When Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 was released earlier this year, it was lauded for its nearly seamless integration between first-person-shooter control and squad command mechanics. While clearly not as twitchy as most shooters, Brothers in Arms focused on the tactical aspect of small-squad infantry combat in World War II and packaged it with a cinema-quality presentation reminiscent of HBO's Band of Brothers. Fewer than seven months later, Gearbox has churned out a sequel. And as you'd expect from a sequel turned around so quickly, Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood definitely offers a rather similar ... Expand full review
When Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 was released earlier this year, it was lauded for its nearly seamless integration between first-person-shooter control and squad command mechanics. While clearly not as twitchy as most shooters, Brothers in Arms focused on the tactical aspect of small-squad infantry combat in World War II and packaged it with a cinema-quality presentation reminiscent of HBO's Band of Brothers. Fewer than seven months later, Gearbox has churned out a sequel. And as you'd expect from a sequel turned around so quickly, Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood definitely offers a rather similar experience to its predecessor. This is not a good thing, in the case of the PlayStation 2 version, as the shortcomings of the PS2 port of the last game seem to be present in the sequel as well. The novelty of the game's tactical style has also worn off a bit.
Earned in Blood still offers Band of Brothers-esque cutscenes and narration to move the story along, just as in Road to Hill 30. The character and vehicle models are adequately detailed, but the animation in the PS2 version of the game tends to pop. The gore and blood in this version has also been toned down quite a bit compared to the Xbox and PC, although it was never excessive to begin with. There's also noticeably less detail in the environments, but not so much that you'll wonder what you're missing if you've never seen the other versions. At least the sound effects of the different weapons are as sharp and vibrant as ever. There's a lot of voice acting in the game, both during battles as your squadmates shout out to you and each other, as well as during the cutscenes. While the stuff your squad yells in combat can get a bit repetitive, the voice acting in general is excellent, and Hartsock's is especially noteworthy.
Set during the famous airdrop before the invasion at Normandy, Brothers in Arms tells the story of Sgt. Matt Baker and his squad of 101st Airborne paratroopers, who were scattered over the French countryside. As Baker, you must use real military tactics to flank and kill your foes. During the game, you must choose between the success of your mission and the lives of your men. Brothers in Arms boasts authentic battlefields and equipment, multiplayer gameplay, and a cast of more than 20 distinct soldiers.
