“Doing anything nice this weekend?” the hairdresser asks, running their hands through your luxuriant quiff. “I’m actually heading out on a whistle-stop tour of battlefields on World War 2′s Eastern and Pacific fronts,” you reply, leaning back to press your scalp into their supple fingers as they gasp in respect and admiration, “and I’ll have the cyber razor cut thanks.”

Ho ho but while your haircare specialist now believes you’re a big-shot billionaire history expert, you’re merely planning to take advantage of the Company of Heroes 2 and Rising Storm free weekends on Steam. All and sundry can play Relic’s RTS and Tripwire’s FPS for two days, and they’re on sale too. Later today a familiar voice will respond to your cry for reinforcements, as confident as mousse and warm as curling tongs, and you’ll know: everything’s going to be okay.

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“Some days war takes patience, but other days it demands action,” the sergeant barks, I write, lazily imagining how sergeants may speak in all those WW2 films from the 1960s that I haven’t watched. “Today is a day for action,” I hint to lead into the crux of this video game news post for Rock, Paper, Shotgun. “… you maggot,” the sergeant adds then immediately regrets and blushes, fearing he’s perhaps a major conflict or two ahead of language like that.

It is a day for action, mind. Until 6pm today, Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is free on Steam. Not just free to play for one day, oh no. If you grab it in time, it’s yours to keep forever. If you don’t, I guess you would need to pay money to own and play it, and make a decision about whether that’s something you’d like to do or not.

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Tripwire is set to release a new free content pack for Rising Storm – the Pacific Theatre cousin of Red Orchestra 2 – and it’s called Island Assault. The name implies much. I had a play with it over the weekend, and I’ll tell you about that experience, below. (There’s a trailer, too!)

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Red Orchestra 2′s Pacific-theatre standalone expansion, Rising Storm, appeared last week and offered tough-as-nails World War II multiplayer for the discerning FPS player. I waded on to its tropical beaches with my rifle above my head. Here’s Wot I Think.> (more…)

Rising Storm - a quasi-sideways-sequel-but-also-merger with the splendid Red Orchestra 2 – has been released. As you might expect, it’s a multiplayer FPS where US Army and Marine Corps battles the Imperial Japanese Army across the Pacific theatre.

I’m planning on spending a little time with this – I’m generally reminded of why I always get a kick out of this series of games, particularly with the asymmetrical nature of the two factions, as well as suppression and morale stuff. Anyway, more on this soon, so in the meantime go watch the launch trailer below. (more…)