Brothers In Arms was initially introduced a couple of years back with its debut chapter, Road To Hill 30. While some people preferred the straight-forward action of Call of Duty to Brothers' squad-based tactics, many found Gearbox's series to be quite endearing, and very faithful to the World War II-based content. It gathered quite a following, resulting in the developer producing a sequel, Earned In Blood, just a year later. However, the sequel ran into a few speed bumps on its road to glory, including the resurrection of dead soldiers and reliance on too many gameplay components from the original game. I doubt this problem will strike again, as Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway should shake up the foundation significantly.

Of course, a change of platform should automatically indicate that change is coming. This forthcoming Highway will mark the debut of the Brothers In Arms series for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 when it arrives early next year. With that, Gearbox is pulling out all the stops to make the World War II experience more realistic than ever. The squad-based tactics involved with the game will once again make a return, forcing you to work with your team to assure your survival as you travel down Hell's Highway.

The general story will follow the last two games pretty closely. You're put into the shoes of a 101st Airborne paratrooper right in the middle of Operation Market Garden. It's an operation designed to try and open up a stretch of enemy-occupied territory known as "Hell's Highway". If it's completed successfully, the war can be wrapped up pretty quickly, resulting in the sparing of many lives. But, as expected, it's not an easy operation to complete. Opposition meets you every step of the way, and it's up to you and your team to clean house. This includes a few familiar faces in the series, such as Joe Hartsock and Matt Baker.

But going gung-ho into a battlefield will get you killed quickly. Part of Brothers In Arms' appeal is having to use your brain almost as much as your trigger finger. You'll be taking commands as part of your patrol, with HQ breathing heavily down your neck to make sure plans are carried out accordingly. You'll find yourself going on patrols to watch out for enemy soldiers, and, once they're spotted, you can work with your team on setting up ambushes. However, the enemy's on the same level. If they spot you ahead of time, they'll happily return the favor and set up a trap all their own.

Being on the next-gen consoles, the game will take a dramatic new appearance that will be leaps and bounds over the previous games. Characters will look more lifelike than ever before, complete with in-sync lip movement and facial gestures that evoke the emotions of war. You'll be dealing with these characters quite constantly, as you set up positions for attack, trade off ammunition with those who are running a bit short, keep wounded allies out of harm's way, and team up to take control of bigger guns. Large guns and other vehicles will require teamwork- another crucial reason why you want to keep your brothers in arms alive.

The backdrops will appear more like a war-torn country than ever before. Buildings that have been ripped apart by gunfire, windows that have been shattered following devastating explosions, and terrain that is covered with rocks and debris are all highlights (er, lowlights?). While we haven't seen too much of the level details as of yet, what's been presented thus far looks as close to a battlezone as we've seen for next-gen. The only rival competition that's come this close to detail is the forthcoming Call of Duty 3.

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