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Now that the virtual rendition of World War II has been going far longer than the actual war, you might think that people were ready to move on. Apparently not Gearbox, whose latest in the Brothers in Arms line continues the Band of Brothers-like saga of our boys in the war. Expanding on cover-based shooter gameplay, Hell's Highway is certainly one of the best WW2 shooters we've seen lately, but at this point, is that really saying much?

Band of Virtual Brothers

If you've gotten swept up in the Brothers in Arms saga on the PC, Xbox, or PS2 already, then Hell's Highway will almost certainly be a welcome, if belated, addition to the series. As always, the story plays a much larger role here than in traditional shooters. This is a double-edged comment, though. Often, the cinematic sequences simply trudge on for too long, and you'll be impatiently waiting for your objectives to be laid out and the actual gameplay to start.

It's more than slightly ironic that a company rooted in creating Half-Life add-ons—a game that made almost all its cinematic moments part of the actual gameplay—has chosen to make so much of this game non-interactive. Thankfully, the writing is done well enough to make these characters and situations interesting most of the time.

Take Cover!

Gameplay is overall very much in the vein of every other WW2 first person shooter, with some key differences. Taking a cue from recent third person shooters like Rainbow Six: Vegas and Gears of War, Hell's Highway is heavily dependent on its cover system. The game moves to a third person view when you tap the "dig-in" button near some form of obstacle, and you'll play much of the game from this perspective.

The cover system manages to overpower the rest of the gameplay. Suppress and flank is the order of the day when facing the Germans. The simple command system lets you order your troops to lay down cover fire to suppress a group of enemies. Once suppressed, you and your men can then flank them while they are, presumably, demoralized. Each enemy group has a red circle above them that turns gray once they're cowering in fear.

Enemies automatically run for cover, and you'll constantly be fighting against several enemy groups at once. A nice feature is that certain cover can be destroyed—wood can be shot up and sandbags can be blown up. Since the quaint European landscape is replete with wooden fences, wagons, old cars, boxes, and other destructible objects, you'll have to switch up cover frequently.

War Intelligence

AI is incredibly variable on both sides. Your guys usually do what you ask, but often go about it in the most bone-headed ways. Too often, they get in your way and won't move, which is a huge problem if you just set a bomb and need to flee the area. When they take cover by you, they'll think nothing of sticking their head right in your shot as well. The enemy is good at taking cover, but often seems to have a supernatural sense about when you are trying to aim at them.

While the cover system is well-done, it is also over-done. After a while, it all feels like the Nazi version of Whack-a-Mole. You find cover, and then wait for a German to pop his head up so that you can take it off. Do that about 20 times in the current location, then run to the next cover area and do it again. You really can't play the game in the traditional FPS manner, although there are a few areas where run and gun is necessary. As with all recent shooters, getting shot means you have to take cover to regain health, which is far from realistic, but par for the course with today's shooters.

It's Real... and Yet Unreal

Hell's Highway utilizes, as usual, the Unreal engine, and overall the game looks very good—and exactly like every other current system WW2 game. Strangely, character models vary wildly in quality. Some characters are remarkably detailed and life-like, while others look like undead zombies whose polygons have slide around too much. The sound is fantastic though. Aside from excellent voice acting, the surround sound ambiance of war is top notch.

Multiplayer action is a bit different than most shooters. It's not so much game mode based, as it is map-based. Up to 20 can battle each other in opposing squad gameplay that revolves around both killing each other and capturing ground. There are six different maps that cover the gamut of WW2 terrain types, yet no actual game variations. Still, ten-on-ten online battles across authentic historical battlegrounds offer plenty of appealing action.

You're On the...

It's an accurate cliché to say that if you still enjoy World War II-era games, then Hell's Highway will entertain. The game is an intense shooting gallery, despite the repetition, yet the set-up, landscape, and gameplay feel so familiar at this point that it borders on boring. The whack-a-nazi focus doesn't help matters, though in all fairness, the cover system is excellently realized. Overall, Brothers in Arms is a good example of a genre that simply feels past its prime.

Review by: Jason D'Aprile