It's back to Normandy for another round of squad based combat in the newest Brothers in Arms. Only 7 months after the release of the universally praised Brothers in Arms : Road to Hill 30, Gearbox software has released a sequel to the intensely cinematic first person experience. Utilizing the first person shooter/ tactical squad play that made the first game so enjoyable, Earned in Blood offers a whole new single player campaign following Sgt. Joe Hartstock as he commands a small squad of soldiers fighting across France alongside the Allied invasion.
Those that played the first Brothers in Arms will find little has changed in the last 7 months. Enemy AI has been improved, and a few new multiplayer modes have been added, but for the most part it's the same Brothers in Arms. Following Joe Hartstock, a character from the first game, players play missions paralleling the timeline in Road to Hill 30, including some familiar engagements fought from a new perspective. Providing the same high quality thematic and cinematic experience so akin to Band of Brothers, one wonders if Gearbox hasn't heard from HBO's lawyers.
The game play in Brothers in Arms centers on you and your 2 fire teams, consisting of 2-3 man squads and occasionally a tank, you make your way through the missions commanding your teams from first person perspective. Brothers in Arms is not a "run and gun" style first person shooter, where quick reflexes and aggressive moves will pay off, instead players must strategically plan their attack using cover fire and flanking maneuvers. Enemies are grouped into small squads similar to your own, and the primary mechanic for defeating each squad is to first suppress a squad with lots of covering fire, while moving another team into a flanking position for a clear shot and kill.
On the normal difficulty or greater, the style of game play focuses heavily on tactical movement and positioning, minimizing your personal effect on the battlefield in comparison to your team of soldiers. Battlefields are made up of different varieties of cover and concealment, from craters and hedges, to houses and stone walls, and your positioning can feel restrictive as you move from set-piece to set-piece. Frequently you are boxed in to a specific line of attack by the mighty and impassable wooden fences. The primarily linear levels leave the battles feeling contrived and set-up, though the enemy AI can provide a surprisingly fluid and effective defense, your methods of attack begin to become repetitive quickly.
As a huge fan of standard FPS games, I was a little put-off at first by my personal lack of effectiveness in the game, though I can appreciate the added tactical depth provided by the control of two fire teams. I consider Brothers in Arms to be a strategy game with a first person interface, and not a true first person shooter. There is still much to be appreciated in the game regardless of game play preferences, as it provides a war experience unparalleled in its realism and attention to detail.
WHAM! Rating: |
8 out of 10 |
ESRB Rating: |
M (Mature 17+) |
Official Web Site: |
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