Seems like while Sion Lenton was busy knockin' down them barriers to entry, one of them fell on his head.
GRAPHICS:
Very dated. Although the character detail has increased greatly since Dragon Rising, the view distance is still immense and the damage you can do with explosives and large-caliber weapons to the enemy bodies looks impressive, the textures still look awful at a distance and the physics look like the enemies were hit by Mass Effect biotic powers when they die. Also, there is WAY too much bloom. At times, it's really difficult to see what's in front of you. The NVG effects look more authentic because of it though, but nights are not dark enough for you to notice much difference between with and w/o the NVGs. Particle effects look better than in Dragon Rising, except for blood: the amount of blood spraying the air makes the enemies look like balloons filled with Kool Aid, that pop when pricked with a needle. Although these blood effects look cool in Kill Bill, they do NOT in any way look authentic.
CAMPAIGN: As promised, Red River is a fully infantry-focused experience, where the battles take place on a squad level, and often ending up being quite massive. You also sometimes need to support the other fire teams, and they will tell you when they need help. The first act of the campaign (where you're fighting insurgents) actually feels quite authentic - disorganized attacks by stupid enemies is at the core of guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan - no kidding. The missions in the first act are also modelled quite authentically. As soon as the Chinese show up though, everything goes downhill. The Chinese are not any smarter or more organized than the insurgents, but there is a LOT more of them. And although there are a few good missions in the remaining two acts, you do not have the time to let the situation sink in - every time you stop to enjoy the view, a team of PLA troopers jumps out at you. Luckily, if they're close enough, you'll kill them all with one burst from an M4, as they will die from a single bullet. The PLA Special Forces are just as stupid and disorganized as the insurgents, but these guys have body armor - a very cheap and unthoughtful way out.
AI: Friendly AI still takes some time to handle, but they don't do nearly as much stupid s**t as their Dragon Rising counterparts, and usually do what you tell them to do after a bit of getting used to. However you don't have time to evaluate if the enemy AI has improved - they usually don't live very long before they prick themselves on a thornbush and bleed to death, as the enemies are very fragile in Red River.
SOUND: Despite a number of bugs and a very artificial sound of the M4s, sound is probably one of the better points about Red River. The sound of distant helicopters, machinegun fire and artillery are very realistic (to which I can testify first-hand). The echoes of the shots are just amazing - they definitely add to the needing atmosphere of Red River.
CHARACTERS: Seem more alive than in Dragon Rising, you now call your teammates by name instead of number. The way the characters talk is very similar to the soldiers' jargon. Although there are a few good jokes, the characters are not very likable (except that colonel you never see - he's the only noteworthy character in the game). Also, what Sion Lenton called "inspired by Generation Kill" actually means "ripped off a few lines, without really understanding the deeper meaning". There are quite a few lines ripped directly out of Generation Kill, with "Iraq" replaced with "Tajikistan".
GAMEPLAY: If Dragon Rising at least had customizable kit and the ability to control how many visual aides the player has on all difficulty levels, it would have been an amazing game. Even without these features, it's more authentic and tactically deep than Red River.
- The good: Weapons have been made in a great detail and the animations are now faster, but still authentic. The experience of aiming down the sight of the weapon has a good feel to it, and the sights have a very realistic-looking mechanic to them. Aiming is also easier and less frustrating. Player's weapons are now customizable and playing the campaign with different classes feels different. The command radial is a lot quicker to use, but has fewer commands. Although all this is great, it's not NEARLY enough to fix all the shortcomings.
- The bad: The development team boasted so much about the huge environment, but Red River is still pretty much a corridor shooter: if you walk out of the cordoned area, your character will drop dead. If your health is on max, you will NEVER be killed by a single bullet, even to the head, and you always have that healthpack that will heal all your wounds, as if you're the medic in Battlefield 2. Your enemies, on the other hand, drop from a single hit anywhere with anything bigger than an mp5. Instead, they attack you in hordes, with no regard for their own safety. This overwhelming amount of easy to kill enemies is strangely reminiscent of Call of Duty, and hardly adds any tactical depth or authenticity. Also, you cannot customize your team's kit, which often leaves you at a disadvantage in close quarters. The numbers of PLA troopers attacking will not give you any time to use tactics, as you will be too busy shooting them off instead of giving orders.
BOTTOM LINE: Minus the regenerating health, even the new Medal of Honor looks and feels more authentic than Red River at times.