Reviews

This is the sequel to Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 and is oddly only available to buy on the Wii as part of the Double Time compilation. If Medal of Honour Heroes 2 was the game version of Saving Private Ryan, then Brothers in Arms is essentially Band of Brothers, with smaller, more intimate battles won by deploying the right men in the right area.

Whereas other games of this type encourage 'rush in and shoot everyone' heroics, Brothers in Arms all but forbids it. In order to kill enemies firing from cover you'll need to out-flank them by sending your 'fire team' in one direction as a distraction while your 'assault team' sneaks in from the side or rear. To help you plan your manoeuvres, you call up a 3D map showing each squads' position and where the enemy is hiding.

See that tank boys? Kill it.

The French towns used in the game such as Normandy, Carentan and Baupte were all carefully mapped out by developers Gearbox Software to give them full authenticity - there are even photos in the Extras section of the main menu comparing the game shots to real photos. This detail is let down by the fact that the graphics are rather wishy-washy, especially on an LCD screen, and the bushes are about as 3D as a cardboard cutout.

Still, the banter between the soldiers (and there are many talky moments inbetween levels) is nicely done with your character, Sergeant Joe Hartsock, recounting his D-Day tale to Colonel Marshal (so your battles are actually flashbacks). Playing as Hartsock, or 'Red' as they call him, you can order your two squads to take down enemies hiding behind cover. The fire team lays down fire from one position and you plot on your map how to get the assault team to flank them while you help out (or hide in the bushes like a wuss).

Kids today will never know the true joy of playing "army" with invisible guns and sticks.

Flanking is especially necessary when dealing with large artillery such as a tank or heavy caliber machine gun. If you step directly in the path of the bullets you'll be cut down instantly, as will your men if you're too gung-ho. Enemies are given away by red markers over their heads that turn to grey as they are worn down or hit. You can then choose to send in your assault team to end things at point blank range, but this can be dangerous.