Brothers in Arms: Road
to Hill 30 is the latest in a long line of video games
about World War II. But the cross-platform title brings
freshness to the genre.
If you have played any
of the myriad World War II titles released in the last
few years, you probably think you know the drill.
A stab at authenticity,
a schmaltzy and convoluted narrative, dodgy AI and linear
action are the typical trademarks of the genre.
Brothers in Arms has plenty
of the above flaws but manages to transcend the problems
with refreshingly good game design and bags of atmosphere.
The game is centred around
the events of eight days leading up to the climactic battle
of Hill 30 on 13 June 1944 in France. You take the role
of squad leader Sgt Matt Baker, a real-life member of
the 101st paratrooper division who landed in France.
An actor delivers a monologue
by Sgt Baker at the start and end of each chapter of the
game.
The action begins with the
paratrooper landing in Normandy, and the game gives a decent
impression of what it must have been like to jump out of
a plane in such conditions.
The game mixes a number of styles
successfully - from First Person Shooter, to squad based
control and even a smattering of table top real time strategy.
You are introduced to many of the
game's control elements - most notably suppression and
flanking - during the opening chapter.
The core gameplay element involves
laying down suppression fire on enemy soldiers so that
you or your squad members can then flank and attack without
fear.
The mix of solo and squad tactics
means you can shift between grandstand heroics or considered
team attacks as you progress.
It is a simple mechanism that works
well but does rely on rather simplistic AI to achieve
its aims - rarely does the enemy do anything unexpected.
The narrative, supposedly based
on a true story, is functional at best and cliched at
worst but the game works because of the atmosphere generated
during the action.
Influenced by the Band of Brothers
mini-series, the shouts and cries of your comrades, the
sounds of bullets whizzing past (especially if you can
use a surround sound system) and the structured complexity
of the game draws you in.
The 17 missions include destroying
anti-air guns, leading assaults on French towns with holed
up Germans and dealing with tanks.
There are gripes - squad mates who
die during one mission are remarkably resurrected for
the next level and in-game cut scenes cannot be skipped
- but these are minor.
Not since Call of Duty was first
released on a PC has a World War II game been so gripping.
