Okay, that's not exactly what the developer is saying, but it's certainly implied. ARMA II, the sequel to ArmA: Armed Assault, released earlier this year with more than a few terrible bugs and glitches. While Bohemia has been releasing patches on a regular basis, I'd say the players still playing are definitely in line for some congratulatory downloadable content.

Patch 1.05 brings that content to players, with a brand new "Eagle Wing" mini-campaign that puts players in control of the new AH-64 Apache attack helicopter on a mission behind enemy lines. The patch also ups the scale of ARMA II's warfare mode with the "When Diplomacy Fails" game type, which allows for 3 sided diplomacy across all factions. Warfare mode is a combination of real-time battles and strategy, letting players fight on the front lines or issue tactical orders as a commander.

"At Bohemia Interactive we make a continuous commitment to support our products. This latest update 1.05 reaffirms our commitment to ARMAII2 and our community at large: it includes the free downloadable content as our way of saying thank you to all those who buy our games and provide us support and feedback from around the globe. We continue to be amazed by the many ways our community is constantly expanding on our game with add-ons, mods and usermade missions. With this level of continued activity surrounding our game it's our pleasure to be able to support it this extensively post-launch." said Marek Spanel, Bohemia´s CEO.

Patch 1.05 will be released later this month. Congratulations, ARMA II diehards. You've earned it.

Called Operation Arrowhead, it's set three years after the events depicted in ARMA II and takes place in an all-new region, the tastefully-named Takistan. Yup, an all-new region. Not new missions on an existing map, a whole new place to run around for ages in then die suddenly without warning.

That's about it for the info, because the game won't be properly unveiled until next week at Gamescom in Koln.

While the sequel to the spiritual successor of the original Operation Flashpoint hits Steam this week, many of us still prefer the unique smell of a freshly opened game box, and Got Game Entertainment has us covered. July 7th marks the date we'll be able to purchase the game in stores, because North America is all important.

"North America is one of the most powerful and important markets in terms of a game's marketing and distribution," said Marek Spanel, Bohemia's CEO. Spanel continues "We were looking for responsible and credible partners who will focus on ARMA II with the kind of drive and enthusiasm that this huge project deserves. We feel Got Game Ent. will be the right partner for us and I believe together we will make ARMA II a success in North America."

He's probably just talking about Canada of course, but those of us in the U.S. are used to riding them coattails by now.

They've got to be much too busy dealing with the sad situation in the fictional country of Chernarus, where Western forces have been called in to help quell a civil war, with the player first stepping into the shoes of a member of a U.S. Marine Corps Force Recon company. I suppose that makes it okay for Europe to get it first, as those of us in the states could just go enlist if we wanted a realistic simulation of the life of a Marine.

ArmA II, which I am dangerously close to just calling Armed Assault II because it sounds better, releases on Steam in North America on June 26th.

Those aren't scripted sequences. Or cutscenes. Or background objects. That battle going on involves hundreds and hundreds of AI soldiers going about their business, and you're just along for the ride.

ArmA II will now be shipping for the PC on the 19th of June, one full week ahead of the originally planned release date. For awhile it seemed like Codemasters' Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising and ArmA II would be hitting store shelves neck and neck, further fuelling the rivalry between fans who believe that Bohemia's games are the true Operation Flashpoint sequels and those supporting Codemasters' effort. The point is certainly moot now, with the delay of Dragon Rising separating the games by an entire season.

Consider this extra week icing on Bohemia fan's cake.

Either way, the screenshot certainly looks nice. Bohemia went out of their way to make sure we knew this was in no way doctored, though I suspect those logos might not make it into the final game.