Lawrence.com

There I was, fresh from playing through some Halo 2 and Project: Snowblind, ready for another solid shooter experience as I popped in Gearbox's freshman title Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30. With my super-soldier mindset I immediately assaulted the 'Kraut face first out in the open.

Bad move. I died instantly.

Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Battlefield 1942, Ghost Recon...the list goes on and on chalk full of various war brands. However, many of those can be easily passed off as Half Life with a WW2 skin. Some of those games start off copying a movie like Saving Private Ryan for the first couple levels and then lose any resemblance of the real war it was hinting at in the later levels.

Brothers in Arms follows the true account of Matt Baker from beginning to end with unparalleled accuracy. Gearbox has been at work for several years not only designing the game, but researching. Whether it's visiting the National Historic Archive, reading wartime non-fiction, spending time in real training camps or even hiring a Colonel to be a highly-influential guide through game development, Gearbox has taken meticulous care to recreate this story. Plus, the city models are so accurate you could be a tour guide if you ever visit Normandy for the first time.

You and your paratroopers of the 502 have missed the drop point on your mission to secure the invasion and inevitable German counter attacks. Along the way you pick up troops under your command. Acting more like an RTS than a "tactical shooter," you can place your guys by moving a cursor where you need them to go. Whether a brute offensive move or a diversion, your troops don't aimlessly walk toward their destination; they are so very aware of the danger that they respond with spot-on intelligence. These guys aren't cannon fodder. But don't worry; your enemies will be doing the same. You can also have them follow you, fire on a specific target and assault head on, which is only advisable if you outnumber your enemies. Positioning this cursor using the L trigger is extremely intuitive and will take no time to get used to.

You will command two types of teams and sometimes a tank. Assault teams will have short range Thompsons and carbines and a gaggle of frag grenades. Your fire team will be equipped accordingly to lay down accurate long fire. These teams and the small amount of orders you can give them open up an exponential amount of tactics you can use to advance your mission. You could have your teams suppress enemies while you sneak around the side of a building to flank the enemy. Or, you could stage a one-man close range suppression while you have your teams flank. Use care, though, you can't take many hits before you're dead. Also, using the tank may sound like an easy way to plow through a town, but there are several anti-tank weapons waiting to shame your shallow plans if you decide to be so careless.

To preserve the most accuracy, there is no default aiming reticule. You can turn it on, but it's obvious that Gearbox has a specific experience in mind. Also, when you're zoomed in, you see through the sights of the gun sight itself rather than a reticule, no matter if the option is on or off. Your shot accuracy changes depending on how stable you are. Crouching, non-moving shots are the most accurate, while running with guns blazing is the least accurate. There are suppression icons that show how much an enemy is taking cover which takes away from said accuracy, but you can turn those off to increase the reality even more. Pressing the back button will take you to a sort of situational map viewer, to show you where all the enemies are in the area. While it's another way to detract from the realism, it's almost imperative to use in the later levels.

Although it may sound like you would want some of these indicators on, the speech of your squad can be a more realistic indicator of their perception of how suppressed the enemy is. The in-game dialogue is not only wonderfully acted, but also like an ever-so-subtle hint book that guides you along the way.

Did I mention you will die a lot? No? Okay. You will die a lot. So much so that Gearbox will flash a message that says "Real war isn't fair. But video games should be. Would you like to heal your squad?" allowing you to pick up at the check point with full health. But just when you think you'd get discouraged because you have no idea how to approach certain scenarios, the game gives you enough freedom on the terrain to try something new. There is no denying the sense of accomplishment that comes over you after you've completed a part of this eight-day journey. It's takes brains and then brawn. This is the first time I felt I actually had to put forth courage to win:in a game.

One thing that bothers me, which I understand the gameplay logic behind it, is that there is no real reason to preserve your squadmates since they all respawn magically in the next mission. It does hinder the emotional attachment to your squad when you don't really feel they're in eternal danger, but not so much where it voids the purpose for the concession. Furthermore, the difficulty is such that if you send our squad assaulting aimlessly at the beginning of a mission, they'll die and leave you with an insurmountable one-man task. So if anything, it's good to keep them alive for your own safe passage.

The multiplayer component is also unique. There are several mission-based objectives you must complete with your AI squad versus another human with an AI squad. So, in any given online match there will be either 2 or 4 total human players, but 8 or 16 total soldiers in the game. The gameplay works much like the single player game, where flanking and map control are vital. Gearbox took a chance not including the rudimentary but popular deathmatch and CTF modes, but succeeded in this brilliant mode. The only drawback is that empty servers aren't reporting accurate numbers, so you'll load a game for 30 seconds only to find out that the server is now magically full. Then backing out to the menu takes another 30 seconds. It's so cumbersome. So to alleviate this until Gearbox comes out with a fix, start your own lobby and wait for people to join you.

The graphics are a mixed bag. The color scheme is definitely more grimy and stale like real life, but the use of environmental textures leave much to be desired. Some models look great and the animations are smooth, but many walls, floors and other terrain look way too blurry. The framerate is also pretty choppy in many areas, screwing up your ability to aim efficiently. However, the gunfire pings off of dirt and objects with accurate particles flying everywhere. It's a thrilling and intense environment.

The music is sparse, but effective. The swelling orchestral theme pervades some of the game, but takes a back seat (of a bus, not a car) to the masterful sound mixing. The dialogue of your team is outstanding and plentiful, piercing through the booms of mortars and whizzing of carbine fire. Excellent.

Brothers in Arms is a tremendous success. It's awesome to see a developer's first original effort develop its own identity, especially in such a crowded genre. You owe it to yourself to experience this one-of-a-kind title.

Graphics: B

Sound: A

First Play: A-

Last Play: A

Gameplay: A

Overall: 94% A