Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Review
Say hello to Stella!
by Chris Davis
reviewed on X360
Pushing the Front Forward (cntd.)
The final addition to the game doesn’t change the gameplay so much as make it more entertaining. Upon certain events like a devastating headshot or an explosion taking place at an enemy position, the camera will zoom in on that position and slows down everything, allowing the player to take in what has just happened. The result isn't that much different from the bullet time effect that was made popular by Max Payne but it is still entertaining every single time. The effect occurs at random times but you won’t find yourself wishing you could speed through it.
The Roar of Windmills Aflame
While a game always gets high marks for a good story, sadly it is the graphics that more often than not decide the fate of most games. Luckily, Hell’s Highway takes this category head on and comes out smiling. Gearbox chose to utilize the ever impressive Unreal 3 engine to get the job done and shows some excellent eye candy. While there are certain polish issues that are seen throughout the game, such as certain rubble textures and some last-gen grass models, you find yourself immersed by the visuals. The game experiences some drops in framerate on occasion but otherwise works out just fine for most of the game.
The biggest visual highlights are the flames seen on almost everything in sight. Put quite simply, what Bioshock was to water effects, Hell’s Highway is to fire. The visual design of many of the levels is great and really throws you into a hellish situation. The titular level of the game, set toward the end of the campaign, is filled with both visual splendor and is genuinely creepy. There’s just something genuinely scary about seeing windmills and other farm buildings on fire with the ruins of a convoy lying in ruin and not knowing where the Germans are.
The modeling of the characters is quite well done. No two people in Baker’s squad (or on the Allies’ side for that matter) look the same. There are a few variations in the German models but you aren’t going to be focusing on those very often. The facial expressions on Baker, Frankie, Corrion, and Hartsock are particularly well animated with Baker standing out. Watching Baker’s face twist and contort in sorrow and rage tells you more about his current state of mind than words could ever convey.
Violence
Gearbox’s attention to detail is exceptional. The game really captures the feel of 1944 Holland and in more than just scenery. Gearbox went out of their way in the recreation of Eindhoven. Using city maps and descriptions from both civilian and veterans, Gearbox recreated the city to within a foot of where everything actually was. All the building designs, store locations, roads, and landmarks are exactly as they were during Operation Market Garden. Short of a golf game, Gearbox has done one of the most remarkable recreations ever done in a videogame.
One graphical change that is fairly surprising to see is the amount of violence as Hell’s Highway is loaded with gore. It is not uncommon to see limbs blown off at their joints or heads explode at the impact of a bullet. Severed legs and arms show the exposed bones and muscle from the wound and heads are nothing short of a bloody mess. It really gives you a sense of the horrors seen by those who were there.
The audio portion of the game has some very authentic sound effects. The music is your typical sweeping World War II suite with everything kicking in at just the right moment. The voice acting is superb and obviously uses well experienced voice actors. Troy Baker’s presentation of the game’s main character is very emotional and does tug on the heartstrings. Your squad mates always have something useful to say and the dialogue takes a long time before it starts getting too repetitive.
Remember the Fallen
Brothers in Arms is an excellent example of taking what could have been another typical first person shooter and adding just enough refinements to be one of the best on the market. While Hell’s Highway’s multiplayer component is something you should all but steer clear of. The campaign is an excellent fictional narrative set within an all too realistically depicted battlefield. This one’s going to be with me for a long time.
8.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
