracy really is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB3beipbwx4&feature=player_embedded

- The fact that the OFP:DR AI is weak (specially it's accuracy) and the fact that you almost never die with one shot, in conjuction with Co-Op tether and tiny 2Km/2Km Team versus Team maps, makes both realism and freedom of movements (which IMO, both are closelly related) much inferior to ArmA2.

- ArmA2 allows you to mod almost every aspect of the game. Heck, some guys are even making the OFP:DR map (Skira island) for ArmA2!! Look here (nota that's still a work in progress):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wkvk0xiob0&feature=player_embedded

- Honestly the only thing that I liked in OFP:DR and which I prefered to ArmA2 but curiously I have NOT seen anyone talking about it (at least much) are the tanks, where in OFP:DR if you aim to a target and press the right mouse button the distance to target measure appears in the bottom and the tank gun automatically elevates so when you take a shot, the tank round will hit the target.
Unfortunally this GREAT feature has some bugs in where the right mouse button not always seems to work and it seems that there aren't any tank missions (where you play as a tanker) in the game (unless someone makes one in the editor).

That "PR" of mine? what exactly are you trying to say? Quite frankly, don't #%&*$# question my integrity. Get a bloody life mate, it's a game. You like one game, I like another. What is so messed up in your little life that you feel the need to try to persuade me that you're right and I must automatically be wrong? Jeez.

Cheers, will do. I tried it briefly at the weekend, seemed a bit better. But then NHL popped through my letter box and I've been playing that non stop:)

You might be right on the bit about getting off on a bad foot with it. I'm still really enjoying OFPDR though:)

I tried the ARMAII demo and didn't care for it at all.

I guess we should have our personal dislikes shoved down our noses here until we finally relent. That always works.

I tried the ARMA II demo, too. I didn't care for it, either. The sound is still not all that good and the AI is, by turns, as freakishly stupid or clairvoyant as ever.

I am not a real MP kind of guy. I am a SP kind of player, and I keep waiting for a decent shooter to come along that features good AI and that isn't Call of Duty-esque.

Question about this game: Does the SP campaign have ANY sort of replayability value?

pfunk

PFunk, just as in GR Original, OFP, and ArmA1, there are already a ton of SP (and MP) missions and snd several campaigns, add ons, new islands, tons of weapon mods, sound mods. Specials Forces, SEALs, you name it, if it isn't already over at Armaholic on their extensive download pages, it will be. So replayability is the hallmark of this one as well as the other harder core tac sims - thanks to the many devoted modders in these communities. IMHO, some of the user made campaigns and many of the missions are much better than the stock in most of the tacsims.

Pfunk, aside from the different difficulty levels, the SP campaign allows for trying different tactics during missions - provided you can stay within the time parameters. Plus the mission editor isn't too difficult to get your head around.

Give it a try if you can. I honestly doubt you'll be disappointed, especially as they're going to support it with a lot of DLC.