I play DayZ, and I find it enjoyable. Depends on what kind of person you are though, some hate it - some loves it.
I'd be happy to show you around ArmA and DayZ, just add my Steam (id: theshredinator)
And to be able to play DayZ, you'll need combined operation (pack of ArmA 2 + Operation Arrowhead), while you can get it to work with ArmA 2 Free, it's highly recommended not to.