1C to Publish Heroes of Stalingrad in Europe
By Christian Schneider
Published: 08-10-2009

Leading Eastern and Central European publisher 1C Company and Tripwire Interactive are excited to announce the sequel to Red Orchestra, the leading realism-based multiplayer WWII shooter on the PC. Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingradwill take the award winning Red Orchestra franchise into the next generation of gaming. Cutting edge graphics and audio built using the Unreal Engine 3, inventive features and streamlined realism will deliver an unrivalled WWII experience.

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad will focus on the Battle of Stalingrad and the surrounding operations, both German and Russian, from July 1942 to February 1943. The game allows the player to experience one of the most brutal battles in all of human history. The game consists out of two campaigns - Red Army and German. Delivering unrivalled accuracy and attention to detail, along with gritty, vicious combat in multiplayer, co-op and solo modes the game will feature everything from quick, brutal firefights to more intricate and challenging simulation modes.

The developers have built upon their huge success with the last title and have added a slew of new features including:

RO multiplayer taken to new heights: In addition to the award winning Territory gametype from RO, all new gametypes such as Firefight and Countdown add greater diversity, replayability and fun.

Persistent Stats Tracking and Player Progression: Grow in rank, earn medals, improve abilities, and become a Hero – all visible to the complete online gaming community and embedded within the game.

Heroes: Obtain the ultimate goal and become a Hero online. Players with hero status inspire troops around them and cause fear in their enemies. Heroes have access to the best and rarest weapons and equipment, and will stand out visually from the rest of the soldiers.

Stalingrad Campaign: The Stalingrad campaign will feature the multiplayer maps used in a campaign layout recreating the battle for Stalingrad from both the German and Russian sides.

First person cover system: Experience the ultimate firefights that a cover system allows, from the immersion of a first person view. Peek or blind fire over and around cover and more.

Squad Command: Command fire teams on the battlefield using an easy to use first person interface.

WWII weaponry redefined: true to life ballistics, bullet penetration, breathing, adjustable sights, free aim, weapon bracing, photo-real graphics and more.

Co-op: Players can connect with their friends and battle the AI in multiple game types including the Stalingrad Campaign, Skirmish Mode, and more.

Morale: Experience what it is like to be a soldier in one of the bloodiest conflicts in history and the importance of a soldier’s state of mind and how it can turn the tide of battle.

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad will be shown at Gamescom 2009 (Cologne, Germany) in 1C's business booth located in Hall 4 booth C-021.

Btw, what's this Gamescom in Cologne? Are they trying to upstage Leipzig?

In 2008, the Industry consortium BIU (Bundesverband für Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware) announced not to back a Games Convention in 2009 in Leipzig, preferring a newly to be established convention held in Cologne under the name of GAMESCom. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are members of the BIU representing 12 companies.

On January 29, 2009, the Leipziger Messe (Leipzig Fair) announced that in 2009 there will be no Games Convention as in 2008, but a new fair called "Games Convention Online" from July 31 to August 2 2009. It will feature mainly browsergames and other online and casual games.

Now back on track: Red Orchestra HOS - yummy!

Any idea of the release window? Like, recent news about when it's hitting shelves? I'm seeing anywhere from Q4 2010 to Summer 2011.

New preview: http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/01/11/red-orchestra-2-heroes-of-stalingrad-p...

I like the way this sounds. A shame it will likely go unnoticed by the vast majority of gamers who claim they want what it's offering.