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Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood - First Look Mini Preview
Jon Wilcox
06/09/2005
TVG makes another drop into Normandy and returns to the battlefields Of Ubi`s WWII franchise...
Amongst what seems to have become an endless factory of generic WWII and Vietnam FPS franchises, Ubisoft's original IP Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 displayed a rare element on its release earlier in the year - originality. With a strong and innovative squad system complimented by both the gameplay features of situational awareness and covering fire, Road to Hill 30 stood out from the crowd. Now that the series has been bedded into what is rapidly being seen as a time to release new IPs (i.e. Easter), the run in to Christmas will be privy to the second title in the new franchise: Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood. Recently, we were we able to get a first hand look at the titleâ¦
Following in the mud-trodden footsteps of Road to Hill 30 hero Sgt. Matt Baker is Sgt. Joe âRedâ Hartsock, fellow Hill 30 veteran seen in the previous title. Players are taken right back to the parachute drop over Normandy before D-Day when Baker is thrown out of the plane - in Earned in Blood we see the event occur through the eyes of Hartsock who was also in the plane at the time. The cinematic, retold by Hartsock to US Colonel Marshall (now a noted military historian), shows the intentions of developers Gearbox Software to criss-cross the narrative of Earned in Blood by over-lapping events already seen in Road to Hill 30: albeit from an alternate point of view; for instance, Baker and his team come across destroyed enemy placements in Road to Hill 30, but in Earned in Blood itâs Hartsock and his team that destroys the guns in the first place.
Whereas Road to Hill 30 was a fairly rural-based affair, this is much more an urban experience leaving players (and AI controlled Germans) far more scope to manoeuvre. As with the previous title, squad-based tactics are essential if Hartsock and the team are to survive. Earned in Blood brings back the franchise defining âsituational awarenessâ feature enabling players to plan tactics around the more complex environments contained in the game â“ a definite requirement for those who which to survive the German forces.
One of the developments of Earned in Blood has been made to the AI of the German military which, instead of waiting for the player's squad to make their move, will try to out-flank Hartsockâs squad. Not only that but the environments are in a greater state of damage than the previous title leaving both player and CPU units a greater chance to duck and cover; close quarter shooting is also something that has been added with greater frequency - additional weapons such as the Grease Gun (Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M3/M3A1) have been added to the authentic reproductions of World War II munitions.
Multiplayer modes will also be enhanced in Earned in Blood with Ubisoft announcing back in June that all three formats will have online support, including modification abilities on the PC version, and downloadable content at a later date â“ a two player Skirmish Mode looks set to appeal to the Brother in Arms fan base there.
Weâll take a closer look at Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood shortlyâ¦
