The levels are massive, yet still intricately detailed

Call of Duty's depiction of war is about as realistic as The Bachelor's representation of relationships; it's no wonder serving troops use CoD to chill out after a day on patrol, as the gameplay within is nothing like the action they see every day. It's doubtful these same troops would turn to Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad to relax, as this shooter's take on war is far more accurate, comparable to that of Band of Brother's version of events. It's an FPS that isn't afraid to depict the complexity and violence of life on the WWII battleground, and brings to the shooter table a massive assortment of gameplay mechanics that even Battlefield 3 won't match. Is it any surprise then that a shooter aiming to include so many different features could have used another month or two in the development oven?Unlike its predecessor, RO2 aims to please lone soldiers with the inclusion of a meaty singleplayer mode. Well, that's the promise -- the execution isn't quite as impressive. Like Brink, singleplayer boils down to a series of bot matches played out on the same maps used in multiplayer, bookended by some moody cut-scenes. Unfortunately, also like Brink, this mode falls short due to the inability of the AI to perform the incredibly complex teamwork that makes RO2's online game shine. We can't blame the game for this - today's PCs simply don't have the grunt necessary to replicate the subtle and sneaky behavior of a single human mind, let alone 64 troops interacting with each other on the battlefield. As such, RO2 should be approached as a purely multiplayer experience, with the very first mission of the singleplayer campaign serving as an excellent introduction to the complex player control scheme.Considering the tiny size of the development team, it's simply astonishing to see the huge variety of controls that the game has mastered; your player's range of motions make even Mirror's Edge feel crippled. You can run, sprint, jump, crouch, lean, run while crouched, dive, go prone, and vault over walls and window sills... and that's just the beginning. A sticky cover system allows you to crouch behind a low wall and blind fire to suppress the enemy. Yes, there's a suppression system - but more about that in a second. A right click while covered pops you out to aim down the site, and it works beautifully, without making you aim like a Russian conscript pepped up on anti-freeze. Your weapon rests on the cover or ground when aiming from cover or while prone, giving you even more stability, and you can dial in the range to adjust the scope. You can then zoom one step further, regardless of weapon type, holding your breath to deliver a firing platform that is stable as bedrock. Like Battlefield 3, if you're packing a heavy machine gun you can prop it up against any surface of the correct height, an absolute must if you want to tame these barking bullet generators.You'll need to make use of the full range of movement abilities, as the battlefield in RO2 is an extremely lethal place to be. A single shot is usually enough to send you into permanent retirement, though the intricate damage system lets you bandage non-fatal wounds provided you patch up the wound in time. Combine the one-shot-kills with the game's large, open environments, and the resulting combat is quite alien to the bunny-hopping, circle-strafing that CoD breeds. The game has a limited number of weapon types per team, with the majority of troops equipped with bolt-action rifles that can only fire one round every couple of seconds, but a sprinkling of sub-machineguns are provided to satiate the needs of run n' gunners. Thankfully the sniper class is limited to just one or two scoped weapons per team, quashing any chances of this becoming a camping trip.One of Battlefield 3's most anticipated features is the new suppression system, but RO2 has already been there, done that. An incoming hail of enemy lead lowers your morale, causing your screen to blur and grey out, lessening your accuracy in the process. This simple system has a massive impact on the game's flow, making the heavy machine gun class an invaluable tool for keeping the enemy pinned down as your troops flank from either side. I wasn't surprised when I noticed incoming artillery also triggering the suppression effect, but was absolutely stunned when I noticed the low-morale effects come into play whenever a friendly troop gets blown away at close range. Pure genius, but it gets even better. Players who perform extremely well on the battlefield are promoted to Hero status, rallying nearby troops within their morale-boosting radius. I've yet to actually see this in action though, but it's a feature that will become more important as players learn the subtleties of the game.