Red Orchestra 2 : Heroes of Stalingrad is a grand return to the series for Tripwire Interactive. They set out to push what they had already established as a hyper-realistic tactical fps set in the WWII era, and damn if they didn’t get close to a perfect product. Not without a slew of bugs and upcoming patches, DLC and re-coding, RO2 hit Steam and brought a rare genre of game back out into the world with a new face and some new tools in the toolbox. But is this game a hero among the rubble fighting for a good cause, or a soldier running head long into MG fire screaming against on overwhelming sense of standardization?
One Shot, One Kill
Let it be known that this game is about as far away from “pick up and play”able as I can think. The amount of depth and detail that went into the maps and character interaction is astounding and this by far is the core of the game immersion that has me coming back every day so far. The fine detail that comes with a minimal HUD system in order to make up for the lack of info is incredible, and really adds a layer to the FPS genre that I haven’t seen since playing STALKER in HUD-less mode. And even then it was only a fraction of the way to the level of interaction portrayed in RO2. If I wasn’t counting shots and wanted to check my ammo, I hold in R and actually check my clip as opposed to having to change clips during tight situations. When I’m in a vehicle, I’m actually in a vehicle. I’m not a disembodied head floating behind it to see whats up. I’m not just a single view point on the map, barring the main gunner position. I’m part of a crew working in unison to make the iron behemoth move. I’m a driver, checking out gauges and listening to his commander’s direction. Or I’m a gunner. Using the MG or main cannon to bring down terrain and suppress the enemy. Or I’m the commander himself. Barking orders to everyone below because I have the best view of the battlefield through armored glass. Every now and then, if I’m feeling brash, I’ll pop my head up out of the tank to get an unencumbered view of the world to make sure I’m not missing anything, only to duck back in to keep stray bullets from killing me. In the heat of the battle maybe my driver takes an armor piercing round to the chest through the front plating. While my crew-mate pulls his body out of the chair I take over and try and escape this tense moment before I give a repeat performance to everyone inside. Turning over my shoulder to ask my commander for direction only to find out he took an anti-tank rifle round to the face through one of the armored glass panels. In that moment I can give up, or become a hero. Escape with our lives and return to exact revenge on my enemy.
It is those tense moments that prevail through the gameplay in RO2 in both single player and multiplayer. Hugging some rubble with your comrades, not knowing what lies beyond. Bullets incoming from all angles. In that chaos you can find a moment of epic-ness, right as the bigger guns are stuck reloading, letting out a burst of blind fire over the top of the cement and re-barb shield you’ve been using as your squad runs to higher ground to try and cover your escape. I could go on with what I’ve taken part in over only a handful of hours with Red Orchestra 2, but I feel the full effect of these moments will be lost on people who didn’t take a part in them. That and these moments are actually kind of rare. Though the canvas presented by Tripwire is vast and incredible, it seems that the people using it only know one way to apply the paint.
All For One…
I imagine in extreme conditions, like the one portrayed in Red Orchestra 2, people with common goals and common enemies who stand against a powerful foe find a sort of connection between each other. A comradery that runs deeper than the very blood that flows through each and every one of their veins. This doesn’t come through all to well in a community of people out to be the lone wolf and not really care about victory conditions. Its a problem that I see in so many objective based games. I saw it in BFBC2, Brink, Quake Wars, Wolfenstein ET, Space Marine, and even as far back as Counter-Strike. Just people not caring about the team side of the game and going for their goals alone. A lofty K/D ratio. In the several maps I played online in RO2, all I found were tanks that wouldn’t leave spawn points for fear of anti tank rifles. Soldiers who all picked rifles and sat in the windows of non-objective buildings looking for kills. And of course the griefers who would sneak behind an enemy spawn and mow down soldiers as they re-spawned. Objectives would go uncaptured for the bulk of the fight just so everyone could rack up kills on the one or two people who actually tried to play the game. Eventually I was forced into that roll as well, seeing as how my commanding officers refused to through down smoke bombs as they were all too busy sneaking in for another round of spawn camping. I would spout commands using the built in wheel only to be met with either silence or a bunch of denial of orders in chat. Maybe as clans begin to move in and take over competitive play, most of this will be done away with, but I have found that most clans tend not to stay in games filled with still prevailing bugs.
That means Tripwire needs to have those sorted out within a short window of time to appease these highly competitive people, and I hope they are able to. I really do. I have already chosen to vote with my dollars and not purchase Battlefield 3 out of protest. With all the toys that RO2 brings to the table, I could easily see it as a proper replacement, but first it needs to meet a standard of programming that surpasses the bugs I ran into for the few years in which I played Killing Floor. New maps and weapons and all that is great, but I need to know that when I get into a server my chance of a game breaking bugs occurring is next to nothing. Right now I get frame drop every time an enemy enters my field of vision. By the time it goes away, I’ve already missed my shot and he has lined his up to take me out before I can retaliate. I would suffer through the excessive lag in Space Marine’s multiplayer well before dealing with that again.
The Good. The Bad.
Its always surreal to me to have an issue with a community over the game being played. I remember the times when the game alone would be at fault and you could wag your finger at the company and be certain of the blame. How do I feel about RO2? I don’t really know. I love its visuals but I hate that, even when I turn them down, I still get frame drop during different situations. I love the things that can be done in battle, but I hate the people that I am fighting along side. I love the single player story. I hate how dumb the AI is most of the time. I love the idea of what RO2 could be. I hate where it is now. But with such effort already put into the game I think the “what could be” will match up with the “what is”. I truly hope this will happen sooner than later. I don’t think too many people will wait around for the concept to become the form. At least not the people I would want to team up with to journey through hell and back. I feel that Tripwire is on to something. I don’t feel they are all the way there yet. But I know they are trying. Working themselves to the brink of insanity in order to make this vision of combat perfection into a stable environment for people to experience the very comradery that comes from these hypothetical situations. I would like that.
Pretty good review. I’m glad you realize there is a lot of “bad” going on here. The bugs and graphical flaws are almost at the point I’m going to try and get a refund. They are very much on to something here, but they aren’t and I suspect they tried to get their money before they have no chance when BF3 does come out. I purchased this game because the original RO was SO realistic and I hoped this would be the same. For years when I’d delete stuff to make room, RO would make the cut. However this game does not deliver at ALL thus far and should not have been released.
Keep up the honesty though. I’m glad this isn’t another review where the author raves about the promises Tripwire made and forgets that they didn’t deliver on most fronts. Too bad you’re protesting BF3 though, would be nice to play with you sometime!
Good review. I’m sure I won’t buy the game now. Not because of the bugs, because I’m so sick of “lone wolf” players in other games. Team work is essential on the Battlefield and to see a game expecting tactical coordination without somehow enforcing any teamwork will pretty much result in a Sniper War type of result. Currently in BFBC2 80% of the time Armor rolls out without a MGer. Helicopters fly without door gunners. In the end they are less effective in their capacity to wage war. No one cares. Maybe hard core clans will execute the team work angle, but often they are so hard core more casual players can’t hang. Tripwire might introduce configuration that forces teamwork during play, but so far developers are satisfied that their games fall apart due to lone-wolfs.