Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad

 PC
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 49 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 49
  3. Negative: 1 out of 49
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  1. Machinima
    Sep 22, 2011
    40
    I can appreciate the goals and gumption of the game's small development staff, but the game is just painful to play.

Awards & Rankings

73
#73 Best PC Game of 2011
20
#20 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
28
#28 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

User Reviews

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User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 771 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 490 out of 771
  2. Mixed: 138 out of 771
  3. Negative: 143 out of 771
  1. neomatrix248
    Sep 13, 2011
    10
    Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is a refreshing change of pace for the FPS genre. It brings the genre back to it's 2000-2005 roots toRed Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is a refreshing change of pace for the FPS genre. It brings the genre back to it's 2000-2005 roots to the WW2 era, and merges it with today's technology to provide an authentic, immersive, beautiful experience. This game plays differently than your popular shooters like Call of Duty and Halo, so it's not for everyone. It's definitely catered to a more hardcore audience than most mainstream titles, but still offers game modes for gamers with all tastes. The combat in this game is fast paced, but realistic. There are minimal hud elements, like no crosshairs for instance. Weapon aiming is quite unique, too. Weapons don't shoot in the center of the screen, but rather the weapon moves with the mouse until you get closer to the edge of the screen, when your camera will shift. For anyone who's played the Arma series, the aiming is similar to that. Weapon and bullet physics are also very realistic. Firing SMGs in more than 4-5 round bursts will make it impossible to hit a target further than 40-50 meters away. The game also features a full ballistics simulation. Bullet drop and travel time must be taken into account when shooting.

    The game features HUGE maps with up to 64 players. The vehicles in the game feature full 3d-modeled interiors, where players must realistically navigate the inside of the vehicle to move to each position. No more instantly teleporting from the driver seat to the machine gunner seat, for instance. Vehicles also feature realistic damage models. You can take out a tank's engine by hitting it with an armor piercing round, or even kill the gunner with a well placed shot to the gunner's seat, rendering the tank useless until another player takes over the position.

    The graphics and sound design are all top notch in this game. The performance was a little shaky in the beta, but in just two weeks time they have greatly improved framerates and reduced lag. Red Orchestra 2 is a must have for anyone who is a fan of first person shooters who want a more authentic experience than mainstream shooters will give you. It is a game that game developers should take notes on when designing games in the future. Tripwire Interactive put a lot of hard work with limited resources into this game, and the result is something extraordinary.    … Full Review »
  2. Poerisija
    Jun 20, 2012
    8
    Fixed hit detection and renewed playerbase - worth the money now. New maps are needed, but community is making them with SDK and TWI hasFixed hit detection and renewed playerbase - worth the money now. New maps are needed, but community is making them with SDK and TWI has promised new maps and tanks. Lack of content is my only gripe left with the game - and that's after 200 hours of playing.… Full Review »
  3. DEnglish
    Sep 18, 2011
    4
    The combat is fierce. The avatar weapons are very well done, it feels authentic. Cover and mantling is very good. The maps are detailed, andThe combat is fierce. The avatar weapons are very well done, it feels authentic. Cover and mantling is very good. The maps are detailed, and offer plenty of dramatic play. The fundamental offering of WW2 combat is met, which gives HOW hope for the future.

    Where HOS falls down is in leaving the realism genre for an arcade offering. More accurately, it tries to straddle the fence, and predictably, slips and nuts itself with a leg on either side. In trying to please both, HOS pleases neither the realism crowd, nor the arcade crowd.

    HOS incorporates all of the tired features of the successful shooters: recon planes, mini-maps, radar, automatic reloading, leveling, and skill grinding. By doing this, it is competing against the biggest gimmick shooter companies. It will lose. TWI does not have the resources to compete on the disposable game market. Therefore, the arcade shooters attracted by bells and whistles will move on to the next game, leaving RO standing in its present state before the realism audience. This will be a dire moment.

    An example of one of the gimmicks that are not innovative and that get old quickly is the canned voices. The voices are cute at first, but soon get tedious, as they become the same thing over and over again, or give one away as they are trying to be stealthy. The unintended side effect of canned voices is that players are left unable to communicate effectively about the battlefield. This is an example of a major re playability error. Much more attention should have been given to what players want to say, not what the software is programmed to say.

    The more a game plays itself, the more disposable it is. The more a game needs to be played, the more it will endear itself to the community that made RO successful. Canned voices is one example of the game being taken away from players.

    That the game lacks any real historical context is another glaring fault that will affect it's long term chances. The maps start and stop with no contextual background, no information on the units fighting, where they are, or why they are there. There is simply a side start screen, and the map starts. An arbitrary battle that ends in a tired theme song and another canned voice. Modders and map makers will want to tell the story of their contribution. In its present state, HOS is arbitrary in its context, and repetitive in its presentation and conclusion of the map.

    HOS destroys Fog of War with recon planes and maps showing enemy locations. This type of feature firmly implants HOS in the genre of disposable game. The realism community requires the puzzle of combat, the arcade crowd required targets presented at a fast pace. When the arcade players move on, HOS will stand before the realism faithful as a redundant, self-playing game. There are numerous examples of this effect. HOS should have taken advantage of the void re: realism shooters, and entered the game world defiantly, with a solid, realistic game. Instead of blinking-lights, TWI should have focused on features that would make the game dynamic for years to come: flamethrowers, spreading and persistent fire, in-game hero effects, player placed MG positions (not the forever frozen ones it has now) and any other of a myriad of potential things that the scenario of Stalingrad combat gives. HOS should have stood firm on the requirements of realism shooters. The response to "I don't know where my enemies are" should not be "Here is a radar". It should be "listen to the battle, you will learn".

    It will be very interesting to see where HOS goes from here. The bugs and balance issues will be fixed. What remains to be seen is how the game will rebound from the inevitable disposal it will face, and what the realism faithful will decide to do.    … Full Review »
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