Back in 2006, Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 was a breath of simulated fresh air in a world overflowing with unoriginal World War II FPSs. Five years later, Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad will hopefully be similarly refreshing as we drown in a torrent of tedious, faux-realistic, near-future shooters. Developer Tripwire Interactive announced yesterday that the sequel will be released for PC on August 30, priced at $39.99
Red Orchestra 2Set around Stalingrad, the multiplayer-oriented WW2 infantry sim boasts a new first-person cover system, several co-op modes, persistent stats and player progression, tanks, realistic ballistics, and other joyful sim aspects. There'll also be Russian and German campaigns built from repurposed multiplayer maps.
Tripwire also revealed Red Orchestra 2's three-piece anti-cheating solution. As well as Steam's own Valve Anti Cheat (VAC) tech, it'll employ the widely-used but not-entirely-popular PunkBuster, and the PunkBuster ban index PBBans.
There'll be three levels of PunkBuster protection for servers to pick from, Tripwire has stated, with the strictest illustrating one of the reasons some dislike PunkBuster--it'll "most likely" kick players for using Steam's in-game overlay. You'll be able to filter those servers out, though.
"With the selection of PunkBuster and PBBans in addition to VAC we're taking a three pronged approach to cheat protection for Red Orchestra 2," said Tripwire president John Gibson. "We hope this sends a strong message to gamers that we take cheating very seriously and are tackling it head on before the game ships."
Red Orchestra will be sold through Steam and other digital distributors, and at retail. An expansion set on the Pacific front, named Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad - Rising Storm, is being made by a team of modders with sponsorship from Tripwire.