Beyond the Wire Review

ign.com:

Beyond The Wirefashions itself as an epic simulation of the first World War. When you sign up you’re shuffled into a player-organized battalion, which then orchestrates the full military operations of war-torn Europe across massive, 100-player servers. Your conscript can serve the cause in whatever way they want: maybe they’re an artilleryman who shells the rival factions from afar. Or perhaps they log time as a gunner huddled behind machine gun emplacements, or a scout marking potential headshots for their sniper compatriots. It all sounds incredibly enticing, and when it comes together,Beyond The Wire delivers a steely, thinking-man's interpretation of the chaos found in DICE's 2016 standout Battlefield 1. The problem is, even in the days after its official launch out of early access, Beyond The Wire hasn't yet mustered the steady player count to fulfill its ambitions, and that makes the mere act of playing Redstone Interactive's latest more difficult than it ever should be.

In the first few days after its August 31 launch, Beyond The Wire at full-throttle was a sight to behold. Mortar shells pound the dirt as you dash to the frontlines, like one of the single-shot epics in Sam Mendes's 1917. Enemy soldiers seem to swarm the theater of operations, providing a grist for a hail of rifle fire. Redstone has devised a wonderfully deliberate weightiness with its gunplay, where one missed shot can seal your fate.

The popular fantasy of World War One consists of gray skies, burning warzones, and heavy machinery, and here that vision is presented with an Arma-like commitment to realism. Rifles seem to ricochet back into your shoulder every time you pull the trigger, requiring a tense reloading animation between every bullet,