Hitler meets Stalin in historical Half-Life

Fans of the genre-defining PC shooter Wolfenstein 3D will no doubt be delighted to hear of The Russian Front, a Half-Life/Team Fortress 2 modification being developed by Borderline Productions.

Using the Half-Life engine, The Russian Front aims to recreate some of the events that occurred between the German invasion of Russia and the fall of the Third Reich. You’ll enter the game as either German or Russian, selecting a class of troop to play as, and then fight it out over the Internet for battlefield supremacy.

All your usual Team Fortress player classes are in there, along with a few tasty additions. Commanders, while similar to heavy infantry, will have the benefit of improved speed and the ability to call in air strikes or artillery bombardments. Tank Commanders will be able to… you guessed it… drive tanks! There will only be one TC per map, so you’ll want to get in there and choose him straight away in order to enjoy some troop-squishing fun. And then there’s the Flame-thrower, meting out fiery death to a whole bunch of enemy troops in one go. He does have a bit of a weakness though – one hit on his petrol tank and kaboom!

The Russian Front will feature period weapons in place of Half-Life’s, with a different selection for each side. As with real battles, ammunition will be a key issue. If you run out you’ll have to scavenge from the dead or ask one of your mates for a couple of clips. Alternatively you can make your way back to your field headquarters and await a delivery – this is the only weapon re-spawning point in the level.

It is hoped that the maps will be based on historical events such as the siege of Stalingrad, with house-to-house combat as was common on the Russian Front. It would be great if they based some missions on scenes from classic war films, complete with dodgy German accents. And Richard Burton.