Recent reviews by Brother Kafka, Esq.

Are you one of those people that spends more time tweaking your Fallout 3/NV/4 .ini files and custom loading mods than you do actually playing the game? And are you the type of person that doesnt mind doing that? If that's the case, then Fallout 4 VR may be the best VR title you could hope for. It's buggy, it's vanilla, it's a pain in the ass to load mods onto. But if you're willing to root around in obscure forums and Steam discussions in order to max your frames and load mods that shouldn't actually function, you should buy this.

Fallout 4 VR, when working, is hands down the most immersive experience I've ever had in a game. It's exactly what I dreamed VR had the potential to be and it's absolutely ruined regular 2D Fallout 4 for me. However, getting it running can be near migraine inducing and if you just want to plug and play, you may want to wait for future patches to the tite.

Fantastic game, but I can't recommend it because it no longer works on Windows 8/10

(This review is primarily directed at already existing fans of the series)

As much as I enjoy the joke reviews that always make it to the front of the Steam store page, I feel like people should really understand what they're getting when they purchase this. The game is fun, but if you're a veteran of RO2 or RS1, you're going to have some issues with the title.

First and foremost, the game is still buggy, and there are very few maps. Now, RO2 had the same problem when it came out, and I have faith that Tripwire will babysit this game over the coming years and solve both of these issues. But at the time being, there are only 6 maps, and you will be playing Hue City and An Lao Valley 95% of your matches. Just be aware that if you’re looking for variety, it currently doesn’t exist in the game.

However, the gameplay, I believe, has been given a kick in the nuts (whether this is a good thing or bad thing is up to you). Like it or not, the age of single-shot rifles ended decades before the Vietnam War/Conflict took place, and the heavy use of automatic rifles completely changes the way you play the game. Yes, you'll still be peeking out from windows and rocks, but now that even the basic rifleman can go full auto, the gameplay lends itself to a faster pace than it's predecessors. Personally, as much as I enjoyed the 20 minute stalemates on Druzhina or Commissar's House, the quicker pace allows you to finish 90% of matches in under 30 minutes; a particularly good thing for those that don't have time to dedicate the time it would take to finish many of the matches in RO2 or RS1. This is further reinforced by a relatively smaller distance between objectives, and a lockdown timer that activates much more quickly than it did in RS2s predecessors. This has been a point of contention among fans, but I'm perfectly fine with it and would count it as a plus.

Fans of the asymmetric gameplay of RS1 will be happy to know that this returns in full force for it's sequel. Both the equipment, commander abilities and even spawning systems varies heavily depending on which team you select. The Northern Forces have older, less accurate but harder hitting Soviet weapons and abilities more based around defense and attacking via tunnel systems. The US aggressors however have more modern, lower caliber weapons and abilities that focus heavily on shock-and-awe style combat. The loadout system now also allows for the changing of weapon variants and ammunition types when offered (such as different AK models or various buckshot types)

One of the biggest things most Red Orchestra veterans will notice is that the voice acting quality has dropped sharply. I've heard explanations that the voice actors guild strike hurt their options, I've heard that they wanted to tone down the intensity of the matches, and I've heard that Donald Trump paid the Russians to sabotage the game by rigging the casting auditions. Regardless of the reasoning, the strained, terrified and desperate screams of Russian, German, US and Japanese forces that brought so much immersion to the previous title and it's expansion are nowhere to be found. The Vietnamese voice actors and US voice actors alike (of which it seems like there are no more than 3 to go around) call out targets and yell taunts with the fervor of a lethargic parent who promises that they'll get up and take you to the mall after just another five minutes of napping. Not only do they sound incredibly bored amidst the chaos of napalm strikes and gunship fire, for some reason Tripwire has both dialed the volume and content of the voices to a paltry level. The callouts on both teams are stripped of the colorful language that graced the previous titles, and you will struggle to even hear that thanks to the unchangeable voice volume being set lower than that of the Spooky flying several thousand feet above your head. Alas, it seems the day of screaming slurs and sobbing for your mother when your legs get blown off is over, and can't stress enough just how much this takes away from the "PTSD Simulator title"

That said, the sound design in the departments other than the voice acting are still fantastic. The whistle of artillery right before it impacts never fails to catch you off guard, and crack as a bullet whizzes past your ear is enough to make you jump; playing this game without a good surround sound headset is almost like watching March of the Penguins with the sound off. Sure, subtitles give you the information, but without Morgan Freeman’s voice it’s really hard to achieve orgasm. While the “PTSD Simulator” may suffer in the minute to minute combat without the fantastic voice acting of previous games in the series, the moments you find yourself pinned down by a sniper while arty rains around you or sprinting for the safety of a tunnel as an F4 Phantom screams overhead to deliver a payload of napalm onto your location bring back all the trauma of a war that you never fought in you lazy millennials.

All in all, I think Rising Storm 2 has potential. It’s pretty much the only modern shooter on the market that takes place during the Vietnam War/Conflict, and it contains the DNA of Red Orchestra. However, lack of map variety, weapon balancing and hit registration issues, and massively disappointing voice-overs keep it from being the level of quality that RO2 and it’s expansion are currently sitting at. Still, I think with time and content patches, this game may end up being a cult classic in the same way that RO2 turned out to be. But for the time being, I think I’ll go play another match on Red October Factory

(Oh, and try Compound on a 64 player server. Trust me)

Excuse me miss, I didnt get my permission slip signed for this Feels Trip

I spent t45 minutes cleaning a space station, but when I went to clock out there was still a couple bodies left lying around and a few messages of "God is Dead" scrawled in blood on the walls. Didnt get any pay docked and had a job waiting for me when I got back to my closet.

11/10 would be a janitor again.

This game is great, a true milestone in the FPS genre. It feels like a mashup of Red Orchestra 2 and Counterstrike, with striking similarities between the latter, though not to the point where it feels like any sort of ripoff. The weapon customization is great, the points system works well, making you agonize over something like taking an extra grenade or adding AP ammo to your MP40. The customizations also really effect your weapon, and in turn the way you play. The tension in this game is palpable, making every run to cover nerve wracking. You never know when and where you will be put down on, and one quickly learns to take it slow. The final thing that this game has going for it, and this is the biggest reason I love it, is its audio design. The sound of gunshots in the distance, bullets breaking the sound barrier next to your ear, and the "thumpitythumpityping" of rounds burying themselves in the cover you are hiding behind sound like the Dev Team just went to Afganistan and strapped mic's to their combat gear. You can tell what direction, elevation, and distance an enemy is firing from just by the sound of the rounds firing (I HIGHLY reccomend a surround sound headset if you have one)
This game is outstanding overall and deserves your 15 dollars. Seriously.