Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 – Review

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 is essentially a first person shooter set during World War II. But it is also a squad based strategy title with a few nifty additions to the control style, I’ll be discussing this further on a little, I’m not one for dragging you all through what buttons do what in a review because what you really want to know about is the game itself and not the controls you’ll be using when / if you purchase it. So let’s get to the front lines and see what Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 has to offer that other World War titles don’t.

Hill 30.. the introduction.. what introduction… it throws you into the game with a sort of mini playable introduction and it’s horrific to say the least and you can’t help but feel the true fear and horror of war. Credits roll and you’re shown black and white photographs of you (Matt Baker) and your comrades in happier times, it’s all very visceral and emotional and you haven’t even started playing it yet.

The first true level takes place a week before the introductory level, the start of which has you pondering over the number 13, given that’s how many men are in your squad and, it appears you were right as you tell yourself that 13 is an unlucky number, but as usual, I’m not going to spoil the story here as it’s far more interesting for you to ‘live’ the story for yourself. Suffice to say the first few levels are essentially training levels which teach you everything you need to know about the controls and options available to you in game.

Gameplay, as mentioned is a simple affair since you’re essentially given training on the job and there’s some nifty little additions to this squad based shooter. One of these is ‘situational awareness’ view which is a sweet little addition that sees the camera go from a first person perspective to a free floating semi top down perspective thus showing you your surroundings and making it easier for you to plan suppression and flanking manoeuvres etc. The all important AI isn’t too shabby, though there were moments of shooting gallery style back and forthsy and the ignorant enemy sitting.. and waiting.. strangely whilst the whole place is ripped up around them, but these rare occurrences don’t hinder what is essentially some very good AI. I should mention though it is ‘simple’ to get straight into, it’s NOT a simple game and may take you some time to master.

Graphically speaking this is a beautiful title, with both realistic surroundings and character models. There were a few occasions where glitches appeared with soldier limbs or weapons moving through walls and even on one occasion whilst at point blank range I couldn’t hit an enemy soldier whilst he happily took chunks out of me, which, although a little frustrating didn’t ruin the entire experience of the game and these were rare. Locations are created in a very realistic manner and there’s a fair bit of detail to be had, particularly early on. Water effects are nice and the draw distance is not too bad either. Along with these features there are also some nice blood splat and damage effects which are very clever.

Sound on this title is amazing.. right down to the last little detail and in 5.1 even more so, really putting you in the thick of it and adding a cinematic feel to proceedings as bullets whiz by within what seems like inches of your ears.. keep your head down soldier!. Realism is definitely the order of the day, weaponry sounds as it should and even the lack of an in game soundtrack does not detract, but actually enhances play. Sadly for the deaf gamer there is no subtitle option, which means you’ll essentially not only miss out on the true emotionally driven content but also much of the story. Instructions however are given on screen regarding moves, but orders are usually spoken. Characters also speak in whatever language is their natural language which also adds flavour to the title (the Americans are American and the Germans German etc). Narration, ambient noise, music (when used) is all done in an extremely classy manner; even the voice acting is good and not overtly cheesy for the most part. Oh remember, this is war and these are soldiers, there’s quite a bit of ‘french’ spoken and I don’t mean parlez vous if you’ll pardon my french.

Multiplayer is simple enough, you have the choice of split screen or Xbox Live which consists of two or four player outings and only a couple of options. Although the addition of Live is always a welcome one, for this title it is the single player campaign that is the one to aim at completing because the depth of characterisation will be hard felt on Live, unless you’re playing with a stage actor of some worth who feels the need to play act realism…. ‘Sarge!! Sarge I’ve lost a leg!!!

Ahh the Female Gamer.. where for art thou ladies? In a hospital tent tending the wounded because the front line at Normandy is no place for a lady and since this is allegedly based on a true story AND aiming at an ultra realistic wartime story you don’t get to play Martha, it’s Matt all the way. Is that a bummer? Well it’s always a bummer when there’s no choice to play a female character but in this case it’s obvious why that has to be the case and that is fine. Being a female gamer wont mean you’ll enjoy this any less than the boys, though some of us less hardened girls should probably keep a tissue handy because I actually felt quite teary at certain points… not that that is purely the realm of the girl gamer of course, we all know boys have a sniffle now and then and if losing your ‘brother’ on the battlefield doesn’t get a tear duct squealing not much will. This is an emotionally fraught title that will appeal to all gamers.. other than the really prissy ones (male and female).

Overall this game brought back a lot of good gaming memories for me, and, although a world away now these were the same feelings evoked by an old Amiga title called Wings (by cinemaware). It’s graphically beautiful with gameplay that’s easy to slip into but difficult to master, it has an overarching story that truly tugs at the heart strings and sound to die for. Although the subject matter isn’t pleasant, it does a good job at maintaining realism and heart. It isn’t often a game truly engrosses you both aesthetically and emotionally but this title succeeds. Despite the knowledge of the final outcome the care and emotional attachment felt towards your squad is very real.. although not a brother, I was most definitely a sister at arms.

Review by Angela