Getting my hands on a not-quite complete version of the new Brothers in Arms game - a sorely underrated and oft-neglected tactical FPS series - has been one of the most refreshing and galvanising experiences so far this year.
It feels great to be reminded of how dependably excellent Gearbox's take on the World War II shooter is, and it has left me keen to retread Hell's Highway at release. The reason for this burst of enthusiasm seems to be down to the fact that so few developers have tried to mimic what Gearbox have done. Indeed, the BiA series has kept a relatively low profile since the first release in 2005, and I'm almost glad of that. Brothers in Arms' way of doing things is a pleasant surprise every time I revisit it. Gears of War might have used hard cover and teamwork, but the subtle-yet-intense blend of small-arms tactics and perpetual flanking manoeuvres keep the BiA games in a theatre of their own.
What's more, this is the true sequel to the original, which continues the Matt Baker storyline, rather than the offshoot of the second game. Now we'll get to see what becomes of the scar-jawed hero in the savage fighting that followed Operation Market Garden.
So it's fortunate for my temper that the really-rather-realistic formula hasn't been tampered with for this latest game, and you remain in charge of two fire teams as you make your way across the various environments that the game delivers. The improvements, however, are spilling out of every pixel. The most obvious is the Unreal 3.0 engine and the rendering of farms, towns, and villages that you are fighting your way through. They're wondrously detailed, and the violence suitably visceral. Only the weird focus-blur effect really seemed to get in the way of the game looking as good as any WWII game has looked to date.
Gearbox evidently understand both the necessity for grabbing us by the eyeballs, and the practical process of making levels that are surprising and fun. The opening sections of Hell's Highway throw a huge array of challenges at your small team: the escalation from killing a couple of German patrols, up to tooth-and-nail urban combat against mechanised infantry is shockingly fast. If the entire game is able to keep up this kind of pace then we are indeed in for a special thrill.
Your team-mates and adversaries are much improved too, with far better death-avoidance and path-finding, which allows them to side-step death both when you do something too clever, or something too stupid. They're a little more realistic too - your hiding chums will whisper to each other behind cover, rather than give away their position. It's subtle stuff, but it really makes a difference to the fidelity of your disbelief-suspension.
On a more practical basis, the game finally has a useful map. This time it pauses the game and lets you look over a clear top-down hand-drawn map, which shows where the objectives are, where the scouted enemy positions are, and where your chums are. It's really useful - y'know, exactly like the previous weird zoom-map thing wasn't.
Perhaps what's most exciting, however, is that you'll be able to play through the campaign mode co-operatively. Our fondness for playing a game with a chum is well documented, but the skirmish missions in previous Brothers in Arms title, Earned in Blood, were some of the best co-op experiences we've had in years. The notion of playing through an entire linked game of a dozen or so missions - rather than a handful of isolated skirmishes - fills us with a special kind of brotherly joy. It looks like it'll be just like Gears Of War, only without the incredible musculature.
Some folks have complained that the Brothers in Arms games only have one trick: covering fire and flanking, but damn, that's classic real-world combat, and the formula is absolutely perfect for this kind of game. What kind of game? A game that tries to make you use your higher-brain a little more, and rely on those seething muscle-memory twitch systems a little less. I think it's down to our legacy of pixel-perfect headshots that we expect to be able to snipe a moving Nazi from 300 yards, but you just try doing it for real with a rifle made in the 1940s. Not so easy. Okay, it does seem a bit weird sometimes when you can't quite hit a guy behind a piece of cover, and that hasn't changed in Hell's Highway, but that's because these games aren't like your usual fodder.
It's not looking like Hell's Highway will drop the live grenade on this particular mission, and everything that made the original so precious and so awesome is here in full metal jacket. (Does that even make sense? - Metaphor Ed) Roll on that late September release, and our review, next issue.
This was already sounding great, but being able to play it though with a friend will just make the entire experience better. Screw gears 2, this game is where its at.
Jim Rossignol doesn't know what he's talking about, this game definitely 100% does NOT have co op mode. Everyone in the community wanted it but Gearbox devs have confirmed its not in, and never has been.
I'm glad you guys like the game but unfortunately Gearbox has confirmed that there is in fact -NOT- co-op campaign gameplay in Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway. I wish there was though.
Though it is something of a shame but nevermind, I daresay BIA: HH will still be a great experience to play through. I feel so more connected to these games and the characters than COD or MOH ever made me feel.
The industry maybe sick of WW2, but BIA is the only WW2 game still worth playing.
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