Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
On September 7, 1944 the U.S. began Operation Market Garden, an airborne operation into Holland that planned to push through the German Line and punch into Berlin, ending the war before Christmas. Unbeknownst to Allied officers, some of Hitler’s best troops were in the area, and eventually crushed the operation. It was the largest airborne operation of all time (bigger than D-Day), and it was a high-risk gamble. The corridor through Holland eventually became known as “Hell’s Highway” by the soldiers who fought in it. In Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway, you assume the role of Staff Sergeant Matthew Baker (101st Airborne, 502 Parachute Infantry Regiment) and play a vital part in this risky operation.
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway is a sequel to Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (and kind of a sequel to Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood) and is one of the most innovative, dramatic, and well made video games I have ever played.
This game was so good in fact, that I actually started playing it again once I had beaten it, just so I could get more of it. It’s THAT good.
It rises above any other WWII shooter I have ever played (and I would also venture to say any other FPS), and combines heart-pounding combat with an amazing script and characterization. This game has great graphics and great sound, but the two things that made me wanting to come back for more were the combat system and the story.
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Ordering troops to hide behind cover and flank the enemy's position is a vital strategy for eliminating
the enemy, and can be executed easily while you are on the move by clicking and pointing the RMB
As in the other Brothers in Arms games (there have been two others for the major systems), the combat of the game mostly revolves around you taking control of S/Sgt. Baker (via FPS), and are given control of anywhere from one to three combat squads (but sometimes only you) to fight your battles with. The squad-control features are very easy to use, and at the same time extremely effective. TAB controls which squad you have selected, and pressing it will switch between them. By holding down the RMB you can direct your troops to either move or attack a position. If you place the move icon behind cover, your troops will lock into a defensive position in order to evade bullets. If you order them to move out into the open, they will find nearby cover to hide behind.
This, coupled along with the brilliant AI, makes your squad mates people you can actually count on. It opens up the game to a variety of actual military tactics you can use to flank or surround an enemy. There are four different types of squads, and all are equipped with different weapons in order to overcome different scenarios: The assault squad (equipped with M1A1 Thompsons, Carbines, and M3 Grease Guns), the base of fire squad (B.A.R.s and M1 Garands), MG squads (L.M.G and various other rifles) and the Bazooka squad (M9 Bazooka and various other rifles). With a few mission exceptions, the squads have 3 men in each, so missions can range from one man stealth missions to ten man assaults.
Combat effects add a deep sense of realism to game play, without making it too easy or too hard. Gearbox has done away with the health bar, in favor of a “threat-level-indicator,” ala a screen that fills with a transparent red. The longer you are exposed the more likely you are to be shot, and it only takes one shot to take you out. That said, I never felt like I was being cheated or forced to do things a certain way. If I timed it right (to where the enemy was reloading and I had my squads provide covering fire) I could run across a field and only come out with soiled pants. Additionally, your screen will blur when bullets are flying over your head, or teammates are shooting over you. One of my favorite experiences (at least as myself and not my character) was when a German 88 fired at a wall next to me, and my screen blurred with dust, and the sound was diminished to a deafening high-pitch tone. This all makes the battlefields seem even more realistic than they already do.
The game is mostly linear (due to the historical accuracy of missions) but the levels do everything they can to avoid duplicate or forced paths. When I played through the game a second time, I found that there were ever more ways to flank or surprise the enemy, in most parts, than I had noticed the first time through. My favorite tactic (upon playing through the second time) was to use my MG or base of fire squad to provide covering fire and distract the enemy. At this point, I would forgo my assault squad’s raison d'être and instead (when I had them) take my bazooka squad on a flanking mission—catching the enemy from behind their cover and wiping them out. There are plenty of unique strategies and creative solutions, like this, that break up some of the more linear maps and objectives. However, most of these strategies will develop more out of curiosity than necessity.
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
The story, the action and the mood of the game all hit a fulcrum halfway through when you and your
fellow Staff Sergeant, Joe "Red" Hartstock (above), search for a MIA soldier in an Eindhoven hospital.
Oh, and the Germans are bombing the city all around you.
Then there is the story. To its credit, I (and many reviewers) say the game’s story is closer to
Band of Brothers than to that of a game. There are about 10 guys who you regularly meet up with during the story, and each one has his own personality. The game emotionally connects you with your squad-mates, and you truly feel each heroic victory and saddening loss alongside them. Each soldier has his own story, and I never felt like it was a computer AI backing me up: it was always my men.
It’s worth noting that the entire Brothers in Arms series has been endorsed by the V.F.W.(Veterans of Foreign Wars), the National D-Day Museum, The Patton Museum Foundation, and The National Ordnance Museum(ala Wikipedia) for both its startling portrayal of combat realism and its deep characterization.
This game is not without minor flaws though. The MG and Bazooka squads are new to the series in this game, but it feels like they show them off early on and never really use them again in the last 1/3 of the game. On my second play through, on one level, I also hit a spot where one of my squads stopped attacking the enemy. I could move them around and order them to attack, but they wouldn’t do anything. This didn't last longer than the next in-game load though. Additionally, the last level is kind of contrary to the game’s style and the game just kind of ends. It wasn’t until I was into the final cut-scenes that I realized the game was ending.
Overall, this is a really great game. I got it over Christmas, and got about halfway through before dropping it for whatever reason (Fallout 3 I think). I just picked it up about a week ago again, and could not realize why I stopped playing it. The story, the combat and the game are all unique and are something I have not experienced in any other game to date. Considering there is more WWII to explore, count on there being another installment in the series as the end game references “snow” (i.e. the battle of Bastogne).
I regret not having played Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 and Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood (
Hill 30 begins the journey of Matt Baker, while
Blood places you in the role of one of Baker’s commanders), because I feel like I would have had a better understanding of the interlinking story (of the squad and Baker’s “unlucky”” pistol) and the interactions between the characters. That said, you do not have to have played the other games to enjoy
Hell’s Highway because it does a great job of transferring the crucial knowledge, and I feel like I’m only really missing back-story that is non-essential.
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Pvt. Gary "Jas" Jasper and his beloved Bazooka "Stella" (both above) are a priceless addition when
they are with you on missions.For every reason I have said above, go buy this game (or its predecessors) and start your journey in Staff Sergeant Matthew Baker’s shoes. Once you do, you won’t be able to get enough.
