Soviet Campaign

Mission 1--Stalingrad Riverbank

If you've ever seen the film Enemy at the Gates, then you'll have a leg up on everyone else as this level starts. In short, Stalin was determined that the German army not be allowed to cross the Volga river, which flowed just to the east of Stalingrad, no matter what the cost to the city or its civilian population, to say nothing of its defenders. The game picks up the eastern front at the point of the German army's farthest advance into Russian territory, as it is slowly but surely worn down by the seemingly limitless number of Soviet troops that stream into the city.

You begin this level as one of these peons and peasants, drafted into the army and sent into the city via a Volga crossing. Despite your immobility, you can still be wounded by the Stukas that pass overhead, so stay down as the boat makes its way onto the docks on the far side of the river. There are a couple of scripted explosions on the far docks, which will give you a bit of shellshock, but won't actually hurt you. That's the job of the machine gunners up ahead.

The soldiers in that boat obviously didn't believe in the Revolution.

Unbelievable though it may sound, there aren't enough rifles for all of the Soviet soldiers, so you'll be sent into the city with a mere ammo magazine for company. If you want a rifle, you'll have to pick one up off of the body of one of your comrades. Unfortunately, you won't be finding any weaponry during this level, despite the carnage that's being wrought on the hill above you.

If you've played Medal of Honor, then you should be familiar with the basic template of this level from that game's Omaha Beach landing mission. Without a rifle, though, you've been robbed of even the cold comfort of firing blindly at the machine gunners on the top of the hill, so all you'll be able to do is run from cover to cover. It helps a bit to hit your prone key when you're a few feet away from your chosen cover; this will send you into a dive which will quickly bring you to safety.

Your next objective is to reach Sgt. Borodin, a sniper who needs a bit of assistance killing the MG42 crews. Dash from cover to cover to reach him, following the marker on your compass. He doesn't have a weapon for you, obviously, but will instead require you to draw the machine gunners' fire while he attempts to pick them off with his sniper rifle. You won't be in much danger as long as you begin running towards his targets as soon as he gives you the signal, so keep your ears open and go as soon as he says.

After you make it to the destroyed car, Borodin will rather have a rather novel method for dealing with the Soviet political officer downhill from your position. After you and he reach the safety of the destroyed building, wait for the fireworks and then follow everyone else up to Stalingrad's interior.

Mission 2--Red Square

Welcome to the abattoir that is Red Square, Stalingrad. You're still weaponless, but that won't last for long; the two soldiers who are killed as they attempt to retreat will drop their rifles within easy reach of your starting point, as do all of the other dying soldiers. There are going to be quite a few rifles on the ground after a minute or so of gameplay, so stay prone and crawl around until you have ten rounds or so, then meet up with Sgt. Makarov, who'll ask you to help him flank the German position.

Dance your way to the northern side of the square, and work up towards the German tank there. Before you reach it, artillery shells will explode, opening a hole in the nearby building through which a few foot soldiers pour. Your rifle fires too slowly to be of much use against these MP40-wielding foes, but Makarov has a machine gun, so let him take point as you proceed towards the hole in the wall.

Makarov has the automatic weapon, and is unkillable. Thus, he goes first.

The stairwell inside the building has a well-stocked PPSh submachine gun lying on the floor, so grab it and head upstairs. There are snipers in the building across the street from this one, so be careful not to expose yourself to their fire by dallying in front of the windows. Of course, there are also soldiers inside your own building, but Makarov will do a fair job of dealing with them, as long as you sit back in the corners of the stairwell and allow him to proceed up the steps ahead of you.

On the top floor of the building, you'll find a dead soldier lying astride a sniper rifle. You'll need to locate and kill the four German officers in the courtyard below. Two of them are positioned within the trench behind the German line, while another two are on the steps of the prominent building nearby. After they fall, you can either shoot out the rest of the soldiers there, or simply return down through the hole through which you entered the building to enter the next section of the level.

After the two tanks are destroyed by shelling (this doesn't occur until you leave the building), a new route will be opened to the northwest of the building that the Germans were guarding. Follow it underground until you reach a shelled-out street, above which two snipers are perched, one in a window of a building, the other in the tall tower in the far distance.

From this point, you have a straight shot at the ending point for the level, skirmishes notwithstanding. You do pick up a few teammates just before you encounter the snipers, although they are emphatically killable and, as such, probably won't be with you for long.