Overhyped before a disaster of a release, No Man's Sky became notorious for being bad. Now, with updates, it is finally beginning to show us what it was always meant to be.

This is No Man’s Sky, or One Man’s Lie, depending on whom you ask. Before release it was heralded as the rebirth of the space sim genre, a game where people could get together and explore the massive, procedurally generated galaxy in the hopes of reaching the center and discovering its secrets. The reality was not so good after release, however. Lack of multiplayer, bugs galore, and the communication blackout from Hello Games drove the community into an almost frenzied rage against the devs.

Yes, there were a lot of things that were promised were not delivered, but they did deliver a few things that made the core of a good game.

Now the game has been updated a few times and I’m beginning to see the game that was promised in the development stages. While it still has a long way to go to recover from the terrible launch, I would recommend this game to anyone looking for a less hardcore space sim than Elite. I gave it a second chance and was not disappointed by the updates from the devs.

Chances are that if you are looking to buy this now, you were never on the hype train, so give it a shot, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

The current gold standard for Military Sims, Arma 3 is impossible to beat in terms of magnitude and realism. With it's community ranging from mil-simmers to zombie hunters, you'll find your niche.

My thoughts:

General: Easy to learn, difficult to master. Arma 3 is a great simulation with a few flaws that can be expected when running a sim at this scale.

Graphics: The graphics are very good, weapons, units, and vehicles are very nicely detailed. Terrain and structures are a bit more simple, but still nice. Lots of options to make the game run well and look amazing. However, due to the sheer power needed and the eccentricities of the engine, this game will teach you that you CAN play at 20fps when you are having a good time.

Difficulty: This is a bit more difficult to address in a game like this, since it is hugely variable. Online, difficulty will obviously vary based on the skills of your opponent. The AI in the campaigns can be brutal. Most casual fps players will probably not like Arma AI, since they are fairly lethal no matter the difficulty setting, and no health regen or other things like that can lead to some very frustrating experiences for players used to such things.

Controls: The controls can be a bit overwhelming at first. There are a number of pages of kebinds that do many different things, depending on whether you are on foot, or what kind of vehicle you are in. The best thing is that ALL of the keybinds are customizable, so you can set things up to cater to your needs. It has support for a gamepad, if you want to use one. (I personally use one to fly, but not for anything else.)

Story: The campaigns are good, with an interesting story, if you have the skill and patience to get through them. Also, with Zeus mode and workshop support, you have an almost endless supply of custom scenarios to play solo, or with friends.

Overall, Arma 3 is a great game that I cannot recommend enough, I love it. While it does take time to learn all the little things to make you a great player, it is well worth it. Remember, this is the game series that kick-started some of today's biggest games, like DayZ and PUBG.