When comparing Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes vs Arma 3, the Slant community recommends Arma 3 for most people. In the question“What are the best team-based games on Steam?” Arma 3 is ranked 4th while Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is ranked 27th. The most important reason people chose Arma 3 is:
ARMA 3 is built as a simulation-type game and features rather tactical gameplay with a slow pace. [The developers use real-life military weapons, equipment and vehicles](https://forums.bistudio.com/topic/125727-is-arma-3-authentic/). Even some of the environments in the game are virtually indistinguishable from their real-life counterpart. ARMA 3's gameplay also encompasses more than a regular first person shooter, as military tactics such as water attacks, giving orders to squadmates and drone strikes are necessary in order to successfully complete a mission. Elements such as destruction are extremely important, as certain specific parts of a vehicle can be damaged.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Hilarious situations arise as tension increases
Both sides in the game can not see what the other does, creating a situation of confusion that needs a good bit of team work. A ticking bomb adds the tension needed for players to spit out the first things that come to mind when describing strange symbols or patterns.
Pro Great for parties with friends and strangers alike
One person has the bomb on screen, and 1-5 "experts" need to consult the manual (either online or printed out). Thing is: the bomb defuser can't see the manual, and the experts don't see the bomb with its various modules.
The person who sees the bomb will have to precisely say what they see, and then the experts will frantically flip through the manual to find the instructions for that particular module. To succeed, you will all have to work together.
Pro Bomb defusal manual is easily accessible
The manual can be viewed as a PDF download as well as a static webpage, which gives easy access to any mobile device as well as PC. On top of this the manual can be printed out for those that would rather navigate tactically, which is often the easier way to go due to touch and ease of flipping pages (over a tablet or phone). Basically you are able to pull up the manual in any way you prefer, which requires little preparation, even on short notice.
Pro Great for quick games
Not a lot of setup is necessary, and a round lasts just a few minutes, so you don't need to commit to a lot of time before starting.
Pro VR minimizes cheating
The point of the game is that those with the manual are not able to actually see the bomb, this can be difficult to achieve when using a regular monitor to play the game, as someone could sneak a peak. Using a VR headset guarantees that no one with the manual will be able to see the bomb as it is only visible to the one wearing the VR headset.
Pro Best in class authenticity
ARMA 3 is built as a simulation-type game and features rather tactical gameplay with a slow pace. The developers use real-life military weapons, equipment and vehicles. Even some of the environments in the game are virtually indistinguishable from their real-life counterpart. ARMA 3's gameplay also encompasses more than a regular first person shooter, as military tactics such as water attacks, giving orders to squadmates and drone strikes are necessary in order to successfully complete a mission. Elements such as destruction are extremely important, as certain specific parts of a vehicle can be damaged.
Pro Huge open maps
As ARMA 3 is an open-world experience, singleplayer missions are not as linear and take place in the same map area as the game's multiplayer mode. There are a couple of different islands to explore in ARMA 3, including Altis which has a size of over 100 square miles (270 km²). Stratis is the smallest island in ARMA but is still respectable in size but 7.7 square miles (20 km²). A new map - Tanoa - is scheduled to be included in the paid Apex Expansion pack, with a size of 38.6 square miles (100 km²).
Pro Huge amount of mods and add-ons available
The modding community of ARMA 3 is quite large, with multiple online communities and free tools provided by Bohemia - the developers of ARMA 3. At the time of writing, there are 115 mods available on ModDB and over 23500 mods in the Steam Workshop.
Pro Steam workshop
So much content on the Steam workshop. You can get 200 GBs of mods in 2 days.
Pro No player limit in multiplayer games
ARMA 3 doesn't impose restrictions on its servers, allowing for a true sandbox experience with a large population. Battles can be fought with hundreds or even thousands of players; multiplayer warfare is definitely large-scale.
Pro Long single-player campaign
The average playtime for the single-player campaign (referred to as 'Main Story) of ARMA 3 clocks in at just under 20 hours, while a 100% complete playthough of the campaign averages 39 hours of playtime.
Pro Underwater gameplay
ARMA 3 features underwater gameplay with diving gear and underwater weapons. Underwater gameplay is noticeably different, because it uses a third movement axis.
Cons
Con Puzzles may become stale after repetitive play
Particular modules in the game may be seen after playing repeatedly, which will make for easier play and quicker puzzle solving. This will have a tendency to make the gameplay feel stale due to ones familiarity with the puzzles.
One example, is the Keypads module where the defuser will need to describe strange symbols. Part of the fun is struggling to describe something, or figure out what is being described and calling the other person an idiot for not getting it.
Con Morse code section difficult for those with dry or bad eyes
There is a morse code module section of the game that relays morse code through visual cues, in order to understand the code the player will need to not blink for 3 seconds straight. While for most players this is not an issue, those that have chronic dry eyes or any other condition that requires blinking a lot, the code will be difficult if not impossible to understand. An optimal solution would be a setting to change this to audio cues, but sadly that is not an option.
Con Number of players can determine whether you succeed or fail
Most modules can be worked on one at a time - you start describing one to an expert, and he replies right away telling you what to do. Some modules however require some time for the expert to decipher. For example, if there is just one expert and you get the Morse code module you are pretty much screwed as deciphering the Morse code takes a lot of precious time. If you had an extra expert, you could work on deciphering it while they worked on another module.
Con Controls are unique and can be a barrier
It's not as simple as ctrl for crouch. While many tactical shooters use a similar s=control scheme, ARMA takes a sharp departure from the norm. This is part of what enables it to have far more robust/tactical movement.
Con Steep learning curve
The tactical aspect of ARMA 3 is also portrayed in the somewhat difficult controls and steep learning curve of the game. For example, a lot of different buttons and keystrokes have to be remembered for all the different commands, equipment options and vehicle controls. There is no in-game tutorial, the only way to learn how the game works in by trial and error, a field guide or by using in-game hints. Tactical elements and strategies aren't explained in the game.
Con Framerate isn't consistent
ARMA suffers from some framerate issues, with very variable results in both single- and multiplayer situations. Often the game will perform well in multiplayer, while dropping down to a severely worse framerate in a single player mission. Similar problems occur vice versa as well, which results in a very inconsistent framerate.