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Brothers in Arms: R.H. 30 |
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Second World War games are no stranger to the PC - indeed, the First-Person shooter market is positively swamped with them. Medal of Honor, still a fine game after all these years, gave us a crisp, detailed and immersive slice of being a part of the greatest war in history. Battlefield 1942 let us play around with planes, tanks and great big ships in an online sandbox. Recently, Call of Duty assaulted our senses with a vision of war at it's most visceral and crucially, developed the idea that you the player were far from alone on the battlefield. Computer controlled squad-mates charged into the fray along side you, a gratifying and certainly more authentic experience. Now, Brothers in Arms from UbiSoft takes it to the next level with it's implementation of full infantry combat where YOU call the shots. Played principally from a first-person perspective, Brothers in Arms clearly draws from the same graphical pool as it's forebears - gritty, lifelike animation, sound effects that will rattle your speakers and plenty of neat touches - dust, explosions, sun glare and weapon flashes all look and sound great, and WW2 buffs will be able to salivate over a wide range of accurately modeled weaponry. As in other games, Brothers allows the player to commandeer enemy weaponry and gun emplacements in order to give 'Fritz a taste of his own medicine. The player can also duck behind cover or lie prone, which in this mostly-realistic world of bullet damage can make all the difference between a live paratrooper and a letter home to mom. So far, so Call of Duty.
The ace-up-the-sleeve for this game comes in the form of your GI comrades. The player is typically accompanied by 2 computer controlled fire teams. In combat you can give orders and instructions to your troops using a simple, context-sensitive command system. Placing the command cursor, similar to aiming crosshairs, over the terrain instructs your troops to move to that position - once there, they are smart enough to find appropriate cover and begin to scout for enemy positions. Under attack, they automatically return fire, cover each other while reloading, and stay hidden and defended if the going gets really rough. The AI is leaps ahead of previous games, and it's a tremendously satisfying sight to watch your troops take care of themselves without you having to hold their hands. The 2 fire teams are split between a rifle squad, who are able to lay down supressing and covering fire with their M1 Garands and BAR, and an assault element, who, with grenades and machine guns are used to flank and destroy the enemy - a classic infantry tactic that the developers have researched in order to get it spot on. A typical engagement sees you the player supporting one of these 2 teams, which really allows you to play in your own style - budding commandos will enjoy rushing right down the enemy's throat, Thompson Sub blazing, while thinky types will relish the more strategic side of planning the attack.
In order to simulate the intense pre-mission preparation that paratroopers underwent, Ubi has implimented a unique command-map that can be opened during play. The area around the player can be viewed from an aerial vantage point, and partial zoom and rotation allows the player to plot their next move. The map terrain for each mission has been modelled from historical photographs, and the development team actually visited the battlefield to get a feel for how it must have looked. Best of all, each member of your team is based on a real soldier who fought in the campaign. It's at once rewarding and curiously spiritual to know that you are leading representations of real young men into the jaws of death, and when one of your guys goes down in the field, you better believe it tugs at your heart in a way very few games can achieve.
Like most modern games, Brothers in Arms requires a decent computer, with a gig or so of hard-drive space, a quality graphics card and plenty of free ram. However, you don't need a supercomputer to have a great time - my machine is a P4, 1.4, 9600 pro and 512meg of RAM, and this game remains smooth even when the fight gets close and personal. I highly recommend this game to anyone after a fresh take on an exciting genre; one that takes risks, pushes the envelope and offers a powerful, moving, and above all fun experience.
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