Having picked up RO2 over the steam sale weekend, I am currently typing this blog with Red Orchestra alt tabbed out while I wait for my team to lose.

My immediate impression upon playing my first match was that it was very similar to running into a brick wall. Enemies are hard to spot, and I would generally keep moving forward until I suddenly fell dead to an unseen opponent, repeat ad nauseum until I finally figured out the importance of cover. If asked to describe this game, I'd have to say the bastard offspring of Battlefield and ARMA. Battlefield for the team based, squad based, objective class shooter aspect (Not to mention the fun). ARMA for the brutal, punishing realism and steep learning curve.

Since most people will be playing Riflemen, the more exotic classes being limited to a mere handful per team, I have made several observations about the RO2 Battlefield.

Machine Gunners will kill you. All you will see is a muzzle flash and you will die knowing which way is more or less closed off.

Snipers will kill you. You will never see them, and you will not even know what killed you.

Artillery will kill you. You cannot fight back, all the warning you get is a whistling sound, all you can do is pray they miss.

Tanks will kill you. You will see them coming, you will hear them coming, and you'll probably be able to shoot them. And you will do nothing to them and they will kill you.

Assault troopers will kill you. They have a much faster rate of fire, and that many bullets are bound to hit you once or twice, enough to kill you.

Riflemen will kill you. You'll see a silhouette, a muzzle flash, and then the ground. If you're lucky, they may miss and you can try to kill them.

Despite the difficulty, I have to say, this game is fun. I die twenty times in a game, waiting out the fifteen second + respawn times. And then I'm actually eager to get back into the fray. Either I just discovered some hidden masochistic tendencies, or this game is genuinely fun.