Video Games : Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway (Xbox 360)

Rating: - The Thinking Man's FPS
Well after getting to the Industrial Complex and taking out another MG crew, I actually feel compelled to write a review. I ordered this game after seeing the preview movies. I then read the reviews here and was expecting the worst, but I have to say this really is a great, well thought out game. The tactical element of the squad based play is brilliant and really makes you think about where you will place your men, although it can be annoying when they take an exposed route and get shot. All in all I think Hell's Highway is in a genre of it's own placing the emphasis strictly on tactics. If you want a "shooter" that really makes you think, then buy this game.

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Rating: - A Thinking Man's Shooter
Following on from its two predecessors, Hell's Highway continues the story of Sergeant Matt Baker and his squad of US paratroopers as they take part in the ill-fated Operation Market Garden in September 1944.

The game relies a little too heavily on the player having completed the two earlier games. It tries to fill in the story and, to be fair, does succeed, but it's definitely a richer experience if you know your Brothers in Arms history.

The game incorporates a cover system, extra fireteams (bazookas make a welcome appearance) and there is a new health system whereby your health recharges after taking cover for a few seconds (similar to Call of Duty). The gameplay is largely the same, and these new additions are very welcome. You must use squad tactics and good cover to pin, flank and overcome your enemies.

Control of both your character and your fellow soldiers is generally smooth and solid. Occasionally in the heat of battle things get a little fiddly, and your squad AI isn't always as sharp as it could be, so you end up doing a lot of the fighting yourself. Thankfully, unless you play on the very hardest difficulty, enemy AI is not very aggressive (German tanks are especially rubbish), so you usually aren't punished too hard if you take on too much or make a mistake. This isn't always the case, but is is more often than not. Hell's Highway is an easier game than its prequels.

The graphics are very nice, with a huge effort made to portray the different characters as individuals, and they are all well animated too. Hell's Highway is a surprisingly gory game, with slow-mo headshots and exploding bodies being frequent, but it can be turned off in the options.

The good graphics are important as this is a very story-driven game. You care about the men under your command and what happens to them. Few games have tried as hard as this to represent how gruelling and difficult war is, and the burden that rests on the NCOs who are responsible for so much of the key infantry battles.

The stress Baker feels is well handled throughout and although the ending is perhaps a little rushed it just about fits. It makes a nice change for a game to attempt to show the psychological impact of war, rather than purely concentrating on the guns and killing (although there is plenty of that too). It is genuinely sad and also amusing in places.

The multiplayer side of Hell's Highway appears to be something of an afterthought. With just one game type (a mild variation on capture the flag), some pretty bad lag and next to no players, you won't spend much time on it. But the campaign mode is engrossing and rewarding, so the game is still well worth a play.

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Rating: - Heaven...
Got something COD hasnt, a cover system. A 1st person shooter that you CANT just run and gun. Part shooter, part RTS... ACE.

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Rating: - You just get the feeling that it was rushed...
Like many other people who have reviewed this game, I was excited at the prospect of this after seeing the development footage. I was even content with the constant reschedule of the release date, hoping that Gearbox were tweaking the product. In hindsight, after completing the game I am really disappointed.

It's not the just the average graphics (for a next-gen console, they are pretty standard), poor AI and clumbsy controls (take a lesson from the Rainbow Six Las Vegas series if you're going down this road) - the gameplay and levels are just so linear.

In a time when developers are exploring the whole 'immersion' aspect of gaming, there's only one way of completing a mission. That smacks of the likes of COD and more gun-ho titles, not a 'squad-based tactical shooter' as this game claims to be. Why not give you full access to the entire map and have you make battle plans and decide how you will complete the object rather than have someone else determine it for you.

Couple this with the poor squad command programming mentioned by others and you get the feeling that this title was rushed - money for old (and somewhat tatty) rope.

When you look around and see that with the £40 you spent buying this game could have been put towards a shooter like Bad Company or Farcry 2 you are left scratching your head as to why you parted with it in the first place. I don't mean to be overly critical of this game, there are moments that are genuinely enjoyable, but that's about it - it doesn't leave you wanting to come back for more in a hurry. Gearbox's press releases had them announcing 'destructive cover' and 'MG and bazooka teams' as if they were unheard of in the past. In reality, you can turn a wooden fence in to splinters with a machine gun and have an MG team pin the enemy and use your bazooka team to destroy selected cover - hardly ground-breaking.

This was meant to be Gearbox's piece de resistance - instead they've had a taste of their own medicine and been 'outflanked' by other, more creative titles.

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Rating: - Well I Loved It
Having read some of the other reviews I find myself needing to put my thoughts down.
I have been a PC gamer for years but last year bought a 360 to go with my new LCD telly. I have tended to avoid FPS games due to the fact I am proficient with a mouse and always found gamepad controls fiddly and awkward.
Having played and enjoyed the the 2 previous games on PC I decided I would take a huge gamble and get this on the 360 to see if i could handle it.

After a short while fiddling with the controls the whole thing became completely intuitive. Above all though I have never enjoyed playing a game through to its conclusion as much as this one.
There are many comments about poor AI and squads doing what they like,but in my experience the squads will do exactly as you tell them as long as you get your instructions right and don't give them stupid instructions. For example if you are in a building them don't wander miles from your squad before ordering it around or yes they will most liekly be killed as they try and find you. They don't know where you are and will stumble into enemy fire. If you are a short distance away they will reach you in one piece. For me this ups the immersion factor.
I am slightly biased in that I love WW2 games full stop, you can't beat killing a few Nazis for entertainment and the settings and weapons are for me the best.
Yes you could complete this game without your squads but for me the immersion factor is all important so using your squads in a sensible and tactical way adds to the fun immensley. The weapons feel right, I love the cover system, the action cam is brilliant, the bazooka squad is awesome.
I also liked the tank sections, yes they are arcadey but are great fun.
I loved the graphics to, again they gave me the real immersion factor.
Negatives. The story was Ok but the cut scenes sometimes seemed to drag on a bit and err thats about it really.
I can't wait for the next installment.
One final thought is that I have read a lot of comments about the WW2 theatre being done to death. Well I partly agree but only in that we seem the same parts of WW2 done over and over again, ie Normandy. I would like to see a FPS at the start of the war, battle of france for example, and more in the far east against the japanese (roll on COD 5). If we are going to stick to Normandy then lets have some different armies (British would be nice) and different equipment. Not all allied tanks were Shermans, lets have some Cromwells, Churchills etc. The germans had a huge vareity of equipment but all we seem to see are 88's and panzer IV''s.

Finally though if you love WW2 games and are prepared to play this properly and use your squads intelligently you will love this game. When completed you can then pick any of the missions to play all over again and try out differnet tactics.
Love it, don't expect the world and you will love it to.