A single flamethrower in the right place at the right time can tip an entire battle. The flamethrower is simply incredible, both for what it adds to the battlefield visually (seeing a lance of flame jetting across a trench line is appalling and beautiful), and the way it can clear out entire buildings with a single sustained burst, with fire bouncing off walls and through doorways to spread even more destruction. Those are all great weapons, and they feel particularly powerful here, where the Japanese donРІР‚в„ўt have any great answers to them. The Americans are better equipped for infantry combat than anyone else, armed with the semi-automatic M1 rifle, the Browning Automatic Rifle (combining range, fire rate, and accuracy in one deadly package), and the mighty flamethrower.

Those tools are what make Rising Storm so different from Heroes of Stalingrad. Each map requires its own game plan, and good use of the unique tools Rising Storm grants to each side. Most majestically, thereРІР‚в„ўs the black volcanic sands and steep cliffs of Iwo Jima, where the Americans have to advance only a few hundred yards but where the Japanese have dug a deadly maze of fortifications and enjoy a commanding view of the entire landing zone. ThereРІР‚в„ўs bitter street-fighting in Saipan, as the Americans storm ashore and come right into a ruined warehouse district and railyard, where the front-line quickly becomes invisible. ThereРІР‚в„ўs the Japanese night attack on Guadalcanal, charging through the jungle and contested trenchworks to drive the Americans off their airfield.

Rising Storm is all about infantry combat across a wide variety control-point maps based on famous Pacific battlefields. ItРІР‚в„ўs all supported by terrific level design and a very wise decision to leave vehicles out.

Let God sort'em out.The graphics look slightly aged, but the detail and art quality are still superb and actually make for a more interesting, convincing combat environment. It gives Rising Storm a unique feel compared to most other military shooters, where the differences between gear and factions can be so minimal that they are effectively mirror-matches. The Americans can usually grind through levels using their massive firepower advantage, while the Japanese have to give ground, then stake everything on a sudden, all-hands counterattacks to drive the Americans back. ItРІР‚в„ўs been fascinating to see how each side faces different challenges on each map. Thanks to the starkly different sides, Rising Storm is a squad-based FPS where each side must employ completely different tactics. Bots can fill in and catch bullets, but this will be an even better game when - and if - more people realize what a terrific FPS theyРІР‚в„ўre missing out on.Rising Storm is the Pacific Theater expansion to Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad, but itРІР‚в„ўs really quite a bit more than that.

That is its biggest weakness: a demanding tactical FPS needs lots of players, and Rising Storm has too many servers that are never even half-full. The worst thing I can say about Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm is that not enough of you are playing it.

Red orchestra 2 rising storm pc review