Next on our E3 agenda is Ubi Soft's squad-based first person shooter, Brothers in Arms. Realism and tactics are the key elements of this one. These are the main aspects with which Ubi and Gearbox software hope to achieve more than your average dose of World War II based action.

As far as history goes, you can't go wrong with this one. The title was inspired by a true story that went on during World War II (more details on that in our recent coverage of the game. John Antal, the man who worked on the game's historical authenticity, pointed out that playing Brothers in Arms revolves around using bona fide combat tactics to save your skin as well as the lives of your comrades. As you head off into battle, you'll notice that each friendly character behaves differently and has a unique appearance. In due course, players become attached to their squad members, like they would to their friends in real life, so they are likely to experience feelings of loss if one of them should be killed.

Go, go, go! Wait, come back!

I think there are Germans over there!

Brothers in Arms is actually best descried as a crossover between Call of Duty and Ghost Recon. The game has its own traits though. The presentation of BiA began with a scene where you walk up to some of your comrades and start chatting away. What soon follows is a dynamic battle scene showing off the squad in action. The level we saw took us to a French village called Carentan. This section features a huge open field, intersected with many stone walls. German sentries and patrols are placed all over the place, and each time one of your teammates takes a step towards the clearing he'll be shot at from all directions. A team of US soldiers marched directly into the fray, and we finally got to see some real action. We couldn't help but notice that the advanced AI worked in numerous ways to fulfill its goal, be it friend or foe. We witnessed German soldiers running in all directions and engaging in offensive and defensive maneuvers, adjusting tactfully to the player's actions. Your adversaries are quite smart -- using different tactics on the field, finding cover in the environment -- hence shooting them down won't be an easy task. Even if you manage to gun down a bunch of soldiers that were peeking behind a rock or building wall, other enemies won't be lured into the same trap so easily. Some of them remain hidden because they're simply too scared to come out and face you.

Brutality and realism are essential to the whole experience. One wrong move and your entire squad may be whipped out within minutes. We saw a sequence where a bunch of US troops attempted to flank a German machine gun nest from one side, while another squad provided suppressing fire. At first the plan appeared to be working fine, when all of a sudden a German soldier saw his enemy coming from the side and the gunner quickly opened fire in that direction using a classic German MG-42. What followed was a massacre. Two of the US soldiers got eviscerated instantly, while others barely managed to find cover. Another trooper got caught in a round of bullets coming from the machine gun nest... his blood splattered onto the screen and he was left laying there on the ground. The next attempt was successful and all the German positions were taken. All of a sudden German panzers rolled onto the scene, and the team was trapped once again.

Most of the time, your squad will be surrounded by enemy troops and you'll have to think carefully before you make your next move. The map we witnessed wasn't huge, but it appears to be large enough for players to improvise as they attempt to overcome their enemies.

Visually, the game still needs to be polished though. Although everything appeared to work smoothly, we kind of expected more polys and additional color patters in the backdrop. The explosions could also use a bit more work (we weren't entirely impressed with the particle effects; especially after seeing Call of Duty: United Offensive in action). Other than that, the graphics appear fine considering we were looking at a multiplatform game. Character models look and act with exceptional realism (featuring plenty of details, various facial expressions, convincing AI, etc.) and it was a pleasure watching them engage in combat. Gearbox did a decent job on the physics as well, so you'll have it all: destructible terrain, rag-doll physics, and so on.

Brothers in Arms heads to stores in October 2004, but we hope to have more details and media in the coming months.