Arma 2: Army of the Czech Republic

Written by Travis Huinker on 11/6/2012 for PC  

The Army of the Czech Republic add-on for Arma 2 from Bohemia Interactive introduces an assortment of new units, vehicles, and weapons that are all  taken from the modern Czech Armed Forces. In addition to the units and vehicles, a single-player campaign consisting of 15 missions is included with the add-on. As most Arma 2 players are either occupied with the popular DayZ mod or waiting for next year's release of Arma 3, the Army of the Czech Republic is a most curious add-on in terms of its unexpected release.

The Czech Army content consists of an assortment of new ground units including soldiers, cars, trucks, armored tanks, helicopters, and planes. Each of these unit groups include both a desert and woodland camouflage variant, which are marked as such within the editor. The various soldiers include the basic Arma 2 types ranging from scout to sniper, but each is outfitted with new modern weaponry in both their primary rifle and secondary pistol. The weapon models in particular are highly-detailed and much improved over the default Arma 2 content. The selection of modern weaponry is also astonishing with rifles such as the CZ 805 BREN, CZ Scorpion EVO III, and CZ 75 PHANTOM, all of which are quite accurate and deadly.


The most entertainment to be found from the add-on is with the new selection of vehicles. The L-159 Alc aircraft and Pandur II armored vehicle are two of the most noteworthy included with the add-on. James Bond fans will recognize the L-159 Alc as it's similar to the aircraft used in the opening scene of Tomorrow Never Dies. The aircraft is an absolute thrill to control especially when engaged in dogfights. The Pandur II armored vehicle has a wide assortment of weaponry from machine guns to missiles that result in quite a powerful foe on the battlefield. Fans of the editor will be delighted with the new add-on vehicles as their perfect additions for creating scenarios or insanely-huge battles. I was able to bring my computer to slideshow frame rates a few times while testing out the new content, primarily as a result of me spawning far more than the recommended amount of units.

Most of the new environments are cutouts of already standard Arma 2 maps, which was rather disappointing to discover recycled material. Each of the new environments are used for the Army of Czech Republic single-player campaign. Players of past Arma games will already know that completing missions are often a frustrating challenge due to the series' difficulty and waypoint glitches. The add-on campaign introduces a few new interesting concepts such as a water rescue mission, but most players will likely curse in frustration as their entire squad is killed from an unseen enemy. Players that have both the patience and determination will surely find something to enjoy with the new missions, but most will opt to create their own mayhem and entertainment within the editor or by going online for some multiplayer scenarios.


If you've been looking to add an assortment of new and interesting content to your Arma 2 experience, Army of the Czech Republic will undoubtedly satisfy your hunger for more military simulation goodness. While the single-player campaign still contains the often frustrating difficulty of past Arma games, Army of the Czech Republic adds a variety of new units, vehicles, and weapons that are perfect for use in custom scenarios and battles within the editor. Fans new to the Arma 2 series will want to begin with the base game before expanding into the various add-on content. Series veterans and editor enthusiasts are sure to find something in Arma 2: Army of the Czech Republic that will keep them occupied until Arma 3's release next year.

Arma 2: Army of the Czech Republic is available now through digital retailers. The add-on requires Arma 2: Combined Operations.