Being a WWII shooter, the game will obviously to be based on events that actually and/or may have happened. In particular, the game focuses on “Operation Market Garden” – what was meant to be the largest airborne operation ever executed. As previously, the overall direction of the game will be overseen by retired soldier and military author, Colonel John Antal, in order to give the game unparallel authenticity. Furthermore, we’re told that there will be a focus on the relationship and interaction between characters in the squad to add real emotion to the story.
We didn’t actually get to see much of this during the time that we played, but from the trailer that we saw, it looks to be quite moving. The game will be chapter based, though we weren’t told how many chapters were actually in the game, and each will be divided into a series of objectives. Like a lot of WWII shooters, and previous games in the series, Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway has you taking command of a squad and guiding them through each of the objectives.
BOOM! Headshot!
The gameplay is somewhat similar to that found in Rainbow Six Vegas, in both the squad commands and in the covering system, both which work extremely well. However, you’ve only got your squads and commands at your disposal, rather than an assortment of gadgets. You can have up to three squads with you at any one time, and controlling them is quite simple, though it did take a little getting used to. Picking each squad consisted of pressing down on the appropriate direction on the d-pad.
The basic premise to combat in Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway revolves around the concept of suppression. So rather than just shooting at enemies to kill, you shoot or command your troops to shoot in their direction to ‘suppress’ them. Doing so will make it easier to shoot back at them, but also much easier to manoeuvre your squad. Unsuppressed enemies are much more likely to kill off your squad members in transit. Thankfully though, your squads are replenished at each checkpoint.
You're going to need all the cover you can get.
Suppression is indicated by an icon above the enemy squad. Red means unsuppressed and grey means suppressed. If left unattended, they’ll eventually regain their confidence and resume their attack. Commanding your squad is very simple but open for numerous tactics. Basically, holding L and pointing to a location will trigger a context sensitive command, be it movement or firing on enemies. For example, we had our riflemen suppress an enemy group before sending out bazooka squad around to finish them off in one swipe.
What actually managed to impress us were the robust squad abilities. In particular, they were very good at finding decent cover, as well as actually killing and hurting enemies, which is more then can be said for a lot of other shooters out there. You can still be somewhat play Rambo and get all the enemies for yourself but having such a good set of AI partners makes a big difference. Hopefully this will carry through the entire game.
Peek-a-boo!
As mentioned, the actual combat and covering is similar to that found in Vegas. Given that it still stands as one of the better mechanics in recent shooters, this bodes well for the game. The controls were just as excellent. Still, Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway plays its own game, and has its own mechanics as well. One of these is the grenade throwing, which has a target circle over where the grenade will land. It managed to be quite accurate. You’ll also get to ride in a tank at certain points in the game.
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway isn’t quite a technical monster but has an excellent style and pays great attention to detail. We played through a level that was under a constant downpour, and the game sported some of the best rain effects that we’ve seen. You’ve also got a few slow motion replays that focus on headshots and successful bazooka strikes. Technically, the game was running very smoothly and with few noticeable faults.
When we first saw Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway last year we were quite impressed. Having now had a chance to actually play the game, we’re glad to see that our faith in the game (from a gameplay perspective) seems to be paying off. We haven’t seen much of the interaction or emotional perspective, but with gameplay base as solid as it is, we don’t think we have to worry about it too much. The game has been confirmed for an August release.
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