So the open beta weekend for Rising Storm 2 Vietnam has ended as I write this and I wanted to get my thoughts about it out. This is by no means a review of the final product and is based only on the free beta weekend.

So  just to give a bit of history on this game because I feel it’s important to know where this game came from.  Originally this was announced back in 2013 and has taken 4 years to get to our PC’s. So this game has been in the oven for a long time.

So I’ll reiterate that this is not a review and the issue I have with the game could be fixed or changed with the final release or patches down the line.

The first thing I want to mention is that the game is very pretty to look at. By that I mean the map and level design and assets used lend themselves to create a very pretty and enjoyable environment to walk around in. This both helps create a better environment to hide in and adds to the immersion of the game quite a bit more then I was initially expecting.  Below are a few screenshots showing off what I’m talking about.

Glitches still exist a week before release.

Unfortunately that is where my positives kind of end for this title. After 4 year of development I was really hoping for more meat to the game. The big hook to the game is the setting and ballistic damage model, the fact that you die almost instantly when you are shot. These things are left to hold up the game on just those two facets alone.

Initially I was very excited for this title and the setting was a huge reason for this. Now while the setting doesn’t let me down the issues carried over from the original Rising Storm  do and newer games do some of the nitpicking issues I have much better, enough though they are much bigger budgets. Some people might excuse these issues due to the lower cost of entry and smaller development budget though.  One glaring issues with a game so focused on teamwork I would of liked a way to join a server as a group or party. Normally I’m not one for party systems but this game doesn’t function without teamwork so having some sort of party or grouping system to ensure you and your friends stay together and load into the same server without having to join using the steam friends option would of been very accommodating.

There is also the class limits on each server that I found more intrusive then I normally do in other class limited games like Day of Infamy. With Day of Infamy you can make changes to your kit and gives you more flexibility to the more two dimensional  classes that are found in Rising Storm 2 Vietnam. It looks like from the UI that you’re supposed to have options for different weapons but in my experience in the open beta they were missing.

This is more of a nitpick but the running animations from third person appear to not match up with the first person view point.  This is minor but was something I was hoping would of been taken care of with the long development time. The gun models also get rather large when you’re running and hold them to your body. Something that is a bit jarring to experience as the non running mode looks to be proper size.

So for a third time this is not a review and I’m only talking about issues I found with the game that I think people should know about before jumping on board. I’m concerned the time spent in development won’t equate to a long lasting and enjoyable experience for everyone. It still exhibits issues found in Rising Storm 2 that either can’t be corrected due to engine limitations or design decisions.  I really wanted this to be my next FPS game I would spend hours in but I just don’t see myself enjoying it past open beta. Who knows if playing down the road will be feasible with everyone ranking up and having a ton of experience with the game compared to new players.

If you’re interested in checking out the game for your own head on over and check out their Steam Page.