The horrors and tragedies of war can bring out the emergence of unlikely heroes. Take Sgt. Joe Hartsock (or “Red”) for example. A drop over France gets ugly and members of his team are scattered around. The first objective is to round them up.

Brothers In Arms: Earned in Blood is the successor to the highly touted and critically acclaimed Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30. It is, at the core, a first-person World War II shooter with some linear paths through the levels, but smart AI and an immersive storyline.

Ubisoft and Gearbox Software are the tag-team behind the Xbox title. And while graphically a treat, the game does have a few minor stumbles that prevent it from being as innovative as the original title. Still, if you have not played a Brothers In Arms title before, you will be pleasantly surprised with this game.

There are several modes of play – the robust and deep story mode, skirmish and multiplayer (as well as a tutorial). The multiplayer will enable players to play over Xbox Live or through two controllers in a split screen mode (cooperative play is available). Skirmish is just a quick form of multiplayer combat and is broken down into four different game modes, and will even allow players to take on the role of Germans. While it is fun, (and certainly the multiplayer adds a great deal to the gameplay), the multiplayer elements – on the whole – lack depth of the story mode and the interpersonal relations that the development team tried to make a key element in the story. The characters have emotions, and personalities. And remember, war is hell and anyone can get killed, so if you begin to identify with those personalities and then make a poor decision that gets them killed, it is intended to be a haunting situation.

This game itself is all about squad-based maneuver and firing tactics. But in many ways it is more than just the surface understanding of that. It could be viewed as somewhat repetitious in that you always seem to be moving through the levels in a very directed manner (there are many impassible terrain elements), and you will come upon different German units. The task is always the same – find the enemy, outmaneuver them and kill them, and then move on. But when you take the game into the context of the plot line, there is more to this. For example, the first chapter of the story is all cutscene. But from that point the game play really works players through nuances of the control scheme.

Then you begin to pick up assault team members. Pulling the left trigger brings up the assault command list and from that point on you begin to issue orders. Suppression fire is always a good thing, but calling for an all-out assault can be a tricky tactic and used sparingly. As mentioned, the AI is sharp. Enemies will use cover and will even pull back to better cover if their position becomes untenable.

There are new weapons in the game, and as you complete each level, you will receive medals and unlockables – which are really dependent on the difficulty setting you have chosen.

There was one stumbling point and that occurred when the prompt popped up to hit back to pull up the situational awareness view. The control scheme said back was pulling down on the left thumbstick, but repeated efforts to do this yielded no results and the sergeant in charge of the squad was left standing motionless, unable to move. What the in-game option really meant was hitting the actual button labeled back on the controller, not using the left thumbstick.

The situational awareness view allows you to pause the game, view the battlefield, come up with a plan of attack and then return to the game to execute it. You may lay down suppression fire, while sending a unit to flank the enemy and take them out. It is very simple on the surface but does require some thought in order to properly execute it all. 

Graphically Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood is a strong game. The perspectives are handled very well; the physics resemble real-world effects. And the sound is superb – from the orchestral musical score to the Germans speaking in German. Each command you give is yelled, though, which might not always seem to be the wisest course, especially when you are within earshot of the enemy.  

But Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood is a smart game, with a superior AI and a great tactical element that just happens to be wrapped up in first-person shooter paper. The sound is terrific, the graphics are above average and the gameplay and content will draw in players.

Gameplay: 8.7
The game has load times but while the control scheme uses everything the Xbox controller has available, it still manages to present a small learning curve. The maps are also somewhat linear with vegetation barriers that prevent players from take a more direct path through the levels. The walls are understandable, as are the fences, but banks of a small stream are chocked with tall grass that form an invisible wall that cannot be penetrated.

Graphics: 8.8
Facial expressions do not always match the emotion in the narrative, but this game does a fine job of rendering war-torn environments, and the lighting and shadows are very nicely done.

Sound: 9.2
The sounds and music of this game are excellent. 

Difficulty: Medium
With four difficulty levels, players should have little trouble fitting the game to their abilities. 

Concept: 9.2
The AI is this game is almost criminal it is so smart. Not only do your own troops behave with some intelligence, but the enemies are not about to just stand around waiting to be shot. They will counter flanking maneuvers, retreat to cover and generally create a challenging situation.

Multiplayer: 9.0
Solid, solid, solid. The Xbox Live connectivity, the new skirmish modes and the cooperative play make for a great multiplayer experience

Overall: 8.9
The game does have some linear aspects and is mission-based, but this is a smart game that draws players into the storyline and backs the content angle up with solid graphics, smart AI and great audio tracks. This is a title that should be in the library of any FPC war game, and in the library of any gamer who likes a smart challenge.