Surprisingly, at IgroMir there were some terrible problems with domestic projects. If we went to KRI and were glad that the Russian igroprom was alive, then in pavilion 57 of the All-Russian Exhibition Center we wanted to speak English and have nothing to do with those who create all kinds of rubbish like “Race on minibuses” . And at some second we saw a monitor, where a group of heroes with PPSh broke through the railway platform. Beautiful, realistic, spectacular. We immediately cheered up - is it really something of ours, dear? We watched the Friv game for a minute, rejoiced, and then realized that we had Red Orchestra: Heroes of Stalingrad... The spirit is absolutely Russian. But in fact - from the USA. Therefore, a little "offended for the power", but satisfied with what we saw at the stand, we went to get acquainted with the project and its producer personally, in order to tell you now everything that will be in the new "Red Chapel".
The first question we asked the producer of the project is how similar is the Friv game to the ArmA and Flashpoint series? Still, the developers constantly and tirelessly say that Red Orchestra 2 is a realistic action movie in which bullets fly correctly, people die quickly, and there is no hussars. Therefore, it is logical that we are trying to compare it with the main representatives of "adult" shooters.
It turns out that these militants have nothing to do with each other. They have two different approaches to realism. In ArmAemphasis is placed on the scale of what is happening. Huge map, long travels, waiting for twenty minutes. There was no such thing in Stalingrad - there was a battle for every house, they fired everywhere, blew up everywhere, buildings burned everywhere and people died. A real harsh battlefield, where thousands of people were killed. Therefore, the approach of the developers from Friv5Online Games Studio is different.
We are watching one of the missions. Russian soldiers on the second floor of a small house. Below are the Nazis. We need to break forward, kill everyone there and run to the station. Moreover, we are not fighting alone, it would be absurd - one in Stalingrad is not just a warrior, he is an insect - they would be crushed and not noticed. Therefore, Red Orchestra 2 is a squad Friv game. But we will talk about them below.
In general, we got the task and we run downstairs. There the Fritzes have already taken up defenses and are starting heavy fire. Whoever walked in front - almost certainly died. It is impossible to withstand several wounds in a row at once. Therefore, we immediately hide behind one of the plates and begin to fire from behind it. Here the producer of the project shows that the developers have decided to adopt the cover system from the console action movies. Now you can press just one button, and the fighter is pressed against the wall, hiding behind a table or something else that blocks the path of the bullets. And because of our miniature barricade, it is already possible to fire. Moreover, as an aiming one (then we need to stick our head out, look around), or at random - we raise the machine gun and simply fire at the enemies, a kind of gesture of despair when the enemies are sticking, and it is dangerous to rise even for a second.
The cover system is an ambiguous thing. We often scold those Friv games where it is. For a long time ago we were tired of just hiding and shooting. They clung to the wall, leaned out, three shots, ran to the next. Repeated a hundred times, passed the level. Boredom.
But, on the other hand, only a real system of shelters, when we press the button, and the hero presses against the object and begins to hide behind it, can really make the battles realistic. Agree, it's stupid when a soldier falls on his belly and rests his face against a concrete slab. And in many action films this is still happening. In terms of gameplay, it's pretty common, but if you look at it from the outside, it's still absurd.
But the developers decided not to use another now popular system. During one of the fights, the producer tells what happens if a bullet hits the head. And only he has time to say "... the hero will die", as some German, giving a turn, literally accidentally sends lead to the forehead of our soldier. The screen goes dark immediately. However, not only such hits are terrible. If the enemy shoots in the stomach, our protégé will live for a few seconds and then die. Injuries to the arm or leg are less dangerous, but if they did, they won't be able to fight normally. Accuracy will drop, you will move more slowly, and in general it will become more difficult.
They explain to us that there can be no question of any first-aid kits or, God forbid, regeneration. Even the system from the new Flashpoint, when the orderly could heal from any disease and take out even a kilo of lead from you in ten seconds, he will not appear in Red Orchestra 2 either . Here everything is more prosaic and simpler. There is death, painful death, and life with trauma ... until they are killed. By the way, after the hero is fatally wounded, you can become a little heroic: become a human shield, try to blow up enemies, or at least kill someone, proudly pulling his head out from behind cover.
However, unlike the same ArmA and Flashpoint , death here, so to speak, is not fatal. As soon as you have been killed, you immediately resurrect somewhere nearby, and the battle continues. We asked about fines, because it's boring if the respawn system is like Call of Duty... And we were told that in the current version of the Friv game nothing is clear about the punishment for death. But in the final build, it will definitely appear. After all, it cannot be otherwise. Common sense will not allow developers to explode the ball of realism.
We were also shown that all weapons in the Friv game are recreated extremely realistically. At some second, the producer of the project shouted loudly "Oh!" and included an episode from the German campaign. He chose a hero with a machine gun and said that Friv5Online Games Studio was the first in the industry to work so seriously with this weapon. To begin with, shooting from the hip is almost forbidden. It's just a waste of bullets. And he shows: a shot, bullets fly high up, the hero loses orientation a little. Therefore, to shoot, you must lie down on the ground. And so innovation begins. If we move the gun a little to the left or right, then everything is fine and as usual. But it is worth, for example, trying to kill the enemy, which is 90 degrees to the left, then the fighter himself begins to spin around the machine gun. You can hear the rubbing of clothes on the ground, jerk movements, slow. And the weapon itself only rotates on its axis. Looks really great.
But that's not all. After we got dirty and turned, we run on. The producer says that the Heavy is an exclusively command class, and he relies heavily on his friends and comrades. They run first, choose targets, and he just has to deploy his weapon in time and start frying his enemies.
And just the battle begins. It immediately turns out that we do not have to fall on our belly if we want to aim at the enemy. The hero finds a square concrete slab about a meter high and places a machine gun there. We stand and burn - quite comfortable. True, for some reason the producer is actively shooting an empty carriage. Then he will show us how the bullets went through the wooden walls and crashed into the house...
And, finally, about team battles. Before each mission, we choose our role in the squad. We can become a commander, and then we will give orders to the rest of the soldiers. And we can get into the shoes of an ordinary soldier and choose a specialization such as machine gunner, sniper, gunner or any other. In this case, AI will already lead the operation.
It is also interesting that each of the heroes has his own character. During the battle, they talk, their personality is revealed in the screensavers. But let's make a reservation right away that we have not personally seen all this. We were told that, and the producer simply did not answer some questions. So don't rely heavily on a deep storyline. The only thing we can really promise is complete historical accuracy. With her in Red Orchestra 2all perfectly. And if the developers start talking nonsense, they will then whip themselves for it. Someone, but Friv5Online Games Studio does not like to misrepresent. Moreover, they are aware of how seriously Russia takes the theme of the Great Patriotic War.
However, a German campaign is also being developed. At the same time, however, they focus on the horrors of war and the complexities of the life of ordinary soldiers. They just fought, followed orders. Hitler drinking the blood of babies and the rank and file of the Nazi army are not the same thing.
As for the network mode, they could not show it to us. Therefore, we will not talk about it yet, everyone already knows that the developers are diligently sculpting multiplayer. And from the new we managed to learn that there might be a cooperative. He directly asks for Red Orchestra 2. With him, we are sure the Friv game will be even more interesting.
It looks like Red Orchestra: Heroes of Stalingrad is the first action movie that will show more or less realistically what happened during the Great Patriotic War. The Friv game laughs at Call of Duty and Medal of Honor. And it is especially joyful that we will finally get a non-interactive shooting gallery. I would like difficult battles, where you have to not only quickly hammer on the left mouse button, but also think.
