Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30

Darren Ellis finds this more pleasant than when he stumbled upon 'Arms in Brothers' on the internet.

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (BIA) is a console port, but one that’s unusual in that it doesn’t feel like one. Graphically, this game pwns the tired looking Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault and while it doesn’t really define the genre it certainly ups the ante in some regards.

Yet again BIA is another fi rst person shooter set within World War II, but this one has the advantage of well implemented squadbased tactics. Unlike some dire squad games such as the abysmal Devastation, in BIA it is integral to completing the game, and without it you’re stuffed.

That said the squad system is based on a pattern of suppressing fire, fl anking and attacking. The game turns into an exercise of suppress, flank, and attack that can get a little repetitive, but at least there’s enough variety in the maps for you to try many varieties of this theme as you reload and replay.

The actual squad control system is simplicity: you have two squads at any time – one a suppressing team with rifl es, the other an assault team with machine guns. Holding down the right button brings up a groundbased target that countors to the terrain as you mouse look. Letting go either sends your selected troop to that area or tells them to lay down suppressing fi re at the enemy, and left clicking sends the troops in an all-or-nothing assault on the target. Holding down shift tells them to return to you.

Aside from that and a not very helpful ‘situational awareness view’ (which allows you to pause the action and see the status of your troops, and your troop’s positions), Brothers in Arms is another FPS in the MOHAA and Call of Duty vein.

Graphically the game is excellent, although some terrain elements become repetitive, but the overall level design, the awesome audio, the fabulous character design and the voice-talent really help immerse you in the story. Which is good because it’s based on the true one of Sgt. Matt Baker and the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Paratroopers who parachuted into Normandy just before the D-Day landings. BIA covers the fi rst eight days of his experience as you take control of him and his team and their inexorable crawl to, unsurprisingly, Hill 30.

Multiplayer is interesting as it pits you and a mate (each with yourself and squad to control) against two other human players. Squad-based multiplayer is fun, but the single player aspects of this game shine.

Brothers in Arms is a short game which is a pity because it’s immensely enjoyable, but overall the pros way outweigh the cons. That it’s immersive, fun, has lots of bonus material to unlock and is simple to grasp negates the rinse and repeat of the gameplay.