Review: Brothers in Arms: Bathed in Blood (XBX)

War games appear by the dozen, so understandably few really make an impact. Ghost Recon, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor... it's all a blur, but Ubisoft successfully attracted Gamestyle's attention with the superb Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 earlier this year, and now they're trying to do it again with the title's sequel: Earned in Blood.

Taking the role of Sergeant Joe "Red" Harstock of the 101st Airborne during World War II, Earned in Blood sets you up for the task of leading your team to conquer Normandy; no small feat, particularly when you're separated from your squad. Harstock must find them and meet up with other squadrons along the way, as well as explaining the last few days to his commanding officer. This game doesn't differ a great deal from the original, with much of it playing in exactly the same way. Action takes place behind enemy lines in France, and retains strict authenticity with true-to-life missions, structured in much the same way as before (with Joe giving a briefing before each one, like a diary).

Out on the field, Harstock and co. are required to subdue enemies and run errands, such as acquiring medical packs for wounded soldiers. Commanding your troops is very easy, but what proves frustrating is the 'stop-and-talk' feature when speaking to other soldiers. Sure, it's a concession to realism, but not being able to move when in a conversation otherwise tries your patience. Squad commands include suppressing the enemy as well as aggressive firing; all simple yet effective methods. Weapons in the game once again replicate those of the World War II era, and vehicles also make a welcome return, bringing in that extra fun-factor and varying the gameplay from just a 'shoot-hide-shoot' formula.

Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood consists of over 40 missions, but the most important modification is the online side of things, which has been expanded to allow you to take part in skirmishes. The other major improvement is the AI in the game: the Nazis are much more advanced this time around and will watch your every move - however, this is easily dealt with by cleverly commanding your squad to suppress the enemy while you ambush them from behind. But even with these two major improvements to Brothers in Arms, it barely justifies calling the game a "sequel" - as much of the action merely retreads old ground.

From fighting your way through war-torn cities, to being in the French mountains, it's much more of what we saw in Road to Hill 30. The environments are slightly improved, but this won't be noticed outside of a direct comparison. Character models are a cut-and-paste job and fail to exhibit the polish they could've done with. Thankfully, the sound of bullets flying past your head - together with those explosions in the distance, or the sound of aircraft crashing - still leaves the impression of warfare and is sonically satisfying. The voice-acting, too, has been nailed on the head.

Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood shouldn't be classed as a sequel as it's near-identical to Road to Hill 30 (notwithstanding the fact that you can take control of a different character). Aside from its expanded multiplayer mode, there's little to separate it from the authentic action, sound and visuals of its progenitor - so maybe it should have been released as an add-on (much like Ubisoft's other successful franchises, Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six). It will undoubtedly prove enjoyable for those new to the series, but anyone expecting a fully-fledged sequel might be sorely disappointed.

Rating: 7 / 10

Words by Arron Hanley