Introduction

To understand Easy Red 2 we first need to look at its competition, that being Enlisted, a free to play WW2 shooter with MMO elements, and Hell Let Loose, a hardcore FPS that puts a huge emphasis on teamwork and coordination. Despite surface level appearances, these games are vastly different, each with their own set of good and bad. If you have played games like ARMA or Squad, HLL will already be quite familar to you. Its realistic depiction of war and squad-based combat is challenging and addicting. Games like these get incredibly frustrating if you're not in the right mood, with many players calling it a "dying simulator."

Enlisted, however, whilst not as hardcore, is more indepth and realistic than any CoD. Enlisted plays vaguely similar to HLL; capture objectives etc. etc. In Enlisted, you have AI teammates and enemies, which make for easy target practice as they are not very smart. The AI really fills out the map so the battles really have a sense of scale, which is awesome. So what are the MMO elements? Well, you can buy squads with unique weapons, you can buy XP boosts and there is a premium account system. All with real currency. That is to be expected with a free to play MMO, but it is incredibly predatory even for an MMO and it really breaks the immersion. Which is a shame because the attention to detail on the uniforms and vehicles is amazing.

If you dont like the sound of a dying simulator or a cash cow, but still want a fun, realistic yet casual WW2 battle simulation, Easy Red 2 might just be for you.

So whats Easy Red 2 all about?

Easy Red 2 throws you onto the beaches of Normandy, the lushous green Pacific and the frozen hell of Stalingrad. It's been done a million times right? Well not like this. For one, those are just a fraction of the theatres of war in this game. And two, its single player. Well, technically not but the multiplayer community is tiny; the game was made with singleplayer in mind, which is incredibly refreshing. The game is simple. Attackers have limited respawns and must break trough the defenders lines. What makes it different is the way squads work.

Squads are comprised of 8-10 men, all with different and important roles. The squads for each nation varies, for example, only the US and Germany have flamethrower squads, and even then they are not available on most maps. The most common squads you will come across will be regualar infantry squad and the AT squad. Most if not all nations have these. Quick summary:

Infantry Squads

• Squad Leader (1 per squad, automatic SMG or rifle and sidearm,extra grenades, can give orders)
• Radioman (1 per squad, bolt action rifle, can recieve requests for artillery and tank support)
• Machine Gunner(1 per squad, automatic MG, some cannot be aimed without leaning on something)
• Marksman (1 per squad, scoped bolt action rifle)
• Rifleman (2-4 per squad, bolt action or semi auto rifle depending on nation)
• Medic (1 per squad, bolt action or semi auto rifle, can revive downed soliders)

AT (Anti-Tank) Squads

• Squad Leader (1 per squad, automatic SMG or rifle and sidearm,extra grenades, can give orders)
• Radioman (1 per squad, bolt action rifle, can recieve requests for artillery and tank support)
• AT Unit (1-2 per squad, AT launcher or rifle, depending on nation)
• Rifleman (4-6 per squad)
• Medic (1 per squad, bolt action or semi auto rifle, can revive downed soliders)

All of these units play very differently and can be really good or really bad depending on your situation. A squad leader for example, is virtually defenceless in a large open space due to his short range SMG, but fantastic in closer combat situations. Another example, a German MG42 is best used to defend positions rather than the American BAR, which fares better in offense due to the fact you can aim without leaning. The best thing about squads in this game is that when you die, you can respawn as one of your squadmates, and you can even change which soldier you are in the middle of combat.

How does it play?

It plays a bit like Enlisted but without the timesink and much better AI. The game is easy to learn, but dont except to Rambo your way through Omaha beach, because the AI is a good shot and they can kill you from a good distance, sometimes before you can even get off the landingcraft. This gives the missions alot more sense of urgency and it can get very intense when you are pinned down from all sides. Overall, the AI is really good at times, but on some close quarter maps like Pavlovs House, it gets really confusing and they (or you) dont know who to shoot. Enemy tank AI is okay, but at times they either get stuck on a hedge or instantly destroy your tank from a mile away. This isnt so bad on maps where the combat is infantry focused, but on tank orientated maps it is a bit exhausting. Despite that, the tank combat is extremely fun if luck is on your side. You get a real sense of power when you mow down dozens of helpless infantrymen.

Like Enlisted, there are huge numbers of AI on the battlefield at anyone time, and the amount can be adjusted. The AI handles themselves better in this game, they avoid clustering together and spread themselves out and even do flanking maneuvers. They are actually useful too, sometimes the outcome of a firefight can be decided by an AI medic reviving downed allies, or an MG who is in the right spot. At times you forget you're playing a singleplayer game.

By far the most unique thing in this game is the inventory system. You can loot corpses of both friend and foe to scavenge ammo and asprin, which heals you. There is no health regen in this game which again is a nice change. The unique part about the inventory system is you can loot the uniforms too, or just headwear. This is not just cosmetic, some helmets provide more protection than others, and in multiplayer games, wearing an enemy uniform geniuenely leads to confusion. Even reviving people is unique. You dont just hold F, you have to actually choose which medical tool to use, as indicated by the icon above the downed soldier. It makes role playing as a medic so much more immersive and challenging. Another unique role is the radioman. He is responsible for calling artillery and tank support at the request of his squadleader. When the request is recieved, you actually have to input the coordinates given in a little mini game. If you get the coordinates wrong, the artillery will only be a bit innaccurate, so it is not brutally punishing. The coolest part is that the soldier has voicelines for each number; again making the game even more immersive.

As you can see, the maps are huge. This is one of the smaller ones.

Historical Accuracy

This is the big one. The game is incredibly fun, but is it faithful to history? Videogames will never be 100% accurate but this is close enough whilst still maintaining accessability. The maps, paticularly Normandy, are so well made its incredible. The Normandy map is quite literally a slightly scaled down version of all the Normandy beaches, not just Omaha which most games do. Seriously, look at real photos of Normandy and compare, it's stunning. The game also explores the lesser covered battles, like the German invasion of Kos, or the invasion of France. As I'm writing this, the developers are working on a free Tunisia campaign and a Sino-Japanese War DLC. Tanks are implemented pretty accurately too, with earlier battles like the invasion of France using older pre-war tanks, and weaker anti-tank weapons. The units uniforms are very good too, paticularly the Soviets and Germans. Some uniforms arent worn on some maps because they were phased out beforehand or not issued yet, which is a really nice touch. The Steam workshop offers a tonne of uniform mods too, as well as maps and complete overhauls.

The only glaring innaccuracy is the censoring of the swastika. It doesnt affect the gameplay at all, but it is very unneccessary and if you're a stickler for historical accuracy, it is quite annoying. Most games do this now for some reason, regardless of whether they are legally obliged to like in Germany.

Immersion

Aside from the swastika issue and the occasional AI hiccup, the immersion of this game is unmatched. I have played WW2 games since I could figure out a controller and I have never been immersed in any of them like I have with Easy Red 2. The real sense of danger, the sounds of Stukas closing in for the kill, the human waves of the Soviets and Japanese, and being able to not only gun them down, but take part in them. The colour pallete of the game is a little too cheerful for some, but there is a popular mod on the workshop called ProjektRealism, which gives the game a grey, World at War look.

Modding Scene

This game has a surprisingly active modding scene, with new mods being released daily. Most of these are tools for creating maps and missions in the in-game editor. This gives the game near infinite replayabilty, with players making maps based on many different wars or other battles in WW2. Workshop support makes playing these mods easy.

Flaws

Nothing is perfect, and this game is no exception. Whilst it is one of my favourite games at the moment, there are a few bugs which cannot be looked past. The worst one is friendly units not spawning in. This is rare but it is really game-breaking. You could be at an objective, outnumbered waiting for your allies, but they never turn up because they dont spawn in. The only way to fix this is to restart the mission, which is a pain if you were quite far into the mission. Another big issue is friendly fire from artillery is too common, and on some missions it has been the only thing that killed me. This isn't a bug of course, theres no way for the artillery crew to know where you are at any given time because the gunfights are so frantic, making friendly fire almost unavoidable. This could be fixed by reducing artillery damage on friendlies to half of what it currently is.

Conclusion

So after all that, is this game worth your money? If you're after a singleplayer, WW2 battle simulator with an FPS perspective, yes. It should be noted that there is DLC, so the full game is £20, base game £8. I'd always recommend you buy the base game first so you can get a feel for the mechanics before you invest the full amount. If you are comfortable with the mechanics, definetely get the full edition. There is around 30-40 missions, combined with the infinite content on the workshop.

You should not buy this game if you're looking for a fast paced multiplayer FPS where everyone is spamming automatic weapons. As mentioned before, there is no class customisation or progression system, so there is really no incentive to play that agressively. There is no room for egos in this game and going lone wolf will get you killed. Great fun can be had in multiplayer if you can find a populated server, as there both PVE and PVP servers. To paraphrase a Steam review,"this is the kind of game you wish you had when you were a kid with no internet."