Weapon 3: Western Sahara – -apkrig

The novelty moves Arma into the fictional future of 2036, specifically into the desert environment of Western Sahara, and is backed by the Rotators Collective team, whose most prominent face is the German author Stefan “Lexx” Keßner. He has a relatively successful single-player story mini-campaign Callsign Minotaur from 2017 and a weekly project Dunes (2019).

Welcome to the desert

The authors bring a new desert area called Sefra-Ramal, ravaged by fighting between pro-government SFIA troops and rebels, former nomads named Tura. While government units can be found in the OPFOR section, Tura can be found in all sections (OPFOR, BLUFOR and Independents), which makes it quite easy to use this faction in any scenario. Both factions have French as their default language.

The traditional BLUFOR is enriched by units of the UNA peacekeeping mission and especially by the employees of the ION company, which is an established and well-known brand in Arma University and made its premiere in Arma 2, specifically in the DLC Private Military Company from the end of 2010.

The map has an area of ​​one hundred square kilometers and consists mainly of a desert full of dunes, which is lined with roads of various sizes connecting various interesting places. Here you will find airports, military bases, checkpoints, mines, railways, smaller towns, even smaller villages and oases.

Unfortunately, traditionally in this cDLC you will find buildings that you will know from the original game and the Mediterranean deployment, which this time bothers you the least, but most civilian buildings will remind you of buildings from Takistan, Arrowhead maps for Arma 2. The recent conflict on the map is reminiscent of military wrecks vehicles or helicopters, as well as an abandoned CSAT base of unknown character.

Camels and mosques

In terms of other content, cDLC brings two interesting innovations to the game – one is a combat drone and the other is a portable decomposable shield in various camouflage variants. The cDLC enriched the overall list of weapons with four new pieces and returned the ZU-23 anti-aircraft cannon to the series.

Otherwise, the authors decided to use selected models available in the basic game, which adapted their camouflage for their needs. Civilians are present in the game in traditional clothes with different headgear in many color variants. The already rich list of cDLC objects expands by several thematic ones, which are able to give a more vivid impression to empty spaces and dwellings. The fauna of the game is then enriched by a one-humped camel, and several new ambient compositions suitably illustrate the more exotic atmosphere of cDLC, similar to the summoning of believers from local mosques.

In addition to relatively traditional, but not very interesting demonstration and training scenarios, Western Sahara also offers two racing challenges, including one with a “truck”. Another scenario is a remake of the still relatively popular King of the Hill game mode called King of the Dunes, whose community is made up of a narrow group of players, and this variant doesn’t seem to appeal to them much, because I didn’t run into the server during the first week. where this mode would be played.

Another, more interesting and not entirely traditional scenario is a cooperatively focused game mode for up to four players called Last Stand, which gradually sends Tura fighters, whom you have to face, to players in the skin of UNA surviving units.

How to save journalists easily and quickly

The last piece of content is the Extraction scenario, which for many is the main attraction of the whole cDLC. The script is playable in both single player and cooperative multiplayer for up to four players. It is a story mini-campaign set in an open world and using elements of random tasks or contracts. The recent scenario “Old Man”, which was a playable free addition for the owners of DLC Apex, will remind you a lot about its course.

In Extraction, the players find themselves in the shoes of ION employees with the main task of rescuing the captured AAN fictional war correspondent Michael Sully, who is being held by Tura rebel units. I have to admit that on the first pass, the script looks sophisticated, tight and definitely has its undeniable charm. You are given various, albeit quite traditional, tasks in which you are regularly called by the headquarters to search for killed insurgents and search for items (folders, cell phones, flash drives), which then in the base camp, on a simple percentage, indicate how far you are in gathering the required information.

Everything is compact, functional, fun and relatively exciting. But then suddenly, for me, unexpectedly soon, the last mission is called up, which can end in different ways. And it is your actions, not only in this mission, that will determine the content of the closing credits.

I guess I think that a well-coordinated group that omits some optional tasks will be able to complete the mission within two hours, but they have to reckon with the fact that the end is probably not one of the best. For the more satisfying one, you will need an hour or two extra.

The same is true if you decide to play in single player. In this case, the scenario will allow you to supplement the team with fellow fighters controlled by artificial intelligence, up to five members. You can then switch to them at any time during or after death.

In addition, Singleplayer is richer with a layer of worries about finances, which you get continuously by fulfilling contracts, but you also sometimes manage to find some roll of money with the dead insurgents. In the base camp, you can hire a replacement for the fallen team members, while the surviving comrades are able to gradually improve, which the mission presents by announcing an increase in the combat level of the contractor.

It is a bit of a pity that the funds were not used, for example, to buy equipment, because the classic Arsenal will open for you for a single flat rate, where you can choose anything you like. There is nothing stopping you from going on a mission in absolutely atypical clothes and with equipment that doesn’t fit into the game at all. In multiplayer, the Arsenal is available to anyone for free at any time.

ION has several vehicles in the base camp that you can rent. In addition, it offers an interactive choice of fast travel and artificial intelligence-controlled helicopter, which can easily determine where to land (with you or for you), where to circle, or to return to base. The mission thus tries to accommodate different styles of play and does not prefer any of them.

Today as well as yesterday

If you decide to try the proclaimed randomness of contracts, you will encounter certain limitations when playing again. The set of missions is fixed and your next course will differ mainly in the order and location of tasks. The mission basically has nothing more to surprise you with.

However, there is a time lag between missions, so you will play some tasks at different times of the day, giving you a much fresher impression. In addition, the location of the goals changes every time, so even if the scenario accidentally taps the same type of task in the same place, any target you are looking for will be in a different building.

In time, you will recognize the pattern of the enemy’s reactions, but I must appreciate that even if you estimate when the enemy’s announced reinforcements will arrive, at least they will not always choose the same direction. Unfortunately, this contrasts with the general behavior of artificial intelligence, which sometimes does not seem completely faithful and can break down a well-built atmosphere. The individual areas are crisscrossed by smaller units, one of which is able to shoot with you for half a kilometer, while the other, located within a hundred meters, continues to march in idle mode. But just the first bullet nearby and they suddenly go down your throat.

My attempt at a stealthy approach came to naught when I managed to sneak into the target tent on several occasions and quietly, unnoticed, hack the laptop there, and this task immediately triggered an alarm on all units in the area and also called for reinforcements.

Do you know it’s night, neighbor?

However, I definitely do not complain about the technical condition and I have to appreciate the lower complexity of the map and the well-optimized running of the scenario. In addition, it tries to create the impression of a functional world, so in the inhabited area you will encounter moving civilians and you will also notice civilian vehicles driving along the surrounding roads.

I also like, for example, the fact that civilians do not move quite logically here during the task of demining one of the villages. But it occurred to me that the system did not register the day and night regime much and had no problem letting civilians run around the village in the dark, in the middle of a deep night.

Here and there, the gradual generation of content fails, even in the form of a machine jamming in an obstacle, which is definitely not to please, especially with a single armored vehicle designed for defense. Just as it freezes the sudden generation of an enemy unit near the position of a comrade-in-arms.

Another minor shortcoming of the Extraction scenario can be considered by our locals as the absent localization into Czech. In addition, the script does not use the traditional radio protocol, but relies on the transmission of instructions only by voice and possible headlines.

Decent work without ambition

It can be seen that of all the cDLCs issued so far, Western Sahara is probably the least ambitious, which is basically attributed to a lower acquisition amount of 7 euros. The authors skillfully use the already available content, which they easily expand and enrich in the form of a smaller, sophisticated and functional package.

The biggest attraction is the new non-traditional environment with a successful map and a successful mini-campaign, the replay of which will probably entertain you, but it will not surprise you. If none of this appeals to you, then I would definitely not be in a hurry to acquire Western Sahara. Most cDLCs are gradually receiving content updates, and in this bit I’m probably most curious about what the new authors will come up with.