Installation and Requirements
This review is based on the UK (English) import of the game, which was v1.04 at release. Within a couple of weeks the v1.05 patch was released for all versions. So the majority of this review is based on v1.05 of the UK import. Atari is the US publisher,and the American release is due out in May 2007. When it’s released, I will do a “re-visit” review for those who decided to wait.
The game arrives in the typical DVD package that I prefer over the American boxes. It fits on one DVD, comes with a 40-page instruction book, and a command list card.
The minimum requirements for the game is a 2GHz CPU, 512 MB’s of RAM, a video card that supports Shader Model 2.0 (not the 3.0 that’s required by some other newer games) with 128 MB’s of video RAM, and approximately 3 gigs of hard drive space. But like most PC games the recommended requirements are usually the must have to get much enjoyment out of the game. The recommend requirements for Armed Assault is a 3GHz CPU, 1 GB of RAM and a video card that has 256 MB’s of video RAM.
Yes it’s true, you need a pretty good machine to run this game. I’m glad. I believe in making games for the current high-end or near future systems. Most tactical minded gamers have a decent machine with enough power to run their favorite games with a good balance of detail and frame rate.
My system specifications are listed at the end of this review. I run all my games at 1024x768x32@75MHz, with 4x anti-aliasing I have been averaging around 40 frames per second overall. Depending on location and activity, the frame rate will go from 20 to 60 frames per second. Not too bad and definitely do-able for my needs.
Installation was easy. Put the DVD in, it auto starts, click install. It takes up about 4.6 GB’s of hard drive space. During installation, you’re asked to type in your key code. SecuROM is used as copy protection for the v5.05 UK import version.
You start the game and a nice menu screen appears. Your version number is on the bottom left. You should already have a profile named after your computer. You can click that to change, add, or delete a user profile. You then want to take a visit to the options screens. The typical options are available — video, audio, game play, and control windows. You have a lot of key commands to deal with. Keys for infantry, vehicles, and air units. Not a problem, but for us left-handed players, we usually have to do a lot of reprogramming and re-learning of the keys. But a game like this needs all those keys and commands in this virtual battlefield.
Click here to view samples of menus and information screens in Armed Assault.
