Echo's Fair and Unbiased Review of: Brothers in Arms:Road to Hill 30(PS2)
BTW: I have not played the other systems, only ps2 versions.
Gameplay: This is were the game excells. If you read the Gamspot review you have a basic idea of in this game you need to flank and manuevaer. But you need to supress them with fire first. This is by far one of the most realistic games out their. It really gives you the sense of what it was liek to be a sqaud leader in WW2. The world is very wide wich mean that their is many way to go about fighting. Theirs not just one gate to go through or one hole. It is rather hard but thats okay. The game can accualy get rather intense, excpecially when up against mg42s. The game forces you to think before you act. You spend alot of time under cover. And sometimes the enemy suppresses YOU so you cant really move, so then you have to use your squad to work toward killing an enemy. Although their is times when you squad just does not want to fire, or they stand out in the open. Although this is really fusturating it does'nt happen alot. Since this game is so realistic it is hard to go back to call of duty because it just seems wierd running around shooting. Because in this game, killing one enemy is alot of work, and thats what makes it all the more exciting when you have outflanked your enemy and you have then in your sights, then you shoot and you feel acomplished that you have killed them.
Graphics:
Ehh,*cough**cough* The graphics can be improoved but honestly they are'nt bad for a PS2 title. The character models are great and you really see their tired faces. (but call of duty better character animations and models) The game also really does a great job with leaves. They flow nicley and when the sun hits them, it looks REALY nice for a ps2 game. Their is alot of 2d stuff, like barbed wire and hedgrows and if you look in the distance, it looks really fake. BUT, all in all the graphics are great for ps2, and their good enough to get you through the game. But they cant compete with modern games.
Sound:
This could also be improoved. The guns sound a little dull. But what really sounds nice is the squad. You hear them shout out to each other. But soemtimes it seems unemotional, excpecially when a squadmate is shot. But in all the sound is "fine"
Replay:
Wonderfull replay value. Due to the increased dificulty(on higher levels croshairs are turned off and supresion meaters are turned of.) and the unliniarity of the levels. Every time you play their is a different route to take, and it also feels very relistic due to that.
Story: Theirs two things that set apart BIA. One is gamplay, the other is story. In this game, it really get down and gritty with the pains of war. and turnes out to be really good. But in the ps2 version, the dialouge was cut and soem other stuff makes the story less appealing, but honestly, its still a really great story and very memorable.
Other stuff:
Good:One thing I really likes in this game is the moving sights. Not only does it make it more realistic, but when you shoot you gun, it really feels good. This is due to the nice recoil, the limited ammo(although you can get fallen enemy guns, its better to stick with your guns, excpecialy you rifles, cause germans only have the kar98.) and the fact that you dont fire as often as call of duty, and when you fire it feels like you realy fireing, not in a shooting gallery. (the same thing goes with grenades), Also sqaud mates interact nicely with the enviroment, they stick to walls and are usualy smart enough to stay behind cover. The cutsceens are nice, they feel very"natural" liek you in an accual casual conversation with your buddies. The game has a simple, but effective command system.
Bad:Some dialouge was cut. Urban enviroments dont seem fleshed out enough. Alot of textures are blurry up close and you can see the pixles. Grenade are extrealy hard to throw in the right spot, and dont even have that big of a kill radius. Frame rates can drop rather alot sometimes, wich is a hassle. Some other very small stuff that you can nit pick about, but its nto that big of a deal.
OVerall:
THis game is totaly underated by gamespot. And since its a only 9.99 used at gamespot, go pick it up, eecpecially if you like realistic games.
(please forgive me for my spelling)