Armed Assault is a military-fetishist's fantasy. Sticky copyright problems mean creator Bohemia Interactive - developer of soldier simulator Operation Flashpoint - can't call the game Operation Flashpoint 2, but that's exactly what it is. Only better, more ambitious and much, much bigger.
As a grunt in the US Army, you're sent to a remote island as part of a peacekeeping force. You spend your time slugging beers and attempting to keep the island's two factions from blasting the hell out of one another.
After training up the southern militia to protect itself from the larger, more organized northern army, the mainstay of the US force heads off, leaving your battalion behind as a rearguard - which is the cue for a tricksy mass assault by the northerners.
In a mix of first-person shooting and base-camp strategic action, your band of soldiers joins forces with the southern army and prepares to repel the surprise invasion - on a terrifically huge scale.
The island is 250 square miles of fully explorable terrain, and you can battle across every mountain, village and rolling field. Each mission takes place on the entireisland, rather than in a particular section of it, so there're no restrictions on where you can go during the skirmish.
You start the conflict taking orders and achieving objectives set by your commanding officers. Armed Assault isn't very forgiving, and it's a one-shot-one-kill business. Moving sensibly through hard cover is your best hope of survival. It's harsh, but the heightened danger makes it all the more satisfying to swiss-cheese your opponents.
