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Brothers in ArmsHell's Highway
04.01.2008
Brothers in Arms unfolds just like the three well-known books by Dan Brown. You read the first one with excitement and anticipation. The plot of the second is very similar that of the first, but is nonetheless gripping because of its tension and atmosphere. You buy the third one because it is Dan Brown. And you already know halfway through who the murderer must be - everything follows the same pattern. Nevertheless, all of Dan Brown’s books are fast-paced, exciting and good.
Matt Barker is back in the field! This likeable character from Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 is back. Instead of being ‘sent back Stateside’ by the Army for his previous operational successes, he must survive operations Market and Garden in the third part of UbiSoft’s World War series, which rejoices in the extremely foreboding secondary title “Hell's Highway”.
For the history buffs amongst you, these two interconnected Allied air-ground operations took place between the 17th and 27th September 1944 in the Netherlands. Their aim was to push back the front lines of the Third Reich with the largest air landing operation ever seen. The Allied side lost approx. 17,000 troops during these operations.
Anyone who has played the earlier “Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30” and “Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood” will find their way very easily around Hell's Highway. UbiSoft has not made any major changes to their well-tried game principle. You command two platoons as they cross the idyllic Dutch polders, passing between windmills and traditional brick buildings. While one platoon under your command pins the Axis troops under defensive fire, your second platoon creeps round the flank of your opponent. You are helped by the aggression indicators above the heads of the bad guys. When the indicator is red, these AI troops are coming for you with all guns blazing. When the indicator is grey, they are more likely to be keeping their heads down.
One innovation in Brothers in Arms is the shelter ability, which we have already seen in Gears of War and Rainbow Six Vegas. This allows the camera to be switched from the Ego perspective to a shoulder perspective, thus giving you a better view of the field of battle before you. Just as in Rainbow Six Vegas, you can lean out from your shelter and open fire on the enemy. This is only however recommended when if you are not working with the flanking squad. Aiming accuracy when sheltering leaves much to be desired.
The Stealth mode which you can assign to your troops is also new. When this is activated, your AI companions crouch to move and communicate in whispers. Very atmospheric! But as soon as you find yourself in combat, your troops will shout out panicked enemy positions. As soon as the Krauts have been wiped out thanks to your tactical manoeuvres, you should place your squad back into Stealth mode, so that nearby enemies are not alerted by the chatter of your squad members.
Alongside its gaming innovations, Hell's Highway is graphically no slouch. The developers used a stripped down version of the Unreal 3 engine licensed by Gearbox to create up to 20% more polygons. Even though I could spot small frame drops during the testing, these should be completely resolved in the release version. Thanks to the Unreal 3 engine, it is now possible in Brothers in Arms to make use of objects around you. Should opponents take cover behind a slatted fence, simply blast through the fence with your Thompson machinegun, and the wooden slats will shatter under the hail of bullets. Somewhat heavier firepower is available with the bazooka carried by your squad mate Jasper. A sniper in a bell tower? He is history. You should however make sure that blasted concrete chunks do not hit you on the head. So I am now waiting impatiently for February, when I will have to fight my way through the Netherlands with Matt. I'm on the highway to hell...
MS
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