MY VIEW
Games: 'Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30'

By Julius Pecson
Special to The Advertiser

The Verdict: THE RATINGS 5 — Outstanding: Add it to your collection now. A must-have. 4 — Great: Buy it or rent it — definitely play it. 3 — Good: Worth playing despite some flaws. 2 — Fair: Unless you're a fan of the license or series, don't bother. 1 — Poor: You'd have more fun playing Pong.

Console: Xbox, PS2, PC.

Developer/publisher: Gearbox Software/Ubisoft.

Genre: First-person shooter.

Number of players: One to four.

ESRB rating: Mature (blood, violence, language).

The premise: Dropped behind enemy lines, Sgt. Matt Baker of the 101st Airborne Division must take command of his squad for eight harrowing days surrounding the D-Day invasion, fighting to keep his men alive and overcome overwhelming odds.

Game play: As Sgt. Baker, you'll take command of up to two squads or Allied tanks, but the basic tactic will be the same: One squad will provide suppression and one will handle the assault. After locating the enemy's position, the suppression team's job is to keep the enemy pinned down under heavy fire, while the assault team moves in for the kill. At any time during combat, players can examine the current mission situation from an overhead view — called Situational Awareness — and develop the best strategic plan. Along with more than 20 single-player missions and a plethora of unlockable content, options include multiplayer split-screen, system link, or online play through Xbox Live. Like the single-player campaign, each player will have command of their own squad, and will need to accomplish mission-based objectives such as destroying the other team's anti-aircraft guns or recovering documents.

The good/bad: "Brothers in Arms" maintains a great sense of balance between action and strategy. The controls are simple, with an intuitive "point and command" interface, allowing the usually brilliant Artificial Intelligence of your team to handle the situation. However, occasionally I found myself screaming at my men to find appropriate cover while they were being lit up with enemy gunfire. Thunderous explosions, storms of bullets, and puddles of dead bodies truly capture the gruesome war-torn atmosphere; it feels so real when dirt kicks up into your face and distorts your vision. The cinematic presentation brings an epic feeling to the game, as does the excellent voice acting and orchestral score. But one thing that takes away from the immersion is that if a member of your squad happens to die during a mission, as long as it wasn't scripted he'll be back and healthy for the next mission. I understand that permanently losing your men will make progress impossible, but having teammates come back to life made me not care so much if they happened to get killed.

My take: "Brothers in Arms" not only excels in historical authenticity, but in battle authenticity as well. Instead of running around and blasting everything in sight, you're required to think like a tactical squad leader, and in a war-game genre full of straightforward shooters and super-soldiers who can single-handedly take out an army, this game is like a breath of fresh air.

Julius Pecson, a student at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and a longtime gamer, reviews games on various consoles for The Honolulu Advertiser.

Have a game or CD you want to review? Reach Island Life deputy editor Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Upcoming video game releases
Dates are tentative.

PLAYSTATION 2

• March 21: "NARC"; "TimeSplitters: Future Perfect."
• March 22: "Ford Racing 3"; "Sega Classics Collection"; "Stolen"; "DragonBall Z: Sagas"; "God of War"; "Shining Tears."
• March 28: "Full Spectrum Warrior."

XBOX

• March 21: "NARC"; "TimeSplitters: Future Perfect."
• March 22: "Ford Racing 3"; "Special Forces: Nemesis Strike"; "Combat Task Force 121"; "Spikeout: Battle Street"; "Stolen"; "Iron Phoenix"; "DragonBall Z: Sagas."
• March 23: "MX vs ATV Unleashed."
• March 28: "Myst IV Revelation"; "Monster 4X4 World Circuit"; "WWE WrestleMania XXI."

GAME BOY ADVANCE

• March 21: "WarioWare: Twisted!"
• March 28: "Mario Party Advance"; "Power Rangers Double Pack."
• March 29: "LEGO Star Wars."

GAMECUBE

• March 21: "TimeSplitters: Future Perfect."
• March 22: "DragonBall Z: Sagas."

SONY PSP
A new system — Sony PlayStation Portable — is due to hit stores March 24. Games for it include:

• March 23: "Spider-Man 2"; "Rengoku: The Tower of Purgatory"; "Metal Gear Acid"; "Archer Maclean's Mercury"; "Lumines"; "Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower"; "Ape Escape: On the Loose"; "ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails"; "Wipeout Pure"; "Ridge Racer"; "Need For Speed Underground Rivals"; "Twisted Metal: Head On"; "NBA"; "NFL Street 2 Unleashed"; "Gretzky NHL"; "Tiger Woods PGA Tour; "FIFA Soccer"; "World Tour Soccer"; "Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix"; "Dynasty Warriors."
• March 29: "Gran Turismo 4 Mobile PSP."

NINTENDO DS

• March 22: "Rayman DS."

List provided by Toys n' Joys, with shops in Kaimuki (735-4546) and the Westridge Shopping Center (487-8697) in Pearlridge. See www.toysnjoys.com.