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July 17, 2008

E3 Day 3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center-Los Angeles, California

 

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway is a continuation of the Brothers in Arms series of World War II shooters that will be coming to the XBOX 360, PS3 and PC this September. The game's graphics are powered by the Unreal 3 Engine and have given this third person shooter a grittier look then any previous game in the series. This appears to be a great upgrade in the series. The game has the look of the movie Saving Private Ryan. That means it is not for kids or players who are a little squeamish. It is based on the real world battles following the Allied troops victory at Normandy.

 

The game features cinematic story telling that appeared very moving and again, very reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan.The cut scenes appeared rich, dramatic and to contain the sense of urgency and sorrow that fill the brief lulls in between persistent combat. However, the show floor at E3 was very noisy and it was very difficult to make out what all the characters were saying. Therefore, until I get my hands on the final copy I cannot give a fair assessment of the voice acting in the game.

 

Hell's Highway features a very basic and useful cover system, similar to Gears of War. This is not a game where players can successfully use run-and-gun tactics. If a player is not firing from cover in this game they will be killed in seconds. It is a very intuitive system and any player who has ever played Gears will pick it up in seconds.

 

The enemy AI in this game is smart. They have as much interest in dying as you do. If in a battle a player has one enemy soldier pinned down, that soldier will stop popping his head up to shoot back knowing that this will spell his death. At that same time, when his fellow soldiers become aware of his problem, they will concentrate their fire on you. That will pin you down turning the tables. It also, frees up their soldier to move or do whatever he needs to effectively rejoin the battle.

 

The game will featured varied gameplay to make sure the player is not doing the same thing for too long. Hell's Highway will have several puzzles players have to solve. In the demo, I had to escape a burning house. Making my way through the labyrinth, while the burning structure came down around me was one of the most challenging puzzles I have encountered in a shooter outside of the Half-Life universe.

 

Players will be able to use vehicles in the game to keep the game from becoming monotonous. In the final level of the demo, I got to use a tank. The tank is not invincible, but in a world where almost everything can be destroyed the tank can make players feel invincible. With the tank, the environment becomes your ally as you can bring down debris from almost anywhere in the destructible environments to kill enemies. For example, snipers in second story windows do not need to be eliminated by the tank targeting them. The tank can shoot above them and bring the roof down on top of the sniper or below the sniper to send them crashing to the floor below. Walls can be brought down on enemies crouching behind houses. The killing through indirect fire was probably the most enjoyable feature of using a vehicle that is a favorite among most players.

 

Hell's Highway will allow the player to command support troops. They can be anything from extra infantry troops to a squad of troops that carry around a bazooka. On the final level of the demo, I was instructed to have the troops with the bazooka target a gazebo where enemy troops had set up. The explosion sent sand bags and bodies flying. When the fighting had died down, I was able to inspect the carnage. It was a very satisfying experience to cause that much damage, and be able to see the destroyed environment and mangled bodies I had created.

 

On a similar note, the game will randomly do a slow motion zoom shot of some of your kill shots. Watching a Nazi's head explode in slow motion when you fire a perfect sniper shot for the first time is more exhilarating then I can describe. Even when you drive a tank in the game, the kill-cam will be in effect. Watching bodies fly rag doll style in slow motion following a tank blast is as enjoyable as it sounds.

 

Gear Box who is developing this game for Ubisoft made the bold choice to bring a demo with 3 complete levels to the show floor at E3 for journalists to play. I probably spent more time then any other journalist with the game on the show floor at E3 (over 3.5 hours), playing through all 3 levels. This choice made their game the most extensive demo of any game I played at E3, and showed off many different aspects of the game. However, Gear Box has assured me they still have some surprises left for players when they see the final game. This extensive look at the game has given me the belief that Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway can stand out amongst a crowded field of World War II games.

 

The next time I see this game will be in a few weeks for a final review. I am working on getting people in place to do a review of both the PC and XBOX 360 version of the game. The game may actually be finished as I write this, meaning a final review may be coming very soon. Special thanks to Gearbox Software's Rosalie Kofsky for spending a lot of time walking me through this demo.

 

Tomorrow I should be back with a preview of Fable 2.