Red Orchestra 2: Heroes Of Stalingrad
Summary
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad (RO2) is the follow up to Tripwire interactive's popular FPS Red Orchestra: Osfront 41-45. Red Orchestra 2 features a realistic ballistics firing system, bullet drop, realistic tank control and interior, and several other gameplay features that set Red Orchestra 2 apart from other FPS games. In RO2, players can chose to join the German Wehrmacht or the Soviet Red Army. Tripwire Interactive has realistically designed weapons in the game to look and act era appropriate, and realism is stressed in Red Orchestra 2.
Weapons
Bolt-action Rifles and Sniper Rifles
Machine pistols and Sub-Machine Guns
MP 40 Issued by the Wehrmacht and most major German military organizations to ground troops, naval infantry, paratroopers, and military policemen alike, the Maschinenpistole 40 was an open-bolt submachine gun most often seen on the frontlines of the Second World War in the hands of assault troops and noncomissioned officers. Firing at 500 rounds per minute, it was effective out to 150m. In-game,the iron sights can be adjusted to 100m and 200m. The MP 40 was well liked by its troops, generally reliable, highly controllable in full automatic fire, and accurate. The weapon does not feature a selector switch--fully automatic fire is the only option. The MP 40 fires the 9 x 19mm Parabellum round, better known today as "9mm Luger". This cartridge is still used today in many modern handgun and submachine gun designs for its good stopping power, with the invention of high-capacity 9mm automatic pistols during the second part of the 20th century further adding to its popularity.
An experimental version of the MP 40, designated the MP 40/II, is featured in-game, unlocked at weapon proficiency level 25. Designed to directly counter the Soviet PPSh-41's firepower and magazine capacity, the MP 40/II features a widened magazine well with room for two side-by-side 32-round magazines. When one magazine was exhausted, the operator could quickly switch to the second, with only a brief pause in firing. While sound in concept, the MP 40/II was plagued by reliability issues, and those who tested it found it unwieldy and forward-heavy. One benefit of the MP 40/II, which is reflected in-game, is that the dual magazine design results in additional weight, making an already controllable weapon even easier to handle when fired in long bursts.
In-game, the MP 40 is highly controllable, suitable and effective both in close-quarters combat and at medium range. In close quarters, however, its lower rate of fire makes the weapon less desirable in certain circumstances when facing the PPSh-41. The MP 40 is used by Squad Leaders, Commanders, Engineers, and Assault Troopers.
Rifles -Automatic and Assault
Machine Guns and Anti-Tank Rifles
Pistols and Grenades
Tanks
Gameplay
Territory
In the Territory game mode, players are attempting to attack or defend specific Objectives. Your Overhead Map or Tactical View will show you where the active Objectives are. Killing the enemy certainly helps, but the key is to pick an Objective to attack or defend as necessary. Players will respawn in waves, unless the Commander uses his "ForceRespawn" option. You will be able to choose which spawn location you respawn at or, if your Squad Leader is alive and in a safe location, you can choose to respawn close by his location.
Countdown
In the Countdown game mode, one side will start attacking, the other defending. There are multiple Objectives, to be attacked/defended in sequence - but both teams only get one life per Objective and there is a (short) time limit in which the attackers have to take the Objective. If the attackers kill all the defenders, or capture the Objective, within the time limit, everyone respawns and the fight shifts to the next Objective on the map. If all the attackers are killed, or the time runs out on any Objective, the defenders win; if the attackers take the final Objective, they win. In either case, the attackers and defenders swap places - and the side that defended first now has to try and do better! To give the attacking side a better chance, their Commander has 2 (and only 2) reinforcement waves he can use, forcing a respawn wave, so long as the Objective timer hasn't run out. These need to be used very carefully!
Firefight
The Firefight game mode is the simplest - the objective is to kill more of the enemy than they can kill of your team. There are no Objectives to attack/defend - just find enemy soldiers and kill them, before they kill you. You will respawn close to other soldiers on your team automatically, in a "safe" location.
Multiplayer Campaign
To expand on the 3 core game modes, there is an overall Multiplayer Campaign. In the Campaign, two sides can fight over the whole City of Stalingrad, divided into 10 Sectors. Each side starts owning 5 Sectors, with their strength represented by "Combat Strength". One side gets to vote to attack an enemy-held Sector, or to defend and force the enemy to attack. Defending can be risky - get it wrong and you lose a Sector - but may be necessary if you have taken heavy casualties. Each of the 10 Sectors is represented by one of the standard MP maps. Whichever side is attacking each turn gets to choose which game mode is played on each map. Whoever wins the map takes (or keeps, if defending) the Sector being fought over. But now, your casualties matter: your casualties are deducted from your side's Combat Strength. You will receive reinforcements dependent on the number of Sectors you now hold. Your Combat Strength is unlikely to go up - but you want to make sure the enemy loses strength quicker than you do! The winner of the map then gets to choose to attack or defend - so long as they have enough Combat Strength to attack at all! One side will win if it takes all the Sectors; if both sides' Combat Strength is too low to attack, the side owning the most Sectors is the winner.
References
The RO2 manual (work in progress)