While other companies create modern-day war games, Gearbox and Ubisoft stuck with the World War II era for its Brothers In Arms series. Hell's Highway, the latest chapter in the saga, includes numerous features to make it one of the PlayStation 3's most anticipated games.
Players once again guide Joe "Red" Hartsock through each battle. He leads a group of soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division through a hazardous drop mission right into the heart of Operation Market Garden, the goal to kill scores of Nazis. Although this subject matter isn't a new game theme, Hell's Highway works between two very different aspects -- teamwork tactics and run-and-gun gameplay. Soldiers must shoot their way out of threatening situations while also strategically placing accompanying teams in crucial positions. The first two games worked well because of this style adding a third team breaths new life into the series.
Each team excels at using different weaponry; such as a machine gun, a bazooka or a rocket-firing mortar. Throughout each mission, players can direct these teams anywhere, instead of pre-assigned positions. For example, if an enemy lays down suppressing fire and leaves one of the teams pinned down, a bazooka team can move in and take them out. However, if they somehow can't do anything, the mortar team can set up a distant assault to clean house.
Gearbox gave the German soldiers an intelligence boost, making them skilled adversaries. In addition, Joe and his fellow soldiers gain a new open-world filled with multiple possibilities in place of the previous game's one narrow objective path.
Visually, Gearbox added realistic little touches throughout its development, such as soldier movement, destructible environments (launching a mortar into a house looks beautiful here) and the inclusion of more cinematic sequences. Known as Brotherhood Moments, these sequences really put players inside the head of Joe and his team, adding an emotional ingredient to the forefront. Expect the audio to keep up as well, with authentic sound effects and lots of soldier dialogue.
Finally, what would a Brothers In Arms game be without online multiplayer action? Hell's Highway allows gamers to frag one another via the PlayStation Network. Unfortunately, Gearbox has yet to reveal how many players can get in a match, or what kind of modes to expect.
Although World War II feels overused, Gearbox remains dedicated to pushing it as far as it can go with Hell's Highway. Look for more coverage, including hands-on and a review, in the months ahead.
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