Genre: First-Person Action/Shooter | Developer: Tripwire Interactive
Publisher: Tripwire Interactive | Platform: PC
Players: 1 Local/64 Online | Rating: M (Mature)

If you think about the state of the FPS genre, you’ll notice that it hasn’t changed much. The last FPS that innovated on the old formula of “shooting dudes with guns” was Half-Life 2 with the Gravity Gun and an amped up physics engine, and that was seven years ago. Nowadays, the genre is focused on multiplayer, modern-military-themed thrill rides that are filled with red dot sights, health regeneration, and tons of paid DLC.

But here we have Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad, which at first glance doesn’t look any different from the norm—multiplayer-centric, World War II setting, and first-person shooter released in 2011. Actually playing it, however, will give you a completely fresh take on a stagnating genre, revealing many of its charms and subtle gifts through interaction.

Red Orchestra 2, at its heart, is a multiplayer game. Yes, there is a single-player campaign—two of them, in fact. But don’t let the word “campaign” fool you, because the “campaign” is nothing more than the multiplayer maps with bots. There are some neat cinematics between missions that give context to the actual battle of Stalingrad, but they don’t give a compelling enough narrative to really make you stick with it.

Regardless of the lack of story or characters, the campaign serves as a great tutorial on the mechanics of the game. It’s more of a training ground for your eventual foray into multiplayer. You’ll learn how to shoot different weapons (bolt-action rifles, SMGs, LMGs, pistols, etc.), and each weapon feels different thanks to the ballistics system. No hitscan or any of that weird bullet drop from Bad Company 2: the weapons in RO2 shoot like the actual weapons they’re depicting.

"Come on, you apes! You wanna live forever?"

The amount of detail on your weapon is painstakingly deep, and Tripwire goes so far as to offer adjustable sights on rifles, interchangeable barrels for LMGs, 3D scopes for sniper rifles, and more customization than you ever thought possible. The list is seemingly endless. Basically, these guns shoot good. Real good.

Now, this game isn’t just all about how you can hit a Soviet Conscript with your Kar 98K at 200m. It’s about doing that while there’s an entire war going on around you. Red Orchestra 2 is set on the brutal Eastern Front of World War 2: the Battle of Stalingrad, specifically. This theatre was the most massive, brutal, and destructive of the Second World War. Millions upon millions died in what’s pretty much considered the prime example of total war on a grand scale.

So, does RO2 give you that feel of being in a gritty and massive war zone? Yes, actually, and does it rather well. Once you enter a server, you’ll immediately be greeted by the sound of combat. Rifles cracking, the staccato of machine guns, screams of men dying, booming of artillery. This is all coming from the players themselves, not stock background soundtracks. It’s really hard to describe whatever happens next in a review context, as it can be a completely random experience each time you play the game. The only way to really describe the gameplay is to just tell a story about what happened, like a veteran with his own war story.

Right as I spawned, I found myself with a squad of other German soldiers clearing out the first series of rooms in a wrecked train station. We got inside and captured the objective, but everything was suddenly quiet. Small pockets of fighting were still going on outside, but besides that, all we heard were our own footsteps and breathing. Dust fell from the ceiling as we made our advance into the station.

At one point while we were clearing a hallway, one of my buddies nervously said, “Keep your eye out for Ivan.” This wasn’t a player talking over a microphone, this was actually said by one of the German soldiers. The soldier you’re playing as and every other soldier around you will speak up with well-delivered lines that fit whatever situation: whether they hit someone, they’re pinned down, or even if they’re just reloading. You’ll even hear some disturbing last words when they die.

With those words in my head, we entered a foyer with a big staircase leading up to the second and third floors of the station. That’s when everything just went off. Out of nowhere, gunfire erupted from our front, up top. I saw two of my guys get cut down instantly, and the rest of the squad frantically scrambled for cover. They fired back with their bolt-action rifles, but those aren’t very good in these close-quarter situations. Luckily, I was the remaining Assault class alive for now, so I ran back with another a couple of fellow Rifleman and a Machine-Gunner freshly respawned by a Squad Leader. We went off and tried to find a way around the Russian defense.

If this was you WITHOUT a sniper rifle, well, you wouldn't see the end of this battle.

Here is where teamwork is essential in Red Orchestra 2. You cannot just go off and one-man wolf pack it like in Call of Duty or Bad Company 2. You must rely on your teammates and your teammates must rely on you. The team that wins a match in RO2 is the team that has the best plan of attack, the best unit cohesion, and the best tactical awareness.

Running around like an idiot and trying to quick-scope people will only get you killed numerous times. This ties in with how the class system works. The most common class is the Rifleman, and he’s equipped with your basic bolt-action rifle, a pistol, and two grenades. There are about eight other classes in the game, ranging from Assault soldiers with SMGs to Machine-Gunners, and includes Squad Leaders and the special Commander class. But these classes are very limited. For example, there can only be one or two snipers on your team at any given time, or six Assault guys, or three Elite Riflemen. You might feel this is unfair and limits player choice, but it doesn’t. It forces players to utilize what they have at their disposal to fight as a team to win.

And work as a team we did. We soon found that there was a series of windows that led to an open courtyard on the other side of the station. At the other side of the courtyard was another branch of the station, but that was well behind the next control point. As we vaulted through the windows, we set about our plan of attack: the Machine Gunner would stay at the window to give us covering fire, while the Assaults made the first advance, with the Riflemen behind them.

Right as we made our advance, fire erupted from the other side, claiming a couple of our boys right in the open. Our friendly Machine-Gunner opened up on the series of opposing windows, making tight bursts across each one. We all dived on the ground and tried to keep out of harm’s way while our Squad Leader frantically threw a smoke grenade to cover our position. At the same time, he marked that side of the station for an Artillery attack. Our team’s Commander was more than happy to oblige.

The Commander class in Red Orchestra 2 is kind of a meta-game in itself. While other classes are meant to directly engage the other team, the Commander’s job is to coordinate every squad on the battlefield, direct them with orders, and call in support when needed. To do this, he needs to use the handful of radios that are placed on specific positions on the map. While he’s on a radio, he can do a number of things: he can call in a reconnaissance plane that detects any enemy position that isn’t in a building, he can order a force respawn to bring reinforcements more quickly onto the field, and he can call in artillery support.

As for the last option, there are three kind: mortars, artillery, and rockets. Mortars are smaller, more dispersed explosions that are meant for hitting any infantry in an open position. Artillery are normal cannons that are generally all-purpose. Rockets are faster and meant for fortified positions.

Everyone together now!

It was rockets that our Commander sent to pound that particular wing of the station. A very fast whooshing noise accompanied the rapid explosions against the walls. After the dust settled, we charged into the building as our soldiers yelled battle cries. The Assault wave, my part of the team, hit the building first, spraying MP-40 fire into the windows and climbing in, clearing out the resistance. Our fellow Riflemen joined us, bayoneting any stragglers.

With a couple of other squads that had pushed through the lobby earlier, we started capturing the second point. Everything was an almost literal wall of noise, with gunfire, grenade blasts, and men yelling and dying combining into a cacophony of war. Finally, we pushed the Russians back. We still had a long way to go through the station, but getting through this defense was a victory for the team in itself. With teamwork, cohesion, and a degree of luck, we defeated a superior defense.

And then a bullet from a Russian hiding in one of the many corners of the station hit me in the head, killing me instantly. Such is life (and death) in Red Orchestra 2.

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad offers one of the most unique experiences in FPS history. Amidst a wave of FPS games that try to emulate the Call of Duty formula, Tripwire has stuck with the unique blend of realism and large-scale war that they started in Ostfront 41-45, and they’ve taken it to another level. With the amount of upcoming DLC (all of it being free) and the major developer-backed mods in the works, Red Orchestra 2 is the FPS of the year and by far one of the most refreshing first-person shooters since Half-Life 2.
 
- 9 / 10
 
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is currently available for the PC platform via Steam as a regular edition for $39.99 or Digital Deluxe Edition for $49.99. The Digital Deluxe Edition includes two bonus characters for Tripwire Interactive’s The Killing Floor (currently available for $19.99) and two hats for Valve’s free-to-play Team Fortress 2.

Disclaimer: A digital download of this game was provided to The Gaming Vault by the publisher for review. Due to unforeseen technical difficulties on behalf of the reviewer’s gaming PC, this review could not be posted closer to release date as had been planned, and as such, we apologize to the publisher/developers and our readers.