BiA: Earned in Blood

Gearbox Studios returns for another slice of World War II action in Normandy.

Earned in Blood doesn't quite feel like a sequel to the original Brothers in Arms game, but offers plenty of new missions and content to keep you occupied. Like its predecessor it tells the tale of US paratroopers in Normandy on D-Day. Unlike many rival games, Earned in Blood doesn't try to give you an overview of the conflict as a whole. Though this is perhaps it's strength, it aims to tell a personal tale over a few soldiers who you'll get to know and care about.

The game centres around Sgt. Joe "Red" Hartsock, who will be familiar to any of you who've played Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30. His story, and that of his men, intertwines with the story of Matt Baker who you played in the first game. It's interesting that you get to see Baker several times during the game, crossing paths, but this time you see events from a new perspective.

The gameplay mechanic remains rather similar. You can shoot regularly or bring up your weapon for a moor accurate shot. And the control of your squad remains the same. You can tell your squad to suppress targets, after which a suppression symbol will show how suppressed the enemy is, enabling you or another squad to flank to get a better shot at the enemy troops. And of course there's the situation awareness mode where you can get an overhead view of your surroundings and enemy positions.

While this mechanic worked very well in Road to Hill 30 it did lead to some rather repetitive gameplay. Suppress, Flank, Move, Suppress, Flank, Move was the order of the day for RtH30. Not so hear in Earned in Blood. The enemy AI is much stronger and you'll find the German troops trying to work the same tactics against you. It leads to some truly dynamic conflicts that never play out the same way twice.

Your movements are somewhat limited though, you can't jump over some low obstacles and there's a lack of ability to lean around corners. It leaves you feeling as though you're often playing levels the way Gearbox Studios wants you to, rather than making your own choice. However when EiB is good, it's very good indeed, offering real excitement coupled with having to use your tactical acumen.

The presentation is excellent with all three platforms tested appearing attractive. Obviously if you want graphical finesse on console you should go for the Xbox version, which benefits from excellent Xbox Live play too. The prettiest version is clearly the PC game, though EiB seems to fit better on console. If you want a PC WW2 FPS, Call of Duty 2 offers more thrills.