As video game shelves are flooded with World War II shooters, Gearbox’s ‘Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway’ looks to stand apart this holiday season.
Next-generation systems are given an early gift with ‘Hell’s Highway.’ The game features rich graphics and an epic score but suffers from bugs.
This edition of ‘Hell’s Highway’ continues the popular franchise’s ongoing story. If you haven’t played the prequels, you might be left out. However, the game’s story is breathtaking and throughout, the loopholes will be filled in.
‘ The player drops into Operation Market Garden, an Allied airborne invasion of the Nazi Netherlands. The Allies must secure highway 69, or Hell’s Highway, necessary for supplies and transportation. The game chronicles how the Americans suffered heavy German resistance on the two-lane road.
The game play is squad-based, like earlier ‘Brother in Arms’ games. The squads are diverse with heavy weapons, grenadiers, and infantrymen. Going alone on ‘Hell’s Highway’ is risky as the game requires strategy.
‘ Where the game excels, it also suffers. There are glitches that make you want to throw your controller against the wall. For example, a squad won’t listen to you and instead stand in the enemy’s fire line. Other times, squads won’t listen at all.
Game play becomes frustrating, even if the story is too good. Gearbox promises updates via the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 online systems.
When the player performs fascinating feats, the camera will zoom in on the action and slow down. If a group of enemies is taken out by a grenade, the camera catches all the bloody, gory action. ‘Brothers in Arms’ doesn’t fail to provide all the details.
Between missions, cut scenes become the game’s highlight. The cinematic cut scenes keep you seated through the ten hour game. The storytelling, on par with Band of Brothers, shows the camaraderie of soldiers and the emotions they suffer.
The game’s realism sets it apart from the redundancy in most shooters. The graphics feature real-time shading and high-dynamic lighting. Also, the environments are completely destructible. Wagons, stone walls and even animals react realistically to gunfire, rockets, and grenades.
The multi-player is the game’s major downside. A squad-based game become a free-for-all online. Players must wait until the end of the round to play again; rounds can last up to five minutes as well. Foul-mouthed players, bugs and long wait times become frustrating.
The game delivers a unique game play and film-like cuts scenes unlike other shooters. Bugs and the multi-player annoyances make it frustrating.
It’s definitely worth $60 if you’re looking for a refreshing first-person shooter this holiday.
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