At first glance, the game seems like it's a repeat of previous titles that pit American's against Germans. Then you read that there is supposed to be awesome special effects and destructible environments. So, you decide that you're going to give it a try. The graphics don't tend to hurt your eyes, but they're nothing special either. It's what you would expect from a next-gen game. What does immediately stand out is the inspired cut scenes that give the player a look at previous titles and give a spoiler about what is to come. The cinematics are impressive. Then you start playing. The destructible environments that were promised are essentially non-existent. Yes, if you shoot a sand bag obstacle with a bazooka, it goes away. But, the whole shooting individual planks off of a fence did not happen in a realistic fashion. This game was supposed to provide realistic physics. In real life, if you shoot a fence with a 50 caliber weapon, it should shatter instantly. This was not my experience. You also can't shoot through cover like in the Call of Duty series. As far as the controls are concerned, there are several options to customize the controls to your playing style (there is even a setup that is reminiscent of the Call of Duty control scheme). What I did miss is a jump button. While you're trying to navigate across a field filled with obstacles and bullets flying past your head, you really want to be able to jump over things. This is not possible. You can walk up to an obstacle and look at it and then an option to vault the obstacle is flashed on the screen. This would be fine if we were playing a slow-paced tactical shooter, but for battlefield combat it doesn't quite cut it. They do attempt a hide-behind-cover option that was first seen in Rainbow Six Vegas. They pull it off without too many problems. This is the only thing that you really see in this game that you haven't seen before in a World War II shooter.
Multiplayer in this game was a huge disappointment. It appears to have been thrown in as an after-thought. There is only one game mode: Control the flag territory. You have to choose a class before you begin the match. There are a very limited number of weapon options, and the only vehicle that you can drive is the tank. There are no weapon upgrades, and the rank changes bring nothing new to the table. The environments in multiplayer are bland and lifeless. Also, when you are creating a room to play in, you have no option in ranked mode to invite your friends to join the battle. If a friend is going to play with you, then you have to hope that they can find your game hidden within the list of all the other games that are available. There is no split screen option for either online or local gameplay. There is also no Cooperative gameplay for the campaign (which might have saved this title).
Here's the bottom line about Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway. It's got nice graphics, but they're nothing that really stands out to you. The single player campaign is nothing new. We've all battled the Germans in Europe before and this game brings nothing new to the table in that aspect. The controls get the job done, but they could have been better. The multiplayer was an after-thought that is deeply disappointing. With games right around the corner like Call of Duty World at War, Hell's Highway will quickly become an after-thought. This might warrant a rental to experience a new take on the single player campaign, but it would be wrong to recommend this as a buy.
Other Helpful Reviews for Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway
Now, this game had a lot of hype to it when it was announced. After being dragged on for nearly 2 years of devolopement, you'd expect this to be good. Well folks, all that time and effort that's been put into this has pa... Read Full Review
Simply put Brothers In Arms Hells Highway is great. Honestly, not perfect, not going to win awards, but is a great game. After waiting 2 years and a bit since the first trailers came out i have been excited about this ... Read Full Review
