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Red Orchestra Review April 17, 2006 |
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Summary: A symphony of death rolls across the steppes of eastern Europe, played by the Red Orchestra... yet we find some instruments could use tuning.
 Overview | Page:: ( 1 / 4 ) |
Sounds great, right? In fact, for the first little while I was enthralled. Tanks have multiple positions that do have to be manned to be useful – you cannot drive and fire at the same time, as with Battlefield games. Each crew in the tank also has at least one other position or view – so the driver can choose to sit back safely from the view slit, lean forward, or pop the hatch and enjoy a panoramic though rather dangerous view.
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There are only about a dozen maps, but these tend to be fairly large and detailed. Red Orchestra also has more vehicles than we’d expect. The Germans have a half-track, Pz IV F2, Tiger, StuG III, and Panther, while the Russians have a similar array of T-34s, IS-2s, BA-64s and others. The game even comes with rather incompetent bots. Though based on the excellent UT bots, my experience with them has been less positive – they clearly didn’t adapt well to the different style of vehicles, for example. This may have something to do with the complexities of understanding whether a gun can penetrate a tank at a certain range and angle, rather than the standard UT hitpoint formula. Then again, that’s really no excuse for a tank to drive around while spinning its turret all the time, ignoring targets.
Weapons selection is fairly standard – Mosin-Nagant, K98, MP40, PPSh, and so on. Perhaps what’s exceptional is the oddly abundant number of pistols, especially on the German side, but really, who plays a game for the pistols? Aiming down the sight is considerably more important than in other games, and that includes the Call of Duty series.
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In an attempt at being realistic, bolt-action rifles require two-click operation. One click of the button shoots, and a second click is required to reset the bolt in place. It’s one of those decisions that seems cool, but generally makes no sense. It adds unnecessary clicking and for most soldiers, training taught them one smooth process for aiming, firing and cocking the bolt. In Red Orchestra, the second-click becomes automatic for anyone who’s played the game more than ten minutes and consequently, it really adds little. There’s not much skill involved, though with perfect timing you may be able to get an extra shot or two off per minute relative to someone who’s being careless.
Red Orchestra promises realism and it generally delivers. It’s much more realistic than any World War II shooter out there, but not all of that is good. Take uniforms and terrain as an example. RO has plenty of cover – grass, hills, nooks and crannies in the terrain, fences and crops – and it’s all very dirty, smudged. If you thought picking out a friend or foe was difficult in some of the darker Call of Duty or MOHAA maps, you’ve seen nothing yet. With haze, dirty ground, fences and foliage obscuring the view, picking off someone at long range with a rifle can be risky business – for your score as well as theirs. While players are generally conscientious about not team-killing on purpose, I have never died quite so often to friendly fire as in Red Orchestra. This may be due to the fact that I tend to lonewolf and can often be found on the enemy’s side of the map, but the lack of distinction among uniforms – realistic or not – is what makes me a victim of friendly rifles.
| Gameplay | Page:: ( 2 / 4 ) |
On the other hand, RO gives realism in ways that the standard grognard’s game at the moment – World War II Online – doesn’t. The terrain is far better obviously, with much more cover for infantry and armor. The maps may be smaller, which is a shame, but they’re large enough to offer some room for maneuver. There are spots that certainly favor armored vehicles and they tend to camp out there – but again, given the nature of World War II tank warfare, this is perfectly realistic.
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An interesting touch is that while one person can run a tank by himself, he cannot run all positions by himself at the same time. This means that if you jump in, you’re driver by default and you can move the tank. You can switch instantly to the gunner position, but the tank hits the brakes and comes to a dead stop – you cannot control the vehicle any further, nor even merely roll forward. A similar situation goes for the gunner – you can fire a shot, but if you switch away to another position, there’s no one in the gunner spot to reload for your next shot. You must actively sit there and wait as the gunner, not moving the tank, until the gun reloads. It provides some interesting tactical options – do you run for cover, or do you hope you can load a round before your enemy does? Or, - God forbid - do you take one of the simians on the public server into your tank as a crew member?
As a consequence of these gameplay decisions, Red Orchestra does play out fairly realistically. Unlike the Battlefield games, there are fairly clear lines of battle and no enemies spawning behind you just because they captured a flag thirty seconds ago. Objectives tend to be captured in some fashion resembling order – perhaps you may rush up a bridge and capture both sides of a river before securing your own side all along the river, perhaps not, but there’s little incentive to rush behind enemy lines since spawn points are fixed.
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Yet, that seems to be the problem. Maps and plays tend to be fairly repetitive, yet they’re not fast enough to compare to Call of Duty or Counter-Strike. In CS or CoD, you get the feeling of trying to cut into someone’s OODA (observe, orient, decide, act) loop. The maps are small enough and fast enough, with fewer options so it’s a matter of understanding your opponent and thinking ahead. In Red Orchestra, the maps are large and expansive, and while the objectives may be clear and limited, there is too much openness for that kind of mind game. It’s like the difference between playing basketball and football – both are team sports, but football is clearly more so. There’s less room to stand out in Red Orchestra, and that’s not necessarily good gameplay.
The game fits ideally into this intermediate role, where it provides more realism than most games, and more teamwork, but also less intimacy. That may be the problem though; while I can happily find a niche in PlanetSide or in previous versions of World War II Online, and while I love the intimate battles of Call of Duty, RO is stuck firmly in the middle. I’m neither likely to be a potential hero with a stunning last-second wipe-out of the other team, nor am I allowed to simply pick my favorite toy and while away time – the pressure to contribute is too great. In short, RO reaches far to achieve realistic gameplay and tactics – as far as any small-server based game could – but this strained, median dynamic is too ponderous for quick action and too fast for finding a niche.
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| Ballistics Report | Page:: ( 3 / 4 ) |
Pros
Sound
The sound effects are excellent, from guns to tanks.
Maps
While there are few maps, they are done very well and none stand out as stinkers. The maps are large, detailed and flow well – at least as well as can be expected given gameplay rules.
Realism
Though I’m not a fan of some features, like two-click rifle firing, Red Orchestra generally delivers the right amount of realism.
Cons
Confused gameplay
Red Orchestra is not as intense as CS or Call of Duty, or as chaotic as Battlefield, nor is it truly tactical like MMO FPS games are. Instead, RO straddles the uncomfortable middle, never quite delivering what we expect.
Dwindling community
The game was intensely popular when I first played it, but recent weeks have shown signs of fading interest, leaving generally the hooked newbies and the old guard hardcore.
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| Final Verdict | Page:: ( 4 / 4 ) |