Arma III Announced

In the gaming industry, "announced" usually means all the media outlets are bombarded by emails from the developers, in this case BIS (Bohemia Interactive Studio). By some magic, their website update came before the press releases. Now instead of being bombarded by the studios, they were bombarded by the public. Anyway, let's get back on topic. This game looks pretty awesome, here's a brief overview, “After years of intense warfare against Eastern armies, Europe has become the last stand for the battered NATO forces. On the verge of being driven into the sea, NATO command embarks upon a most desperate measure. In the hope of seizing what seems to be a well-guarded military secret, Operation Magnitude is launched. A small group of Special Forces and Researchers are sent to a Mediterranean island deep behind enemy lines.”

Nothing has been released in terms of technical details, but the minimum requirments are Intel Core i5 or AMD Athlon Phenom X4 or faster, Shader 3 graphics card, and DX10 support. Bohemia Interactive´s CEO, Marek Spanel, said: ”We’re happy to bring the next generation of the Real Virtuality engine to life. The increased potential of the engine should allow Arma 3 to become our best-looking, most detailed and innovative military simulation game to date.” His colleague, Ivan Buchta, Creative Director of Arma 3, added: ”Our ambition is not only to deliver the next generation of Arma with the improved engine, but also to fully exploit the potential of our new technology in the gameplay. You can look forward to the unique experience of blending sandbox-style combat with a rich story.” 

Overall, this looks like it will be a great game, with beautiful graphics and an interesting and open ended storyline. But we will have to see for ourselves when it comes out in 2012. 

Anyway, Here's a list of key features:

Single-Player Campaign – Evolve from a lone prey into a military commander in the open-ended & story-driven campaign.
Vehicles & Weapons – Control a multitude of aircraft, vehicles and ships with accurate simulation; shoot anything from pistols to sophisticated weapon platforms.
Physical Simulation & Improved Animations – Take advantage of PhysX™ supported vehicle simulation, in-game interactions and the revamped animation system.
Rich & Authentic Environment – Explore an unsurpassed military combat experience set on an authentic Mediterranean island modelled from real geographic data.
Multiplayer Gameplay – Experience both cooperative & competitive scenarios with the full support of dedicated servers for both Windows and Linux.
Completely Extensible & Moddable – Design & create countless customizable scenarios using the intuitive & easy-to-use mission editor.
Customizable Soldier Load – Choose your uniform; assemble your weapon kit; change your load-out; get loaded up.