The game’s HUD provides limited information on suppression and stamina, plus a small minimap and useful tactical overlay to get your bearings.

Speaking of tanks, the full 3-D interiors are impressive and very immersive. The game supposedly features destructible buildings, but I’ve only seen tanks occasionally take out small chunks of walls you can’t, for example, shoot out a wall or use explosives to create a new access point, which is pretty disappointing. You’ll rarely find an empty room, and this goes a long way into making Red Orchestra 2 feel like it’s taking place in a real location. The maps are quite detailed, with plenty of objects in reach room and destruction already in place: holes in walls, piles bricks on the ground, trenches. Smoke is impenetrable, providing excellent cover for advancing troops. Watching bullets impact a wall is also neat. The weapons are detailed and seemingly realistic in their designs, and tank rounds glow as they soar through the air. The gore effects are nice when grenades are in use (limbs go flying), but a bit understated when headshots are involved (no chunks of flesh). However, there are some instances of clipping into objects and other soldiers that detract from the realism of the title. The soldiers of each side run differently, too, which makes them a bit easier to distinguish at range (Russians always grasp their weapons with both hands).

Its starts with the character models, which are detailed up close, complete with all of the objects real soldiers come into battle with (hanging grenades, shovels, etc). Red Orchestra 2 uses the third version of the Unreal Engine with decent results. Does this sequel deliver the goods for both the realism fanatic and newcomer? But, there is always room for one more, as Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad hopes to offer an update to the mod-derived hardcore shooter, where realism is chosen above the arcade concessions found in other shooters. The glut of online shooters have moved into modern times, seemingly fed up with the grand wars of history and the untold millions of computer games covering the era. If that doesn’t make you quiver with excitement…well, that’s understandable. What say you? This World War II first person shooter sequel retains most of the realism of the original with some tradeoffs to make it more approachable, but it is painful offline and not totally ready to be released: 6/8 The Not So Good: Terrible AI, lack of polish, small maps and quick respawn times reduce tactical flexibility and increase stalemates, no accuracy penalty for aiming while standing, limited dynamic building destruction The Good: Authentic weapons and ballistics emphasize cautious movement, intuitive cover system, useful suppression, range of realism settings, detailed environments and tanks Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad, developed and published by Tripwire Interactive.

Is red orchestra 2 dead 2019