Real and Simulated Wars

No matter how big the claim of being realistic, tactical or [put your favorite euphemism here], for the most part the multiplayer experience in mainstream first person shooters (FPS) is just a bar brawl with guns. Which is a pity in the case of Red Orchestra 2, because there is very solid stuff in it.

Prompted by a very positive review by Michael Peck at the Training and Simulation Journal, I installed my copy of Red Orchestra 2 and went right into the hell of urban combat.

Stalingrad, 1942 ... Here I come.

I joined ...

Let me paraphrase the opening paragraph of a professional game reviewer elsewhere. Before I got Unity of Command, I made the mistake of glancing at a few screen shots. They worried me. Those unit's busts instead of NATO icons, the barren interface lacking recognizable buttons for all things sacred in hardcore war gaming, the list of unit's stats shorter than my bank savings account deposit records. Oh no, it's going to be one of those games isn't it? One of those "spiritual successors" trying to bank on the genius of designers of great things ...

I've posted these screenshots at my other "Real and Simulated Wars" blog hosted by blogger and I thought of sharing them here.



The level of detail of this thing is astonishing. Re-learning the ropes (played PoA2 a long while ago) is going to take some serious time. I'm particularly interested in command, control and communications for the time being. Tigers Unleashed supposedly has some very serious stuff in there for me to explore.



...

Another 200 gallons of tough love from a Squad Battles' tutorial/boot camp scenario.

The game: Squad Battles Red Victory (WWII, tactical level, turn based)
The scenario: Bootcamp 1, Assault on a Fortified Position. Training scenario. Topic: fire and maneuver, use of combat engineers.


Mission for today is to take a German fortified position (A) manned by a German infantry squad. Specific objectives (blue squares with a number 50) are two MG42 bunkers on a hill. I am commanding a company of Russian infantry (B). By the time of ...

Lt. Hall looked at his subordinates trotting back to their vehicles, but his mind was busy with a more pressing issue than what his troopers were about to start. His preferred communications link with Troop A, the radio, has been on and off during the morning. As a result of that Troop A wasn't aware of the early morning tank breakdown or how worse 1st Platoon’s tardiness was going to be. And then, that tank icon in the FBCB2 screen he was hoping to be a glitch or somebody’s error.

“You got Alpha 6, Corporal?”, Hall asked his radio operator.
“Sir, I have a Marine company ...

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