I've been playing RO for nearly 7 years.
I know, i know, but hear me out (Or read at least) We all knew of the mod for UT2004, and most of us know of the mod for UT2003 (The mod with the borked vehicles, then 2004 comes out and a decent vehicle base to build upon, Huzzah!) but there was a mod for UT99, the game many call the original multiplayer arena game. I had so many mods for all of the UT series and they all had their charms, but the ones that got me the most were Chaos and Red Orchestra. Chaos, for those who don't know it, was just adding loads of UT style content, but RO changed the game altogether.
I was just browsing one day on the mod developer sites and came across a team looking into making RO, i regret though i forget their names and i don't think any of those members stayed with the project past UT99, but all the same i signed up as a tester and i fell in love. The aiming, the skins, the guns, the maps...
Everything went quiet for a while after that, til UT2003 came out roughly a year later, the mod was late in UT99's life, and i was once again hooked to the arena and the mad search for mods, lo and behold i found the RO mod was active on this new, cleaner cut format. I jumped on it and played like a cheap 12 year old game junkie with a new PS1 and the first Metal Gear Solid, hooked once again.
I got a job, and a girl, and a life, then UT2004 hit the shelves and, i swear this happened, within a week a new RO was on my machine and my PC didn't get turned off for 57 days (My dad counted, the electricity bill nuked two of my paydays) it was at this time i realised i should just give in and admit defeat, i was hooked worse than a crack-head.
One day my dad gave me access to his steam account, to play HL2, and i saw, there, in his list of games...please...god no...i can't take anymore...it's too much...i'm spent...totally worn out...
Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45
I tell you not a word of a lie, that i did break down into tears, mixed joy and sadness, knowing my life would once again fail and flounder, but that i would find a true game again, a game of it's own volition now, no longer suckling at the teat of UT, but grown and earning its keep. I lookd back over the past and wept anew, realising that i'd been one of the ones who'd helped raise this child. the lucky few veterans.
I downloaded steam, bought the game and died for a few days, my parents wondering why i'd never left my room. I played, i went through a few units, i found a home. I'm happy now, they give me pills to keep the voices at bay (Damned ROPlayers, not the unit, the nameless millions of pubbers), my girlfriend even understands, she said to me last week: "Go, go play, i know you've got a match, the 8th needs you, i'll be waiting..."
Tripwire...you have my thanks, my love, my everlasting loyalty...and yet a small part of me hates you as well, your child has both enriched and ruined my life.
But...
Compulsory education's over now, let's put this kid through college with the new unreal engine, shall we?
