Arma 3 and DayZ types Bohemia Interactive are working on Arma Tactics, a new game that cites Jagged Alliance and X-Com as its key influences. It’s currently expected to release on Nvidia’s Steam Big Picture Mode-compatible handheld device Project Shield in the Summer, with a “potential” release for PC Mac, and Linux planned for Autumn.
Arma Tactics will take “the finest assets” used in its parent series and combine it with “the best from games like Jagged Alliance and X-COM”. That means turn-based, close-combat strategy in command of a four-man strong Special Forces team.
Bohemia are adopting a player choice-first approach which promises “no given strategies, rails to move on, or paths to follow”. We’ll have the option to combat a range of enemies – from “unorganised local militia to smart and skilled mercenaries” – with either stealth or the lack thereof, using both basic and advanced weaponry.
Arma Tactics will feature a story-driven campaign, as well as generated missions with randomised objectives. Characters will collect experience as they move through the campaign, upgrading weapons and unlocking special equipment as they go.
On the Shield, as we’re apparently now calling it, the game will make use of both the device’s gamepad controls and its touchscreen capabilities. It’s not clear how that functionality will be adapted for the PC, if indeed it is at all. But this is no low budget affair – Bohemia are incorporating realistic animations courtesy of expensive mo-cap tech.
Lookee here for screenshots and a bullet-pointed feature list. It all sounds very promising, wouldn’t you say?
Thanks, Gamasutra.