Publisher: Ubisoft
Ages: teens & up
Parental
Advisory:
Violence & Language
The follow-up to the excellent Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Ubisoft's Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood offers an exceptional World War II tactical shooter that is gritty, compelling and entertaining. The game comes with a new single player narrative, new multiplayer missions, a cooperative game mode and additional weapons and vehicles. It's a worthy sequel that feels much like its predecessor.
In the new single-player mode, gamers take on the role of Sgt. Joe "Red" Hartsock, the squad leader of 2nd Squad that represents the best of the 101st Airborne, the Screaming Eagles. Hartsock was a character in the prior game and the events are seen through his eyes. Missions take players deep behind enemy lines as France's liberation nears.
In the game, players command two squads of American paratroopers-a fire team and assault team-through France's war torn streets and villages. As squad leader, gamers control their teams using an intuitive one-button command system. It's easy to command forces to suppress gunfire form your fire team, while the assault team moves in for the kill.
A new cooperative multi-player mode allows gamers to take on the enemy with friends. And to succeed, players have to work together. A skirmish mode allows players to take a tour of duty through a series of authentic and increasingly difficult custom combat missions. New weapons and vehicles include the M3 grease gun and the M10 "Wolverine" Tank Destroyer.
The computer-controlled characters are fairly smart and players will find that allies and enemies use standard operating procedures to maneuver and flank and kill foes. The game serves an excellent tactical view that give players information on their position and that of the enemy, based what they have already encountered.
Along with amazing gameplay, the title features historically accurate and detailed battlefields, events, aerial reconnaissance imagery and equipment. The graphics are excellent. As you would expect, the title features blood and gore as well as raw language that's appropriate for an R-rated movie. The game is definitely not for kids.
Like its predecessor, Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood is among the best shooters set in World War II. Fans of this genre will definitely want to play this one.
-Wayne N. Kawamoto
