BiA

When Brother’s in Arms: The Road to Hill 30 was released, I snatched it up, played through it, and enjoyed the game. Its strategy and squad aspects were fantastic and really helped separate the game from the countless other WWII shooters out there. Yet, after playing through the campaign in both Normal and Hard mode, I came away with a solid WWII fps, but yet, one I still felt came up a bit short. It was fun and all, but it still felt like something was missing.

In the recent OXM demo disc, I tried the demo for the game’s sequel, Earned in Blood. Playing through the demo rekindled my interest in BiA, and since I now have my new HDTV and I finally hooked up the surround sound, I decided to play Brothers in Arms one more time. Only this time, in Authentic difficulty.

Man, this is what I’m talking about!!!

Authentic difficulty is just what this game needed! Now, my pulse was really racing and I felt like I could be killed at any minute. It was challenging. There are no icons to let you know where enemies are or when they are suppressed, and the real kicker, there are no checkpoints. If you die, you have to play the entire level again. Yes, that can lead to mucho frustration down the line. But for some reason, it wasn’t as big a deal as I thought it would be. It just really made me take my time and plan my attacks.

And just like that, Brothers in Arms became hands down the best WWII shooter I’ve ever played. Now all of a sudden, Earned in Blood can’t come soon enough.

Actually, EiB is out already and has been for a week. I’ve been too busy playing Far Cry Instincts to pick it up though. I’ll write my impressions of Instincts soon.