The 9th Company

[MeatEtr]

Has anybody seen this film? Here's the trailer:

It's based on a small group of Soviet soldiers during the 1979-1989 Afghan war. It was just released in DVD/Blue Ray on Aug 31st. It gotta 73% over at RT but that's only from 15 reviews.

It's in my Netflix blue-ray queue but the ship date is unknown, probably since it's foreign.

[hcrof]

I liked it from what I remember. It is basically aping the classic Vietnam movies but it is a solid war film. I would say that it offers an interesting perspective but from what I remember they really just dressed up the grunts from Full Metal Jacket in Soviet uniforms. FMJ was a good film though so it is difficult to go wrong with that formula

Hopefully however, it is the start of bigger things and we see more Russian war films in the future that ask deeper questions about the Soviet experience of the conflict.

Short version: it is no classic but you haven't wasted your money

[Amedeo]

Hopefully however, it is the start of bigger things and we see more Russian war films in the future that ask deeper questions about the Soviet experience of the conflict.

In my humble opinion the best film about the Soviet war in Afghanistan is still "Afghan Breakdown", despite it's nearly 20 years old.

[dima]

That movie is indeed good. What's more the events of that movie are well documented so hopefully someone will make a mission once CM:A is released.

[hcrof]

I actually have a copy of Afghan Breakdown, but no subtitles! And I had heard such good things about that movie

[Erwin]

Just saw a TV documentary on the situation and they had an ex-Soviet general as well as US researchers and politicians talking about the experiences from the 19th century Brits to current day. It really sounds like a hopeless mess.

Apparently, the current situation is so corrupt that only a fraction of the billions (someone estimated 3 trillion dollars) actually gets to the people re construction etc. Afghan spokesmen saying they don't want any invader there. And they are the best insurgents around.

I wasn't aware of the political situation that India supports Afghanistan as a way of squeezing Pakistan. Hence Pakistan often is highly motivated to help the Taliban and Al Q. In addition, the Pashtuns (sp?) have always lived as tribes all over the Pak-Afghan border and don't accept either govt as legitimate. The border was created by Imperial Brits simply as a convenient map marker of edge of empire. So, to the locals there is no border.

In brief that was the explnation why the Taliiban and Al Q can't be stopped. All fascinating stuff.

[AkumaSD]

Just saw a TV documentary on the situation

Do you remember the name of the show or the network it was on?

[tdogg]

There was also a low budge but not so bad RTS game that came out last year for pc called 9th company about soviets in afgan.

You can find it on steam if you so wish.

[Erwin]

Thanks but rarely enjoy RTS games - eg: am playing BF2 for a change in pace, but literally get a headache after an couple hours.

AKUMASD: I KNEW someone was going to ask and I had deleted the show. I think it was called "Rethink Afghanistan".

Actually, I just Googled it. Hope this is it:

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/02/27-12

[AkumaSD]

Actually, I just Googled it. Hope this is it

Excellent! Thanks for the reply.

I've been hitting ArmA 2 pretty hard lately. The new British content is fun to play with. BF2 has been continually installed pretty much since the day it came out :-)

[Erwin]

What is ArmA 2 about - a BF2 mod? And what do you like about it? (Will see if I want to try it?)

[MeatEtr]

am playing BF2 for a change in pace, but literally get a headache after an couple hours.

I'd be willing to bet it's the refresh rate. What kind of monitor do you have, CRT or LCD? If CRT than anything below 75Hz can give headaches, I play all my games at 85Hz. If LCD than I think the rate doesn't have to be as high, not sure though, don't own one.

I assume your talking about the new Bad Company 2 game. It's damn fun when playing on the hardcore servers. I can't stand the normal servers where it takes several bullets to kill. Also slows the pacing down too, less Rambo's running around then.

[AkumaSD]

What is ArmA 2 abou

I hope BF won't mind me promoting a different game in their forums but they're so different from each other I assume it's ok.

ArmA is a FPS from Bohemian Interactive. It's from the team that made the first Operation Flashpoint but NOT the disappointing Operation Flashpoint 2. Outside of the US the game is called Armed Assault and here in the states it goes by ArmA.

The game has a very steep learning curve. It's like BF2 in a way since you can run around as inf or jump in any number of vehicles. The game looks amazing if you have a PC that can handle the options turned all the way up.

I like to think of the game as an extension of CMSF sometimes since I can jump into some of the same equipment and drive it around myself. I've even tried creating a few CMSF maps in ArmA.

The releases are as follows...

ArmA 1 (Europe terrain)

ArmA 2 (Europe terrain)

Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead (stand alone expansion, Afghan terrain)

ArmA 2: BAF (expansion for the expansion, adds British forces and more Afghan terrain)

Check out the demo for ArmA 2: Operation Arrowhead. I'd be glad to go through some of the missions co-op with you. YouTube has tons of videos of people showing their maps and such.

The game has it's bugs and since it's not from a US studio it feels a little weird sometimes in the story/voice dept. It's super realistic and has a very large mod community behind it.

If you're stuck on BF2 I'd recommend checking out the Project Reality mod. Really changes the game for the better. I also play tons of Bad Company 2 but once I unlocked everything I don't find myself compelled to play as much.

[Erwin]

MeatEtr: Actually I am only going through the solitaire BF2 game not Bad Company. I rarely play these games, but have enjoyed the two WW2 RTS series games (whose names I have already forgotten). It's just nice for a change to fire and hear all those automatic weapons lol.

I have a pretty decent 30" Dell LCD giving me approx 2800x1800 @ 60Hz. Maybe I can get higher refresh at lower res. Is LCD at 60HZ a headache inducing res?

Akuma. Thanks for the info. I'll try it (one day). But RT multiplayer online scares me a bit as I am usually working at the same time, so PBEM or vs the AI is safer in case I have to rush off to do something productive (admittedly not too often). But, am just as happy booting up some golden oldies like Rome Total War, KOTOR etc.

Now I have a new powerful system I tried Flashpoint, which in the past was too demanding for my old system. But, was very disappointed with it, the way infantry moved etc. Seemed a bit like the "America's Army" thing where you would be running around like demented rabbits.

What can I say... I'm just old and joints have 2 much arthritis to do the wrist twitch thing.

[AkumaSD]

RT multiplayer online scares me a bit

Oh I'm right there with you. I rarely play ArmA online. 99% of the time I've spent with it has been in the single player campaigns and missions. It's definitely not a online/bots only type game. I consider myself good at the normal online shooters but the people who normally play ArmA online are super dedicated and routinely kick my ass. They also give people the option to play any of the campaign in co-op with friends which is pretty fun but I've only done it a few times.

Love me some KOTOR! Check out the new Total War trailers coming out of PAX in the last few days. Looks amazing!

[Secondbrooks]

I must admit that i liked the movie. I can't describe it more specifically what made me to like it. Those few books i've read from Afgan war from Grunt's view do correlate with this movie. So i dont' think it's Vietnam-themed, altought it has similar tone, but is clearly dedicated to Soviet military at the time and Afgan war, spiced with "Hollywood", but still it was nice to watch movie which was pretty ruthless to it's owns, maybe even too dramatic: Soviets did die in numbers (in far too high numbers from what i've read). usually in world of movies it's the opposite. The enemy, Vietcong, Germans, Soviets they all die in numbers, while "good" side is barely scratched.

Ofcourse i'm not expert and just few books which i barely remember doesn't make me expert on war in Afganistan.

[Erwin]

So ArmA is entertainling vs the AI? If so, I'll pick it up. These shooters are fun occasionally.

[born2lose]

So ArmA is entertainling vs the AI? If so, I'll pick it up. These shooters are fun occasionally.

Honestly!!! no its not the campaign is bugged to hell even after a load of patches not sure if the brit expansions improves it much, but this is a game thats really been developed for online play with single player given less priority.

And this is from someone who has logged 100's of hours playing this game I love it but only as an online game against other humans.

[AkumaSD]

So ArmA is entertainling vs the AI?

It keeps me entertained when playing offline. The Op Arrowhead demo has enough content to give you a good view of the overall game.

[MeatEtr]

I'll second that, ArmaII is still good against the AI. I mostly play it single player.

[cobra2001]

Saw the movie the rts game on steam is loosely based on the movie in that the background videos and stills in the briefing screens are from the movie and one character is in the game. The movie was good but the ending isn't accurate in fact it even prompted a developer to make a sorta educational fps about the true event but the fps is only in russian.

arma pubby gaming is not good if you want try tacticalgamer for a good public group as they are pretty good about teamplay not omg I has most kills attitude.

[Alex]

Here is movie how it was in real life:

http://video.mail.ru/mail/vladimir.bykov/135/150.html

Detailed chronology of events, unfortunately only on russian.

P.S. I will do a scenario about this battle.

[Waaarg]

Fixer made me sick, literally glad I watched it but it made me sick. Article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111963996

Is this the same Afghan Breakdown?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbMIj_jrYTw

And thanks for the movie recommendation. Looks a little cheezy but added it to Netflix basket, will watch it after I finish Lost.

[Stagler]

As off topic as this post is.

ARMA 2 is the best military simulator I have played since I bought it in 2009, and the expansion that came out this summer has only made that better. I have alternated between CMSF, CMA, ARMA 2 and Project Reality since september 2009 for the games that I play. All the best games in their own genres, milsim, strategy, etc. I would not perse class ARMA as a shooter as you can command a tank/tank platoon, fly an A10 running close air support, command a company etc. All within the bounds of a realistic gaming enviroment, unlike BF2 where you can jump from a tank into a jet, parachuting out into combat. The makers market it as a military simulation, of which it certainly is, at the personal level of you assuming the role of the soldier.

ARMA 2 has a mission editor, large expansive maps to create missions on, and has just the right balance of realism and fun, although if you want to ramp up the realism you can try the ACE2 mod.

The amount of mods and user made content for ARMA 2 is staggering, it really is, and it grows daily. As rightly said by some however, online gaming is best had when you are part of an organised group. Most online "squads"/clans assume the orders of battle and use the battlefield proceedures of the units they are emulating, and there is many different "squads" from many countries, ranging from armoured units to MEUs. I am in Task Force 86. The best part is the editor, as you can simply go into it put in a few platoons or squads and then jump in as one of those soldiers commanding the AI unit, or taking orders from the AI. You really have to try it to get it, and judging by the mature and realism minded people that grace these great forums, you will find it extremely enjoyable.

- Stags 2 cents about ARMA 2.

The 9th Company film was a good war film, along the lines of platoon or full metal jacket and it was well worth getting to watch on dvd. It also brought me into the area of interest of the Soviet Afghan war as I had not previously looked into the conflict.

The 9th company game on steam is quite good. It is more so a modification of Men Of War however as it uses the same engine and the gameplay is exactly the same. It does not follow historical scenarios but loosely follows the film and loosely follows some battles of the war, such as the Panshjir valley offensives. It is not a waste of 10 quid if you want something to do as the game is very challenging.

[MeatEtr]

Funny how this thread gets bumped right when it finally ships to me from Blockbuster online. Going away for the holidays so won't get to watch it until next week sometime.