What is it that makes a great soldier? Is it his Brain or his Heart?
I know what you are all thinking ‘another World War 2 title’ in a market that is full of World War 2 games it is hard to know the difference between your Medal of Honours and Call of Duty’s, fortunately Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway recreates and gives a whole new storytelling perspective to this genre which will leave you wanting more.
Hells Highway is the third incarnation in the Brothers in Arms series. You’ll assume the command of Sgt. Matt Baker of the 101st Recon Division and one of the first to land on D-Day +0. Your team will be comprised of returning Veterans and new comers looking for their first bit of real action. Well, they’re in the right place as we dig in for one hell of a fight.
Right from the outset you’ll notice that Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway is an ambitious title, one of the unique and exciting features in BIA:HH is the ‘action camera’ which will allow you to see what you’re handy work has accomplished. The camera will go in to slow motion giving you a up close and personal look at limbs being blown apart and brains being splattered across the floor, while this does take you out of the action for a few seconds, it’s well worth it.
The visuals in BIA:HH are impressive for the most part, taking cover behind blown up trucks and wooden fences are fantastic and really come to life when there splintering past your face. Unfortunately there are times when you’ll question what your eyes are seeing as textures can take a while to load in.
“We were fresh off our victory in Normandy, the plan sounded simple, get our trucks up the highway and be home for Christmas, but no one warned me, before i could lead my men home I had to lead them through hell!”
The story in Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway has had a lot of time and effort put in to it, to make every character an important piece of the game. You will find a connection between each soldier and really feel and grieve as if you’ve known him your whole life. New comers to the Brothers in Arms franchise will be a little frustrated as Hells Highway relies heavily on players having played previous instalments of this World War 2 shooter, but, it shouldn’t take long until you’re up to speed and enjoying BIA:HH to its fullest.
While the visuals may be a bit of an anti-climax the audio in BIA: HH is astonishing. You’ll dive for cover when a crack opens up from an MG42 hidden in dense foliage and duck when MP44 rounds fly in to a nearby metal fence pinging off the side and dodge when a rocket whooshes across the fields crashing with all its might in to a convoy of trucks. You’ll also be moved by a fantastic musical score by Ed Lima delivering intense and emotional scenes throughout this hellish war.
The controls work really well, while I found the Playstation 3 Six Axis Controller to be a bit of a pain at first, it did grow on me. By pressing L1 you will ‘dig in’ or push up against an object to take cover, from this position you will be able to return fire, lay down suppressing fire and order your teammates to move in to position by pressing L2. The name of the game is Fire and Manoeuvre, you will need to issue direct and accurate commands to your team, and always be switched on. As you move through pretty Dutch countryside you’ll quickly learn that this isn’t a sightseeing tour.
Artificial Intelligence is fantastic this time around, enemies will try to suppress your position and move from cover to cover to take you by surprise or on the flip side, will retreat if they feel you are trying to flank them and find alternative cover to lure you in and re-engage your troops. The game will display Red and Grey circles above units heads; Red will mean that enemies are prepared to open/return fire. Grey will indicate when a unit is fully suppressed so you can sprint (X) through open fields. Although there are a few minor issues with your squads brains as they will continually find it funny to run in to sandbags and brick walls, but once their embarrassment and your frustration have past they’ll prove their worth.
Each engagement you have with the enemy will be different and you will have to adapt to the situation at hand with sensitivity and creativity. By pressing circle (O) on your controller you’ll be able to switch between different fire squads; Assault are good for suppressing and making contact with the enemy, Bazooka and Machine Gun crews are ideal for eliminating road convoys and keeping enemy heads down (or taking them off) Each team will have their own advantages and disadvantages. For example, it’s not the brightest of ideals to send a Bazooka crew in to a close quarter combat scenario.
It is a real shame that with such a story driven and intense single player campaign that Gearbox have spent little to no time (or so it would seem) on the multi-player side of the game, giving you the opportunity to play Unranked or Ranked as per usual with the option of 14-20 players. You will then be unleashed upon an Attack or Defend server where you must choose a weapon (Bazooka, Machine Gun, Sniper Rifle). As simple as it sounds the Attacking team must raise the flag and the Defending team must stop the attacking team from taking down the flag. That’s it, no seriously, that’s it.
While there were a few graphical issues within the game, World War 2 has never been told with such passion and quality that Brothers in Arms Hells Highway delivers with a well written script and an emotional punch line, Hells Highway is certainly not one to be overlooked.
Brothers In Arms: Hells Highway – Where Soldiers become Heroes!
