Recent reviews by Magner

As you'll probably know, 'Darkest Hour, Europe '44-'45' is a modification for the original Red Orchestra, set on the western theatre of the Second World War focusing on the beach landings in Normandy, which is shown by it's content, map design and models. Content wise, it obviously expands to that theatre and period, including its weaponry, vehicular combat, mapping etc. It contains most of the same mechanics from it's mother title, with more added features.

Personally, I have been casually been playing the mod for quite a few years, and enjoyed it everytime I give it another go, so be it with myself, or a few others. At this current moment, most servers and community input rely of the 29th Infantry Division, a unit for the mod which is known to be the main playerbase. I believe it has been active for quite a few years, keeping servers up for pubbers and members alike with a mature and friendly enviroment. Of course there is other smaller units which are always to be present, but if you are interested in such affairs, the Jackboot forums contain that sort of infomation, if that's your cup of tea.

The original Red Orchestra is known for its realistic approach to the First Person Shooter, and may be a struggle of patience to regular FPS players. Aesthetic eye candy from such titles is not the focus here either, and will only be of interest to those of the period, and having the needed patience for it's pace.

Quick Analysis.

Positives:

+ An alternative to Arma.
+ Enough content to compete with Ostfront.
+ Active units and clans to participate with, if interested.
+ Atmospheric, giving a sense of realistic combat.
+ Runs well on most systems.
+ Free.


Negatives:

If you were to be picky, apart from some small animation and sound quality issues, the only reason you would dislike parts of the title, would be it's entirety due to it's mechanics. It can appear very sluggish at times, in terms of gun handling and such, but as said previously, it's aimed at those wanting a more realistic experience to the usual FPS style. Being a mod, it's obviously going to build on the original, not take away.

In comparison, it is the best/ only alternative for the ArmA 2 Invasion 44 modification, if you do not have a 'beefy' system to handle it, and is easier to set up if you would rather play it casually. The public playerbase is fairly active currently, but will reduce over the years.

Oh, and remember! You'll need to suck a bag of raisins through a straw before you'll get the 'Practice' mode to work.