Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad
Developer(s) Tripwire Interactive
Publisher(s) 1C Company
Composer(s) Sam Hulick
Engine Unreal Engine 3[1]
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release
  • NA: September 13, 2011[2]
  • AU: September 15, 2011
  • EU: September 16, 2011
Genre(s) Tactical shooter, first-person shooter
Mode(s) multiplayer

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is a World War II-themed tactical first-person shooter video game developed and published by Tripwire Interactive. It is a sequel to Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45. The title focuses heavily on the Battle of Stalingrad.[3] The game was released in September 2011.[2] The developers have stated that the game is a Windows exclusive and have no plans to bring it to consoles. The game contains many new features, including a new first-person cover system combined with blind firing, first person collision detection, as well as an entirely new system of statistics tracking and player development.[4]

Gameplay

Red Orchestra 2 is a realistic first-person shooter. Guns behave realistically, with bullet drop and spin taken into account. The game also takes away many of the elements of a traditional HUD, like an ammo counter, forcing players to remember, or manually check, the approximate number of rounds that are left in the gun's magazine. When reloading a weapon, the character checks the weight of the new magazine and determines if it is heavy (full or close to full) or light (empty or close to empty).[5] The game's first-person cover system allows players to hide behind all objects in the world to avoid gunfire. While in cover, players can peek out to take more accurate shots or fire blindly. However, the shape, size, and composition of the object changes its effectiveness at protecting the player. Smaller objects may not cover the player's entire body, and some may not stop bullets. Health does not regenerate over time or by use of medical equipment, but non-fatal wounds must still be bandaged so no more health is lost through blood loss.[6]

There are tanks in Red Orchestra 2. The interiors of each tank are fully recreated with either a human or AI manning each station. The level of detail was described by Tripwire's president John Gibson as rivaling or exceeding tank simulation games.[7] Because of the extensive work required to recreate each vehicle, which Tripwire estimates to take three months each, the game launched with two tanks: the German Panzer IV Ausf. F2 and Soviet T-34. In April 2014 the Game of the Year addition was released with a new game mode search and destroy, new maps and two armored personal carriers were added into the game for the German and Soviet sides respectively. These are the German Sd.Kfz. 251 and the British Universal Carrier with a mounted DT machine gun used by the Soviets.[8] These additions gave infantry more protection and a quick alternative for moving around the battlefield. Two more tanks, the German Panzer III Ausf. M and the Soviet T-70 along with the MG42 German machinegun were added in the Armored Assault free DLC.[5]

Development

In June 2011, Red Orchestra 2's developer, Tripwire, announced they would be taking an aggressive, three-pronged approach to proactively deal with cheating. Red Orchestra 2 would be using a combination of three anti-cheat services; VAC along with Punkbuster and a related service called PBBans.[9] Server operators can choose to use any or none of these services. Tripwire later clarified that Punkbuster for Red Orchestra 2 will have three levels of protection so server operators can optionally make it more or less aggressive in kicking players.[10] A Beta was initiated early on the development process with several phases. First, the Family and Friends Beta for family members and friends of the Tripwire Interactive staff. Then the Beta moved on to include long time clans from Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 and clans new to the game. After this stage, the Beta was opened for anyone that had pre-ordered the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game, which gave the added bonus of participating in the final stage of the Beta.

Mods

Some mod teams were given early access to the Steam Development Kit (SDK) and have been developing mods. These mods include Heroes of the West, set in Western Europe during the campaigns of 1944 and 1945,[11] and Aufmarsch: The Great War 1914-1918, which includes maps set on both the Eastern and Western Fronts of World War I.[12] There is also the CGT mod that adds classic gametypes such as Capture The Flag and Search & Destroy to the game. The full SDK was made available in January 2012.[13]

The SDK has allowed modders to create many custom maps for the base game, for Rising Storm, and for the game's mods. These maps expand the variety of locations represented in game, adding battles in places like Ukraine, the Caucasus, and various Pacific islands.

Music

Composer Sam Hulick, one of the principal composers for the Mass Effect series, was chosen to score the game.[14] The game features dynamic music system, which will cue different music depending on the state of the battle. The Russian and German sides have their own separate soundtrack.

Rising Storm

Rising Storm was released on May 30, 2013. An optional Digital Deluxe edition is available, and a Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad ownership bonus discount of 25% are available on the Steam store. A 15% preorder discount was also available. Owners of the original Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad received free access to the rifleman class, whilst buyers of Rising Storm were given the original game as well.

Rising Storm features in context of the Pacific war between the U.S. and Japan. Both sides have distinct weaponry and abilities so as to create an asymmetric gameplay. The Americans have access to high firepower weapons such as semi-automatic rifles, machineguns and flamethrowers. The Japanese are instead equipped with bolt-action rifles, hand-held mortars, mines, katanas and the ability to banzai charge: causing the enemy to be suppressed for the duration of the charge.

A sequel, Rising Storm 2: Vietnam, was released in May 2017.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic76/100[15]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid8/10[16]
Edge7/10[17]
GamePro[18]
GameSpot7.5/10[19]
GameSpy[20]
GameTrailers7.6/10[21]
IGN8/10[22]
PC Gamer (UK)78%[23]
PC PowerPlay8/10[24]

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Overview - Red Orchestra 2: Heroes Of Stalingrad". Tripwire Interactive. Archived from the original on April 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "RO2 Release Date delayed 2 weeks to 13 Sep 2011". Tripwire Interactive. August 8, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  3. ↑ Breckon, Nick (May 4, 2009). "Red Orchestra Sequel to Feature First FPS German Single-player Campaign". Shacknews. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  4. ↑ markeedragon (September 28, 2010). "Red Orchestra 2 Detailed Gameplay - Interview with John Gibson". YouTube.
  5. 1 2 Porter, Will (March 29, 2011). "Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad (Preview)". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
  6. ↑ Lahti, Evan (January 11, 2011). "Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad hands-on". PC Gamer UK. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  7. ↑ Smith, Quintin (September 2, 2010). "Red Orchestra: Heroes of Stalingrad: Vehicles". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved July 3, 2011. Beyond this we have added a whole new level of functionality and interaction to the tanks. The first thing that we’ve done is what we call a virtual interior. The player can actually look around in the interior and very easily interact with the interior. Want to look out of a view slit, just look at the slit and press a button. Want to stick your head out of the hatch, look up and press a button. It is all very streamlined and allows the player to do a lot of things but very simply. We’re actual giving players very near to a tank simulation’s level of functionality, but streamlined so it is easy to use and accessible.
  8. ↑ "Rising Storm "Game of the Year" Edition Now on Steam!". Tripwire Interactive. April 23, 2014.
  9. ↑ Wilson, Alan (June 21, 2011). "RO2 Anti-cheat". Tripwire Interactive. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  10. ↑ "PBBans supports Red Orchestra 2 (Page 3)". Tripwire Interactive. June 20, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Heroes of the West Steam Store Page". Steam. March 23, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Aufmarsch: The Great War 1914-1918 Steam Workshop Page". Steam. March 2, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  13. ↑ Wilson, Alan (January 10, 2012). "Full RO2 SDK now available – and updates!". Tripwire Interactive. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  14. ↑ Wilson, Alan (June 10, 2010). "Composer Sam Hulick chosen as Heroes of Stalingrad Maestro". Tripwire Interactive. Archived from the original on July 5, 2010. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  15. 1 2 "Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  16. ↑ Derocher, Joshua (September 19, 2011). "Review: Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad". Destructoid. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  17. ↑ Edge staff (September 21, 2011). "Red Orchestra 2 review". Edge. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  18. ↑ Zacny, Rob (September 21, 2011). "Review: Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad (PC)". GamePro. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  19. ↑ Todd, Brett (October 21, 2011). "Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad Review". GameSpot. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  20. ↑ Ring, Bennett (September 14, 2011). "GameSpy: Red Orchestra 2 Review". GameSpy. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad Review". GameTrailers. September 28, 2011. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  22. ↑ Onyett, Charles (September 21, 2011). "Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad Review". IGN. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  23. ↑ Smith, Graham (December 25, 2011). "Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad review". PC Gamer UK: 64. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Review: Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad". PC PowerPlay (196): 42. November 2011.
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