I've never been so emotionally attached to characters in a game.
Sound: 6
Gameplay: 8
Multiplayer: 9
Storyline: 9
Impression: 8
Score: 8 (7.8 real)
When I played Brothers in Arms Road to Hill 30 I enjoyed it but it just felt there was something lacking. Just a spark that seperates the great games from the amazing games. What ever was missing they've certainly added it. Earned in Blood is by far one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played.
There are many World War Two shooters out there but Brothers in Arms there are a few things that seperates it from the other ones. The first and most obvious is the squad tactics. In most WWII shooters you are a one man army. Even if there are other soldiers around you, your the one who is always rushing the machine gun. In Brothers in Arms you have to use your squad using simple, yet deep controls, to flank the enemy. The other thing that is fairly different from other World War Two games is the story. Many don't have one and just have you fighting through battles. In Brothers in Arms each member of your squad has a certain personality. As you progress through the game you grow more attached to your men. This makes it much more emotional if one of your men dies. Although the first Brothers in Arms had a similar story I became much more attached to the characters in the game. Another thing I had a problem with in the last game was the aiming. Your aiming is realistic in that you have to go into the iron sights to aim. It's also realistic because your breathing effects how much the gun moves. It always seemed impossible to shoot anything in the first game. Perhaps it was because I played the first one without a mouse and keyboard, but I felt that the aiming was much more tighter in Earned in Blood and I could generally shoot better. In the first game many people complained that it got too repetitive, because all you did was suppress and then flank. You still primarily do this but it feels as if there is many more risks you have to take. Like running across open ground that is covered by a machine gun. This keeps the action much more intense. Another improvement they've added is a skirmish mode to the game. There are several missions in which you can play by yourself or with a buddy.
There were two main problems I had with the game. The first is the graphics. They just can't stand up to PC giants like Quake 4 or F.E.A.R. I also found a few graphical glitches. One time in particular I found a black stripe shooting out from a soldiers face to the side of the screen in a cut scene. Another problem I had with the game is the sound. Although the sound effects for things like artillery and voice acting is amazing it was the sound of the guns that got me. Many of them sound very weak, particularly the MG42.
Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood is an amazing game. I've never been so emotionally attached to characters in a game. It is an unbelievable differenced that everyone should try.
The Good:
-the feeling
-how soldiers help you
The Bad:
-graphics
-sounds
-there are some glitches and bugs