I figured something would be up with Brothers In Arms: Earned In Blood upon the speediness of its arrival. I mean, it was only earlier this year that we were first introduced to the series by Ubisoft, an authentic first-person shooting experience that puts you smack dab into the middle of a platoon in World War II, battling Nazis and trying to reclaim glory without losing any precious blood. The game was a thorough, riveting experience, and produced with the kind of care that other war-based shooters were severely lacking.

But now we have the sequel in the same year. That's a curious move there. Usually, we see space between an original game and its sequel in the span of at least one year. But I guess Ubisoft wanted to continue to ride the success that was Road To Hill 30 with its sequel, so it gets a release for the Christmas rush. The result is somewhat mixed. What we have here is a game that packs a little improvement over the original in terms of AI balance and online offerings, but, on the other hand, it's way too familiar, way too quickly.

In the game, you'll take control of a different WWII hero, Joe "Red" Hartsock, as he and his team make their way through Germany, running into the gamut of soldiers before eventually running into soldiers of their same nation, being led by Matt Baker (the hero from the first game). The game spans a number of days in Joe's shoes as he works to keep his team alive and defeat the Germans, through both in-game actions and in a number of cinematic sequences that are rather detailed and capture a little bit of personality.

The game's controls remain pinpoint and precise, and the ability to have squad-based tactics at your fingertips keeps it fresh as well. The main problem with this, however, is that while your team does follow commands almost precisely to the letter, sometimes they develop a death wish. They'll put themselves in a position for a flanking or set themselves up to get some shots off, making them sitting ducks for incoming gunfire. Then they're dead and leaving you a man short. Even more bothersome is, after each mission, you're given the option to either bring them back to life or soldier on without them. This shouldn't have even been included. Bringing back a wiped-out soldier kinda takes away from the autenticism of the experience. "Hey, didn't Jones get killed a week ago?" "Yeah, but he's back. Haven't you ever heard of respawning, soldier?" See what I mean?

Past that, the number of weapons hasn't increased that much, but it is great to see something as authentic as an MP "Grease Gun" thrown into the mix. No, it's not a gun that shoots grease (this isn't Po'ed, for crying out loud), but rather a high-caliber rifle that's ideal for taking quick, effective shots.