Arma 3 S.O.G Prairie Fire
I am sure we all have heard of the Vietnam war in the 60’s and 70’s between the American marines, South Vietnamese, ANZAC’s and the north Vietcong (NVA north Vietnamese army). this DLC is the perfect way to experience what the soldiers experienced 50+ years ago but in this it is just the Americans unless you want to play as the NVA.
This game’s map is exceptionally large about 300 km2 complete with hand-painted billboards, posters, new buildings, trees, objects and over a thousand terrain assets, Cam Lao Nam provides an unforgettable sandbox for all your Arma adventures, but it is not the largest map in a computer game, that would be No Man’s Sky map which is about 31,7000,000,000,000,000,000,000 km2. The Cam Lao Nam map is set around Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City which ever one you would prefer to say. The coolest thing about this DLC is that it is told through the eyes of soldiers who were there because this is produced by the soldiers. The codes word prairie fire used by MACVSOG to identify recon ops into Laos (previously known as Shining Brass). it was also used by helicopter pilots flying in support of SOG’s recon if a team was in imminent danger of being overrun or was compromised and on the run – the exfil of SOG-assets in an emergency.
There are many dangers to look out for, so you do not just need to be worried about the NVA. There are booby traps such as spike pits, snakes and snipers and will get terrifying at night because all you hear is crickets. I know that does not sound scary but when you hear a mine, or a gunshot you will jump out of your seat. Not only that but one of campaign missions is where you play as a tunnel rat clearing out the NVA tunnels armed with your flashlight and trusty M119A1 pistol as you navigate them, but you still must watch out for booby traps.
I would say that a lot of the content in this DLC is historically accurate there might be a few less traps than there were but other than that the game looks great. The weapons look great, and the map is well done.
Gameplay is incredibly good. It is smooth though it might be a little janky in some places. The AI can be a bit weird at some points such as sometimes you are trying to be sneaky and then they would open fire on you (another thing that can make you jump). There are a lot of times where you are just waiting around for a truck or a three-man patrol, so it can get a bit boring but there is time compression, or you can just be patient. Even though it is a bit boring at some spots when you finally go in combat it is intense and since you go with barely any ammo you really must conserve your bullets. The helicopter controls are not the best and take some getting used to. I found taking off and flying about easy, but landing is a little trickier, but it is fun to be the gunner while doing ground strikes with an AH-1G cobra and as the side gunner on a Bell UH – 1 Iroquois or Huey. The only fixed winged aircraft is the F-4 Phantom II. But did not explore the planes at all.
The play time of this DLC depends on how long you want to play it. the campaign takes about an hour, but if you want a long campaign play the East Wind in the base game that will take 10 – 20 hours to complete. There is not a lot of content if you want to play solo, so it is recommended to play with a few friends.
In update 1.1 we now see a whole new battlefield as you can play as the new navy seals in the Khn Sanh map which is about 225 km2 and featuring 2.7 million trees, buildings, and objects from S.O.G. Prairie Fire Creator DLC, this large map is partly topographical and partly designed for gameplay. It features realistic scenery for Vietnam War fighting in Arma 3 with towering hills and deep valleys surrounding the Khe Sanh Combat Base. Some of the new weapons that have been added to the game in clued the M1A1 and M1928 tommy gun, M63 variants, MPU submachine pistol, Vz.61 machine pistol and the Mk 1 underwater defence gun. Some more vehicles have also been added this includes 4 civilian cars and a variant for M151 jeep which adds the TOW missile system. There is now some more character customization to help you stay hidden and look like a navy seal.
Now remember to pack bug spray, plenty of ammo, a spare pair of pants and watch out for snakes.