A vast plain, wind whistling across it, and a target eight hundred meters out that nobody else has spotted.

On few votes, so take this with caution, a shape is already forming. The early duels place it strong on attachment, ahead of more than eight games in ten, and solid on the idea of the game you'd take to a desert island or start without being able to put down. Where it slips is on art style and soundtrack, fairly low, below average. No brutal tension here, just the logic of a military simulation: you bond with it for the freedom and the longevity, not for the postcard looks.

Against the snappier, more scripted shooters, Arma 3 plays a different tune. It's the sandbox, the editor, the endless scenarios. What makes it great isn't what the questions about mood or art direction measure, it's the tactical depth and the time you sink into it.

So, who's it for? For you if you love losing hours in a military sandbox, tinkering with your own missions, playing patience over reflex. Much less if you want a game that floods your eyes and ears from the first minute.