Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 Preview

UbiSoft is working on a brand new first-person shooter set in the period when Adolf Hitler's troops, though severely diminished in strength by the Russians, were still wreaking havoc throughout Europe and Africa. Okay, so they couldn't think of anything better than another WW II-themed FPS. Who can blame 'em? After all, these days, consumers prefer gunning down Wehrmacht and SS troops more than anything else it seems. Although the tide is slowly turning towards the Vietnam War setting, the Second World War still comes as a priority to most publishers. UbiSoft is planning to do something different with their new title, Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, which is currently being prepared for all major gaming platforms and is geared towards the end of 2004. Xbox and PC versions are scheduled to arrive during the end of October, with GameCube and PS2 renditions following closely afterward. While Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 delivers familiar FPS elements, there are also some rather unusual twists in the gameplay itself. Read on to find out more...

There's something ominous about this group photo...

Better keep your head down, soldier!

Authentically portraying some of the events of WW II, the lads at Gearbox went all-out to tap into as many historically accurate sources of information from that particular period as possible. For that purpose they even conferred with Colonel John Antal, an airborne ranger and author of several military strategic manuals. With John's help the development team raised the bar of realism to an impressive degree. But, more importantly, they also used many of John's ideas and experiences to achieve a truthful sense of combat and military tactics.

Players will see things through the eyes of Sgt. Matt Baker, a member the 502nd Airborne. His career and deeds are based on the experiences of a Sergeant who served during the war. Contributing to the American massive airborne offensive, Baker has to parachute behind enemy lines and lead all squad members (who are reverently referred to as the Baker's dozen) so that they can carry out a diversity of tasks. During the historically famous Allied assault on France, a crucial objective was given to the Airborne while the rest of the force was landing on the beaches of Normandy. As the Allied forces pushed forward, Germany organized a powerful counterattack. So, your mission is to head deep into hostile territory, taking out AA guns and making your way through dense formations of German soldiers. Baker's task is a vital segment in the Allied campaign. The outcome of this military endeavor depends largely on the player's actions.

Movement and action are unsurprisingly easy-to-use, making for a lenient learning curve. Simplistic controls and straightforward commands were designed to correspond with industry standards noted in games such as Halo. Switching weapons, for one, is exceedingly clear-cut. Your character swaps two main weapons (similarly to Halo) and can look down the sights of the weapon to zoom in on targets (a la Call of Duty, Battlefield 1942, etc). Issuing orders is carried out via an intuitive icon system. After selecting one of your units, a blue icon appears on the ground - simply move it to a desired object or destination and your troops will execute the command, whether it's mounting a machine-gun, killing an opponent, or merely gaining tactical advantage in the field. By the way, just thought I'd mention that you'll be using classic stuff such as grenades, knives, the M1 Garand rifle, the Thompson submachine gun, the German MG-42, and so on.

Clearly when it comes to all the FPS bits, Gearbox appears to have everything under control. Apart from that, Bothers in Arms also features a handy zoom-out option, pulling back to a 3D bird's eye perspective to help players as they attempt a preferable line of attack. This particular map mode allows you to oversee the area and carefully plan out your next step. One important note though; using aerial maps is simply a segment of the game to help you find your way around, so don't expect to order a bunch of units around like in contemporary real-team strategies. The good news is the game can be paused at any time. It's possible to arrange your moves before continuing the game, but you won't be able to control units and execute orders in real-time while the map mode is active. Tanks are also thrown into the picture when things get really hot. Even though they cannot be operated directly from the cabin, your character sometimes gets the opportunity to position tanks the same way he does with ordinary infantry units.

You don't need to point to where it hit! We all have eyes... and ears!

See, this is how you roll one...

The atmosphere of the game is extremely intense and emphasizes environmental interaction more than anything else. Players get to sense the action almost every step of the way. The horrors of war will be all around you -planes that are hit in mid-air can crash and cause a major explosion, nearby grenades or land-mines can be triggered blurring the character's vision and causing him to fall flat on his back. Generally, the battles are a bit more down-to-earth than in most FPS's. Gearbox slipped a very interesting option that will make all the difference during combat. Most missions involve infiltrating enemy territory by leading two teams; one team concentrates on suppressive fire, while the other moves swiftly towards enemy positions, taking them out one by one and making for the main objective. Such actions are likely to work out thanks to carefully programmed friendly AI. Your teammates hustle to make the most of the situation at hand. When you leave things in their capable hands, your soldiers will protect each other, take out German machine-gun nests, and eliminate nearby hostiles. If certain actions appear too much for you, AI-controlled teammates can handle everything themselves. But, what's the challenge in that? The best thing left for you to do is to devise a tactical scheme of your own, and then execute it yourself simultaneously ordering your troops to provide covering fire. If you want it can be vise versa, of course.

Any attempt at taking control of enemy territory triggers what it said to be a rather resilient enemy AI. The developers are putting in, what they prefer to call, "situational AI," one that makes every mission a serious challenge, causing foes to react to your moves using the same variety of tactics that's available to the player. So, if your squad is seen moving across the field and sneaking round the back, German soldiers will immediately displace and try to stop you.