Great story, nicely presented, more of the same but don’t let that stop you!
Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood is really all about telling a compelling story and it does an excellent job. As you play through from the beginning there are elements of the story which actually take place at the same time as the original game which allowed the writers to cleverly overlap the two storylines allowing you to witness events from the first game from a different perspective. You even get to know the original character (Matt Baker) from the honest view point of the new main character (Joe Hartstock) which adds a whole new dimension not only to the story of this game, but to that of the last. The story goes beyond that however and beyond hill 30 (which was almost the title of this game) to the gritty final showdown against the Germans.
The great thing about this game is the emotion. The original did a heart wrenching job of getting you familiar with your comrades before they are KIA effecting the whole attitude and moral of your squad. In the sequel there are moments where things go in slow motion to draw your attention to the importance of a scene and the moments where you inevitable lose some of your closest squad mates are excellently done so that even though it is only a man made up of polygons, you truly do feel a loss.
Overall if you are looking for a good single player game with a great story to tell, this is the game for you. It lacks only in that it didn’t do anything particularly different from its processor and that the multiplayer doesn’t have anything unique that would make you keep playing, but for that it makes up with a solid story line that pulls at your heart strings while immersing you in the mayhem of the Second World War. At ease solider!