Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
by UBI Soft
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Product Summary
Brand: UBI SoftRelease Date: 2006-06-15
Platform: Xbox
Model: 8888512066
Publisher: UBI Soft
Product features:
- Intuitive squad controls that mimic realistic military tactics
- Features a cast of over 20 real soldiers, each with their unique personality, appearance, and style
- New AI system has allies & enemies use standard operating procedures of fire and maneuver to flank and kill their foes
- Historically accurate, detailed battlefields, events, and equipment recreated from Army Signal Corps photos, Aerial Reconnaissance Imagery, and eyewitness accounts
- Command 3-man teams in innovative battles of wits and skill
Video Game Reviews of Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
Customer Review: A fresh look at a tired genre
Summary: 4 Stars
Ubisoft made a smart choice in taking "Brothers in Arms" in a slightly different direction from the "Call of Duty" and "Medal of Honor" series. Rather than trying to one-up those games, which had nearly perfected the WWII FPS and exhausted the storylines, BiA drops the player into the role of a paratrooper in charge of various platoons of allies. Rather than focusing on unlikely individual heroics, BiA places prime importance on field vision and management of people and resources.
It is not however a slow paced isometric strategy game. Protagonist Matt Baker engages the enemy in first-person perspective, while issuing basic commands to his company. The control scheme is surprisingly simple, yet allows for a nifty combination of commands. So a player can go Rambo for a time if he desires, or drop into the background and play field general. Both options are surprisingly satisfying. There are occasional pathing and AI failures, where apparently logical commands lead your men into MG gunfire. But more often the game's intelligence pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed me.
The major strategic concept used (ad nauseum) is the simple "flank" maneuver. Baker is usually given two platoons, one of which is ideal for supressing fire, the other for end-arounds. Although due to some constrictive level designs, this tactic sometimes fails. AT times the squad is forced through narrow corridors, resulting in inevitable heavy casualties regardless of strategy. The environments lean more towards Call of Duty than Medal of Honor in terms of openness, but I still often wished for more creative avenues to accomplish my mission. I thoroughly enjoyed the missions where I was given charge of Sherman or Grant tanks. There are some occasional pathing problems with the tanks, and a few inexplicable stuck points, but it was great fun watching my armor come in from the side and blow an MG42 nest sky high.
I was impressed with the game's visuals. Capable of 480p widescreen, BiA renders an amazing amount of lush vegetation which, when combined with earth berms, offers usable cover. I was pretty amazed at the fairly steady framerates rendered on the old Xbox, considering all the greenery and intense action. Player, weapon, and tank models are rendered realistically. Even the occasional water effects, which players can tread chest high, look sharp. Building details are a bit dull, but the game rarely vetures into interiors anyway.
The one area the game fails in is sound quality. Oddly for a game by a big-name publisher, BiA clearly didn't put the resources into good sound recording. Player voices are OK: the typical WWII grunt stereotypes are all well represented (grizzled CO, nervous smart guy, overconfident jerk guy, etc.). Every other bang, pop, or boom is weak and tinny though. Every firearm sounds like a capgun, explosions sound like the TNT is wrapped in pillows, and the tank engines barely gurgle. It sounds like a piddling complaint, but I couldn't get over the unrealistic combat sounds in a game that otherwise built a nearly tangible world of war.
As a word of warning, BiA is more graphic, both visually and audibly, than the MoH or CoD series. So don't be surprised by the f-word and gore. To me, it was well worth the few idiosyncracies to enjoy a new, strategic perspective on WWII shooter gameplay.
Description of Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
Brothers in Arms is the only first-person tactical shooter set in WWII. It takes you into the uncensored realitt of military history. You become Sgt. Matt Baker, a squad leader committed to completing his mission and bringing his men home alive. Guide his squad of 101st Airborne Paratroopers as you're immersed in the historic 8-day Normandy invasion; As you play, you'll face difficult choices where you'll weigh the good of the mission against the lives your fellow soldiers - your Brothers In Arms.All Games
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