Great Single Player Experience That Ranks Up There With Bioshock
An opinion is an opinion that can't be wrong, but can be supported by facts and statements that make one opinion more valid than another. Hells Highway is an excellent single player experience that can compete with one of my all-time favorites, Bioshock.
Hell's Highway has unique, rewarding, gameplay with a solid story that really kicks in toward the end, and good, but not amazing, graphics and sound. The multiplayer may be a failure to a lot of people, but it can also be a deep and rewarding experience like the single player if played correctly.
Brothers In Arms has always been about being a squad leader of the 502nd airborne division during World War 2. You control up to three very capable squads, each specializing in different forms of offense. Assault for flanking, MG for suppression, Bazooka team for blowing the crap outta people, you get the point.
You as the squad leader get to tell them where to go and what to do. Each level allows for multiple ways to defeat your enemies and this game can essentially be played as a real time strategy game from your tactical map, which shows you enemy placements and cover.
This is where Hells Highway truly shines. Sitting back and telling your MG team to move to x position and suppress the enemy while telling your assault team to move to y position to flank the suppressed enemy all while sitting back and watching them follow your commands is deeply rewarding. Of course you can get into the thick of the action yourself, which you will, and the shooting mechanics are just as solid as any other WW2 game. The addition of a cover system is gladly accepted and appreciated.
Im not going to lie, the controls can be cumbersome. They arent horrible, but controlling your squad could be easier and cover could have been done better a la rainbow six vegas 2. However, you soon become used to the controls and it becomes less or a burden after the first level or two. The controls get the job done, lets just put it that way.
The levels manage to be varied, going from small towns and houses during the day to open fields and pastures to barns at night to cities at night during the rain to inside buildings and such. I appreciate when developers work hard to keep the experience fresh by varying level design and looks and Hells Highway has done a good job.
The graphics look very good, but noticeable things like 2d grass and flowers hold it back from being amazing. Things like the 2d grass and flowers and texture pop in during cut scenes doesnt take away from the overall look of the game or experience but it doesnt really allow the game to truly shine like it could have. Nevertheless it still looks good as a whole.
The sound is equally as good as the graphics. Gun shots, mortar fire, grenades and the like all sound great. The music is standard brothers in arms/ band of brothers type affair, but it fits and sounds good. Really the only downfall of sound is that friendly a.i. tend to yell the same lines toward you a few too man times, and it becomes noticeable toward the last couple of hours of the game. Not a game-breaking flaw, but one that could have easily been avoided.
The story, as mentioned earlier, is excellent. It really shines toward the end, but again it could have been better just like the graphics and sound. The facial animations during cut scenes are virtually non-existent, and had valve taught gearbox a thing or two about facial animations from say half life 2 the overall story for brothers in arms would have been much more emotional. Again though, the story still is very good.
In the end, the gameplay is phenomenal and perfectly implemented via good, varied, levels. The sound, graphics, and story are all great, but could have been some of the best ever had it not have been for some small annoyances. The single player experience lasts anywhere betweeen 10 and 12 hours, so this game is at the least worthy of a rental for it alone.
Multiplayer however has been known to displease fans and newcomers. I will hardly defend it as i can understand where the hate is coming from, maps are generic and bland since the graphics take a downgrade in multiplayer. There is only one game mode and you only have one life. Nothing truly makes this game special in the multiplayer department at first glance. Other games like rainbow six vegas have done multiplayer better, so why play this one?
There are 3 different squads in multiplayer, each with 3 people, you can choose between a specialist who can carry a sniper, bazooka, or heavy machine gun or you can be a standard infantry man who carries an m1 garande or thompson or you can be in the tank squad if youre on offense and you then could drive a tank. There can be 10 people to a team so the last spot goes to the team leader who is required to be a basic infantry person, but he can call in very weak airstrikes and the oh-so-effective recon, which displays enemy positions.
What makes this fun and enjoyable for me and my friends is that i play team leader, sit back in our spawn or somewhere nearby, and call out enemy positions to my 3 squads. I essentially tell them exactly where the enemy is using my tactical map and recon and they are able to outflank them and we almost always win. I dont get into the thick of the action for half the round, but as squad leader these tips really help out the entire team.
If the game is played this way it's extremely fun. My entire team has headsets and we all cooperate, calling out for help or pinpointing enemies and tanks, but if the game isnt played this way, which normally with everyone else it's not, then it wont be fun.
The multiplayer wont stay populated for very long and may be a pushover for some people, but the single player alone warrants this game at the very least a rental and who knows you may just end up liking the multiplayer as well.
For a great single player alone i would give this game it's well deserved 8.5 out of 10. The overall experience is very good trust me.