brothers in arms: hell's highway is not safe for soldiers with kids back home or 56k

Sheep

Got this in the mail yesterday. Couple of thoughts:

1> The controls remind me of Turning Point: Fall of Man, in that they're much less fluid and actiony than, say, Call of Duty 4. Not a major complaint, as the gameplay overall really doesn't require split second decisions and quick moves.

2> It really aggravates me that the Germans can sometimes be super accurate, and I'll go down in two seconds of heavy fire. I was taking out an MG nest in a building last night, rounded a corner, and there were two guys with their backs turned to me. I put one bullet into one of them, who's character model just kinda... stood there. They both turned around and shot me dead.

3> Graphics are really wonky. Some of it is fine, and the direction of the game itself is great. Character models and animation of said models? BLECH.

4> Head shots are fucking cool.

5> Actually, most of the slomo stuff is really cool.

6> Squad tactics work well. Sometimes. It's really nothing too advanced over the likes of Freedom Fighters. Your team AI can be pretty dumb. Go hide behind those sandbags... No. Go around the porch, not in front of it, along enemy fire! The aiming reticule isn't really accurate sometimes either. It can get stuck on one of the actions requiring you to start over.

7> The bomb scene at the very beginning was super cool.

8> Graphical glitches abound. Had a bazooka guy get stuck on a sandbag. Wouldn't follow orders, he was just in prone but floating in the air. Also noticed that when I tell bazooka guy to blow something up, I hear bazooka sounds, but the truck or whatever just explodes. No contact, no firing, nothing.

brynstar

That last point is a weird one. I always see a trail of smoke and a rocket coming out of the bazooka, which then hits the target. Sometimes he will not have good line of sight and end up hitting a tree or the wall right in front of him...

I really liked this game and will probably play through it again. I think part of the issue with the character models looking weird is that they largely kept the character aesthetic from the first two games. As a result, they sit in this creepy space between the UE2 models from the older games and a more realistic style.

Bewildered_Ronin

A few quick questions, if you may:

1) Does the PS3 version allow for m&kb like UT3 did?

2) Does the PS3 and PC version still have cross-platform play? I heard the idea bandied about a while back, but nothing I saw ever fully confirmed or denied it.

2a) If there is cross platform, does that only apply to deathmatch, or does it apply to co-op too?

Thanks.

brynstar

I played through it on 360, so I couldn't really tell you. But if I had to guess, I'd say no to your questions. Also, there's no co-op in the game.

That_Guy

So I just started playing it and one VERY annoying thing comes to mind. Your squad mates are fucking retarded. I am not just talking dense here, I am talking full on IQ of 35 mental retardation. Case in point. I run up to take cover behind a stone wall. I forget to call my squad over. They get mowed down by the Germans because they are too stupid to take cover behind the barrel that is 10 FUCKING FEET AWAY. This has happened on every mission I have played with them. Also, how did these guys even pass basic training? They couldn't hit an enemy taking cover 20 feet away. It is just an annoying game of take cover when the enemy fires and fire when the enemy takes cover. Plus, when I order my Bazooka team to fire on an enemy position, I expect them to SOMETIMES use the Bazooka to take out a really dug in spot. And another thing; how can a German hit me with an SMG from way the fuck across a clearing if I so much as have a finger poked over the cover, but my single shot rifle can't hit one in the head when the cross hair is zoomed all the way in from 10 feet away? This aside, the game looks great, it is just a load of horse shit to play. Also, does every game have to feature a cover system these days? I swear, cover systems are the new physics puzzles.

powersurge

Gah just finished it way too short. Under 8 hours if I had to guess (no xfire support yet). Even with its problems though I really enjoyed the gameplay I just hope the next one improves a bunch and leaves Gears of War to Gears.

So off to Bastogne in the next game or expansion?

Hrm I can't seem to find the new game option now to restart with realism settings. Just continue at the end of my first game.

Bewildered_Ronin

brynstar wrote: »

I played through it on 360, so I couldn't really tell you. But if I had to guess, I'd say no to your questions. Also, there's no co-op in the game.

Yeah, I had a feeling that the answer was "no." Thought I'd ask anyways, hoping against all hopes. Thanks for the reply.

LookFreeGrenade

I got this on PC and its fucking great. I'm only up to Operation Garden though.

Also something about the multiplayer feels...terrible. The squad layout seems like a fun idea, but I probably would rather have something like EiB's coop skirmish where you do scenarios. If there's only two people, you could control ai squads, If there were more, you could have like two teams of three guys and maybe two squad leaders. The squad members could choose whether to be Assault, Base of Fire, MG team, or on special occasion Bazooka team.

At least it would be more fun that PUT FLAG ON POLE DEFEND FLAG ON POLE

Urian

I have a hard on for ww2 tactical shooters, so I bought this and have been loving every minute of it. As long as you treat the mg42 like it doesn't exist, all the weapons are great. Graphics are fantastic, gameplay is fantastic, but it could use some modding on both ends. Mods to improve enemy and friendly AI would be great, as well as a mod for slightly grittier visuals by putting some kind of filter on would be cool and I personally want something that makes bullet holes show up on enemies bodies, and just more blood and gore in general. Very rarely do enemies lose legs when I toss nades at them.

brynstar

Bewildered_Ronin wrote: »

brynstar wrote: »

I played through it on 360, so I couldn't really tell you. But if I had to guess, I'd say no to your questions. Also, there's no co-op in the game.

Yeah, I had a feeling that the answer was "no." Thought I'd ask anyways, hoping against all hopes. Thanks for the reply.

No problem.

And powersurge, yeah your spoiler is probably correct.

I only hope they get the next one out a little bit sooner than 3 years from now.

043

After playing the demo for this, I really like it -- but I won't have the money to buy it.

Good solid rental or a used purchase sometime after Christmas, though.

EDIT: Holy shit, this is so much better without the interface; especially with the ridiculous Action Cam turned off. Oh my God.

Fraz

This is my first time with the series and I love the idea of ordering squads around, getting all tactical.

They tried a little too hard to tell their bullshit story. I ignored it and treated it like a puzzle game, which made the solo bits seem tedious as fuck.

The visuals are also pretty inconsistent. Some areas look great, others look like shit,

At least the game is generous with the achievements.

Fraz

043 wrote: »

After playing the demo for this, I really like it -- but I won't have the money to buy it.

Good solid rental or a used purchase sometime after Christmas, though.

EDIT: Holy shit, this is so much better without the interface; especially with the ridiculous Action Cam turned off. Oh my God.

The action cam was really satisfying at first, but it gets old.

temperature!

Sorry to revive a dead thread, but I've been in the mood for a good WW2 game lately, and found this on new egg for 20$. I played the demo and really enjoyed it, but I was wondering how long the game is? Should I pick this up, or should I spend my 20$ on COD2 or 3?

OneWingedOtaku

I'd say if your like WWII to pick it up right away. I played it on 360 and thought it was a great tactical shooter, good storyline and nice use of real environments (which look very much like the real places).

I like WWII themed games in general, but BiA has always had a more tactical edge than COD and MOH etc, which is good imo. It's also a good length if I remember, not extremely long but not short either, I think my playthrough on hard was about 15 hours (though I havent played it in ages so I MIGHT be wrong!)

I dont know about the online as I haven't played it, I got the game for the single player alone.

Sceptre

I just want to chime in that this game is AWESOME.

Easily the best of the series.

brynstar

I agree with the above sentiments. The game is fantastic. It's a shame so many people overlooked it.

Honk

Sceptre wrote: »

I just want to chime in that this game is AWESOME.

Easily the best of the series.

I strongly disagree about it being the best in the series. It is at least the newest and has the best graphics in the series...

It's good though, I liked how they achieved a really eerie feel to a couple of special missions in the storyline. It's good if you've played the previous games as well as the story could otherwise easily get confusing.

Like I said, there's a really nice eerie, supernatural feel to a couple of missions which I thought was a brilliant break from the general destroying of 88's.

Sceptre

So it took me a while to finally get through it, but I quite enjoyed it. The very last mission was a bit anti-climactic, but it was all A-OK because the game ended with a killer closing cinematic.

I have my gripes with the way the game played, but for the most part they were pretty unimportant given that this is less of a 'game' per se, than an experience. The ending was particularly emotional.

Did anybody else:

Think that they'd reached the end of the game when they got to that hospital the second time, and Baker is shot by the germans? I was so happy it ended up being visions or what not, I was really getting into the groove of the game at that point.