Red Orchestra proves that realistic shooters can be just as exciting as arcade shoot-em-ups.
Many people shove Red Orchestra aside on first glance as sacrificing fun for realism, when in fact, RO uses realism (mostly) to its advantage to produce awesome tactical gameplay and situations previously seen only in singleplayer games like Call of Duty. Since most weapons kill your character in one hit or at least leave him crippled in the open, Red Orchestra encourages the use of flanking, cover, and teamwork; while its strict falling damage and stamina system eliminate annoying problems such as bunny hopping and terrain exploiting. Since you have to aim down the sight of your weapon or shoot from your hip with no real indication of where the bullets will land, combat in the game feels like you are actually there, and you get a true sense of accomplishment for every kill you make. However, the game promotes team cooperation above individual scores, as kill/death ratio is not counted on the main scoreboard and capturing objectives gives an overkill amount of points.
People say that RO's graphics are outdated and miserable... I personally have trouble even seeing where they are coming from with these statements. The textures are wonderfully done, the amount of vegetation and buildings in many of the maps is amazing for the aging unreal 2.5 engine, the ragdoll realistically reacts to normal kills and explosive ones, and theres even a great system of dismemberment for those lucky moments an artillery shell lands on your head. The sound is even better than the graphics. Theres no ambient shots or explosions in this game like in other WW2 shooters, because you can hear every shot on the map. From far away, the shots of artillery and rifles sound like a low rumble, and as you get closer, these sounds become more and more distinguishable as they would in real life. The guns all sound very realistic and lethal, as do their handling and effectiveness.
There are some problems with Red Orchestra, which is understandable, as the game is a budget title. The clipping and hitboxes in the game are a bit off, which makes it dangerous to throw a grenade into a window or over a wall and can lead to more than the occassional suicide. There are some glitches with the falling damage system, as sometimes you will die from a 2 foot fall for no reason at all. The bots are as bad as those in the battlefield series, as they will run at you from the open and try to bunny hop and shoot you with an smg from 100 feet away as they did in unreal tournament 2k4.
However, despite some drawbacks, Red Orchestra is an underappreciated and highly addictive WW2 shooter that will entertain, immerse, and frustrate you for many gaming sessions. Just allow it to grow on you, as the learning curve is very sharp for a shooter and you will probably die in particularly stupid ways for the first few rounds you play.