A Preview of Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45
by Strag; images by Tzefanya
Introduction
I've been playing multiplayer games since the original DOOM came out in 1993. At about the same time, I became a student of World War II history. Occasionally those two hobbies have intersected, but not like the intersection at which I've found myself with Tripwire Interactive's
Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45. This is a game steeped in World War II history and anchored in realism.
What to Expect
When making the leap into
Ostfront, the first thing I experienced was frustration. I quickly found that there is a fairly steep learning curve in this game, but not because of the level of complexity. In fact,
Ostfront sports a nicely streamlined control system, requiring relatively few key bindings compared to other similar games. No, for me, the learning curve was proportional to the game's possibilities.
To put it succinctly, I was overwhelmed by the tactical and team play possibilities
Ostfront threw at me. Here is a game that has finally figured out how to take the "rambo" type player out of the equation. Lone wolves will get practically nowhere in
Ostfront, but those players who work as a team will achieve much. Moving in formations, providing covering fire, flanking, clearing buildings in teams -- these things are all possible, if not necessary, in
Ostfront.
How it Works
Ostfront supports 16-player vs. 16-player action on large maps, all of which focus on various battles that occurred on what most Westerners know as the Eastern Front of World War II. On these maps, the Soviet Red Army squares off against the German Wehrmacht, with each side attempting to control various objectives. Some maps involve holding a large open field or a village, while others involve the destruction of a certain object or building. Each side is afforded a certain number of reinforcements, and once those reinforcement have run out, no more players may spawn for that side.
Maps are divided into three general types. One type involves action only between infantry forces. A second type involves action between infantry forces combined with armored vehicles. The third type involves action mostly between tanks, although other armored vehicles do sometimes figure into the mix. So far I have enjoyed the infantry maps, but the armor maps are where
Ostfront truly elevates itself.
Armored Combat
Ostfront boasts about 14 different armored vehicles, many of them tanks. So far I've done battle in a Tiger, a Panther, a T-34, and an IS-2. Without a doubt, this has been some of the most thrilling action I've had in armored vehicles in a game. The vehicles are all modelled after their real life counterparts, with details like speed, armor thickness, and the look of the gun optics recreated in superb detail. Even the projectiles fired from the guns are based in reality, with gravity, velocity, and ballistic coefficient all having an impact, so to speak.
The sounds of the tanks are very well done. Tank cannons produce
BOOMS that can be heard all around the battlefield, and the
CLANG of a tank projectile bouncing off of armor is chilling. Being caught on foot in the middle of a tank battle is like being a small child caught in the middle of a sumo wrestling match; you really get the feeling that these vehicles are heavy, lumbering beasts capable of incredible firepower. Tanks are able to fire high explosive and armor piercing projectiles, so both infantry and armor are susceptible to their might.
Infantry Combat
Infantry combat in
Ostfront is intense. Because it is rooted in realism, the game features infantry weapons that accurately reflect the weapons of the period. As such, a single shot from a rifle to a player's head or torso is almost always an assured kill. Players can't expect to take three or four hits from an enemy's rifle and survive. Also, since there is no system for healing, once a player is wounded, he
stays wounded. Taken together, these factors require that successful troop movements involve caution.
Ostfront features several different infantry classes, including a basic Rifleman, an Assault Trooper, a Combat Engineer (he who handles explosives), a Sniper, a Machinegunner, and a Group Leader. Depending on the map, only certain infantry classes are permitted, and typically only a certain number of those permitted classes is allowed. A major key to success is learning how to organize the various available infantry classes into an effective team, and then applying sound tactics as a team to achieve objectives.
Conclusion
I have the privilege of playing as part of a fantastic community that thrives on tactics and team work in its games. It is within this community, I think, that
Ostfront will really shine. Indeed, the game's emphasis on tactics and team work has already stemmed lively conversation on how best to organize players effectively within the game. I have no doubt that within the first few weeks, we'll have established protocols for creating formations, moving across the maps, and engaging the enemy. I'm looking forward to it!
Screenshots
Arad
Königsplatz
Stalingrad Kessel
