Band of Brothers,
Saving Private Ryan,
Medal of Honour and
Call of Duty. All required kit for any self respecting WW2 fanatic. You would find all these things in my foxhole of a flat, debris of a misspent youth.
So when I heard about Gearbox's WW2 squad based shooter I was understandably excited. You take the role of sergeant Matt Backer, 101st Airborne division. The game takes place over seven days, starting with a night-time drop on D-Day and stretching to the final climax at Hill 30. The game is based on the actual operations of the 101st division - consequently, you can expect early missions to involve linking up with other paratroopers, blowing bridges and clearing towns.
Brothers in Arms is an undeniably authentic gaming experience. From small things like missions involving clearing fields for gliders, to references to the large flooded fields where many paratroopers died,
Brothers in Arms really makes you feel part of the war effort. While the main character's story itself isn't engaging, the context in which the battles are placed is very clear and meaningful.
A new gameplay experience is the 'suppression meter'. Combat revolves around getting your team to pin the enemy down while you try to flank them and take them out. Above each German unit there is a 'suppression meter'. The more fire you put on a unit, the more the meter turns from red to grey - when it finally turns completely grey, the enemy unit is suppressed. This prevents them from getting many shots off and gives you the chance to flank them. This style of gameplay could easily have become very repetitive, but by placing the player in so many different situations and on varied playing maps, the game manages to avoid falling into this trap.
Brothers in Arms is a first person shooter, but tactics are involved. The player is able to freeze gameplay at any time and look at the map and units in what is called the 'tactical view', a topdown view of the field from which you can give orders or simply look out good flanking positions.
When it comes to taking damage the game also follows the authentic attitude. You can't just run at a machine gun nest - although heroic-sounding, this is pointless. Unless the unit is supressed you won't have a chance. One hit kills are commonplace.
There are, however, some drawbacks to this game. For one, I managed to kill a German with one shot to the leg. After seeing games like
Resident Evil 4, you kinda expect the 'dropping to their knees' effect. Also, for some reason you are unable to command your squad to man any machine gun nests, they have to wait until their sergeant (the only man who knows where an mg trigger is located) appears to help them out.
Some gamers might be put off by the fact that you will die a lot in this game. I do mean a
lot. It is in keeping with the authentic nature of the game but is annoying nonetheless. At the same time, it has to be said that this makes victories all the more sweet. Never have I found myself shouting with so much joy after completing a level, having died so many times on previous attempts that I would rather forget.
All in all, this is a really smart game. The missions won't be a surprise to you - it's stuff we have all seen before - but it is the way in which you fight that makes this game. The squad movement and the suppression meter make this game something special.
If you have a keen interest in WW2 and in dying a lot, then this is a must buy.
Brothers in Arms is out now for the PC and Xbox. Online playable.
http://www.brothersinarmsgame.com/us...tURL=index.php 
