Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood

by UBI Soft

Product Features

• Delve deep into an authentic WWII experience with this military action game
• Command 2 squads of American paratroopers with easy 1-button command system
• Compelling story; close-quarter urban environments; next-generation A.I. system
• Skirmish mode; challenging and dynamic combat; new weapons and vehicles
• Single-player narrative, new cooperative multiplayer missions

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0009WH7C8
• Item Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Media: DVD-ROM
• Release Date: October 4, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,661 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PC

From the Manufacturer

With its unprecedented combination of authenticity, compelling story, and squad-based action, the Brothers in Arms franchise has established itself as a benchmark for military action games, receiving the highest average review scores of any WWII series to date (www.gamerankings.com). Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood adds new features and game modes and builds upon the elements that made Brothers in Arms Road to Hill 30 a runaway success. Featuring a new single-player narrative, new multiplayer missions, an all-new cooperative game mode, and new weapons and vehicles, Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood promises to lead the way.

Delve deeper into the most authentic WWII experience as you take the role of Sgt. Joe "Red" Hartsock, the new squad leader of 2nd Squad. You represent the best of the 101st Airborne, the Screaming Eagles. Command two new squads of American paratroopers, your fire team and assault team, through war-torn France's urban streets and villages.

On the verge of liberating the last regions of France, your missions will take you deep behind enemy lines, further and more dangerous than ever before. Your squad, your brothers, will look to you for leadership as you must overcome new urban environments and even more aggressive enemies. As squad leader, you will control your teams with a powerful and easy-to-use one-button command system. Suppress the enemy with a barrage of gunfire with your fire team, while you and your assault team move in for the kill.

Features:

• Next chapter of Brothers in Arms: the award-winning WWII shooter returns with more of the action, story, and authenticity that has critics and fans raving.
• New single-player narrative takes you beyond Hill 30: Play as Sergeant Joe Hartsock and lead your squad beyond Carentan. It will be up to you and your squad to defeat the last enemy bastions and bring freedom to Normandy.
• New cooperative Multiplayer mode: Take on the enemy with a friend by your side. Work together and utilize each other's squads or face certain death.
• Unrivaled authenticity: Fight actual Airborne Infantry battles of D-Day accurately recreated under the direction of author, historian, and Airborne Ranger Col. John Antal, using thousands of official photos, maps, After-Action Reports, and eyewitness accounts.
• New multiplayer missions: taking online tactics to new heights, Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood offers more unique multiplayer missions and improved online support on PC and consoles.
• Skirmish mode: Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood features an all-new Skirmish mode that allows players to take a tour of duty through a series of authentic and increasingly difficult custom combat missions.
• New weapons and vehicles: arm yourself with new weapons like the M3 grease gun, and command new vehicles like the M10 "Wolverine" Tank Destroyer.
• More challenging and dynamic combat: featuring close-quarter urban environments and a new, next-generation artificial intelligence system, Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood promises to take authentic military action to the next level.

Product Description

This Award-winning WWII Shooter Is Based On A TrueStoryProduct InformationBased on the true story of the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne theScreaming Eagles gamers assumed the role of squad leader Sgt. Matt Baker andled their men through missions based on real WWII battles.  Brothers InArms Earned In Blood the next chapter in the Brothers In Arms franchise addsnew features and builds upon the elements that made Brothers In Arms Road toHill 30 a runaway success. As Sgt. Joe “Red” Hartsock gamers will lead anew squad of men through a series of all new missions and urban environments asthey liberate France and eliminate the last bastions of enemy resistance.Brothers In Arms Earned in Blood adds a new dimension of gameplay with newmultiplayer modes and all new Co-Op Skirmish mode.Product FeaturesFeatures: Secure wartorn cities meticulously recreated from aerial photos using real WWII paratroopers' tactics. Complete more than 42 missions in campaign Skirmish and MP modes including new weapons and vehicles. Face fierce German troops that react to your actions and to their surroundings for highly realistic and intense fire fights. Play alone or cooperatively either as US or German squad leaders through objective based Skirmish missions.Single PlayerDelve deeper into the most authentic WWII experience as you take the role ofSgt. Joe "Red" Hartsock the new squad leader of 2nd Squad.  Yourepresent the best of the 101st Airborne the Screaming Eagles.  Lead yoursquad of American Paratroopers and command your assault team and fire teamthrough war-torn France's urban streets and villages.  On the verge ofliberating vital villages in Normandy your missions will take you deep behindenemy lines to accomplish missions more dangerous than before.  As squadleader you will control your teams with a powe

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars hmm, May 24, 2006

By 

Whose Line? "Kevin" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Brothers In Arms: Earned in Blood (DVD-ROM)

Having played through BIA: Road to Hill 30 not long ago and loving it, I gladly spent the money on EIB a couple months ago. I've read so many complaints about this sequel and I have to say, it's a bit confusing to me.

The only main issue I have with EIB is its similarity to RH30 in level design. The first half of the game is set in environments way too reminiscent of what I've already played through. The second half of the game makes up for this, however, by offering a nice array of urban combat.

I firmly believe all other gripes about this game are moot points (besides the ones who said their game wouldn't load...Ubisoft should be ashamed of themselves for that one.) As for the aiming scheme, it's more "realistic" than any other game I've seen. Though not all of the game designers were veterans, I think they do a veritable job of simulating the unsteadyness of the human hand. And if you don't like the weapon you have, find one that does suit you. The Kar 98 is extremely accurate, even from long distances, and is far superior to the Garand. I love the BAR for its firepower and accuracy, and the Thompson is the best for close quarters. The mp40 sucks from anywhere beyond five feet, and the FG42 is an extremely accurate automatic rifle which can double as a sniper rifle. If you don't like the weapon you have, kill a German and take his.

I read a complain about not being able to drop grenades down tank hatches anymore...I'm sort of wondering how it was that I managed to beat Carentan, because I'm pretty sure I shot the tank commancer when he opened the hatch, and then saw myself climb onto the tank and finish it off with a grenade...The only difference this time is realism. Instead of being able to pry a tank hatch open any time you want like in the first game (which i'm pretty sure is impossible), you have to wait for the right moment and then strike. It's called patience, I think. Or you can try and juke like crazy and shoot five panzerfaust rounds into it and call it a day. But I'll take the easy way out.

The sign that tells me that EIB is a good game is that I can't play it for more than an hour and a half at a time. It frustrates me, it's depressing, you die ten times before you figure out the best way to approach a level, and it's flat out intense. Every moment of the game is spent trying to figure out how to move your men around the map, the best flanking route, possible German counterflanks (which is a wonderful AI upgrade this time around), and keep your teams alive. Because without them, you are nothing. Maybe this team concept frustrates the Call of Duty lovers out there who like to be WWII Rambos, but having played through COD dozens of times, it just bores me. I know where every enemy spawn point is, where the MG's are set up, when to duck behind a window, what action I have to complete to trigger the scripted gameplay. Sure, I still go back and play through some classic levels, but it doesn't keep me riveted like BIA.

Forget the cheesy cut scenes and dialogue that doesn't match the characters mouth movements and creepy looking eyes and repetitive commands (though how many ways can you really say "Go over there!")?. For me, it's all about the gameplay. Each new level is like a moving chessboard - make the wrong moves, and you could be defeated in two minutes. Play it better, and you might take it all the way down to the wire only to be defeated by the last two enemies. Execute it perfectly, and you win, simple as that. And that's why BIA is so incredibly frustrating and satisfying to play all at once.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brothers in Arms takes a different direction in the FPS genre, December 1, 2005

By 

Matthew Browne (Corpus Christi, Tx United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Brothers In Arms: Earned in Blood (DVD-ROM)

I recently purchased Brothers in Arms and am genuinely impressed with the game. I am a veteran of many FPS and Brothers in Arms is something totally unique. You will spend more of your time managing your squad than actually engaging in combat. One of the first things I discovered is that alone, the player will not last long. Utilizing your fire and assault teams is essential to completing many of the missions. Rarely will the player find himself going solo on rambo-style missions, which is a nice change to other FPS's where computer-controlled players are fodder at best. All in all, this is a nice change from the normal "run into room and kill everyone" style of play from most WWII FPS.

While I find online play somewhat lacking (I prefer EA's Battlefield series), the single player is a solid game with good (though not great) replay value.

I also have researched StarForce at length and have found no real problems with the actual software itself. It is merely a driver package that prevents your CD or DVD burner from writing while StarForce protected software (like Brothers in Arms) is in the drive. While this can cause some people with older CD-Roms a hard time, it is hard to imagine a well-maintained system having a problem with it. The only real problems I can conceive of are users with dirty CD/DVD-Roms, dirty disks or users of the Windows 9x series operating systems.

You can find an interview about StarForce here: http://www.firingsquad.com/features/starforce_interview/

My system is a 2.1GHz with 1Gb RAM, GeForce 6600 GT and I run this game with full detail at 1024x768 with only the slightest of video caching (chop) on my initial load.

If you are a big fan of Real Time Strategy and First Person Shooters, this game is with the fifty dollars. If you are more of the run and gun type, you might want to pass this title up or at least wait until the price drops below thirty dollars.

I hope this review was helpful.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Has its quirks, but still rocks, December 26, 2005

By 

Dennis A. Marino (Harrison, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Brothers In Arms: Earned in Blood (DVD-ROM)

Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood, the sequel to Hill 30 turned out to be better (and harder) than I expected.

It still does have its minor quirks. The sound is a bit off, skipping some when maps and scenes are loaded. It's just a bit annoying when you're hearing this beautiful orchestra and then having it stutter and skip.

I'd still say the accuracy is a little wonky, it might even suffer from being TOO realistic. This is especially the case with the M1 Garand, where you will have the enemy dead-to-rights in your ironsights, pull the trigger and see your shot piff nowhere close to your target. The K98 doesn't seem to suffer much, so I'd suggest finding one of those rather than suffer with the Garand, heck, I can hit stuff better with the BAR on full auto than with the Garand. Any soldier with the weapons proficiency of Red Hartsock or Matt Baker from Hill 30 should never have made it to the U.S. Army, let alone the Airborne.

I would also liked to have seen more flanking routes, but it is an improvement over Hill 30, where there was only one.

On to the good...

- This game is multiple times harder than Hill 30. Germans actually have a brain, and use teamwork of their own. You could be sitting around with your teammates in a defensive position when a German 2-man team either flanks you or heaves a grenade into the middle of your team, killing you all. The enemy also turtles up if it finds a good cover spot, and scrambles when a pineapple lands near them, extremely realistic in the sense that they might actually run into the open to get themselves away from the grenade.

- Although its tough to hit Germans with some weapons, it is very gratifying watching them go down like a sack of bricks when shot. They give a lifelike rigor mortis stiffening when they go down.

- The new additions to the game itself, like the M3A1 Grease Gun (haven't gotten to use it in the SP mode yet), the Greaser seems to never be featured much in games. Call of Duty 2 actually had one on the loading screen, but you never even saw one in single player mode. The German Para FG-42, one of my favorite weapons in any game is included. One has a scope and the other doesn't. Lots of German armor, and some horses too.

The team also found a way to help with the character interaction. In Hill 30 it was hard to identify with characters, as they'd magically come back to life in the next mission if they had been killed in the previous engagement. At least this time a message comes up that you were not good enough basically, and either revive the soldier and continue the storyline, or try the map again and not have anyone be killed.

I also love the dialogue, its not cheesy, nor is the speech. In Hill 30 at times it sounded kind of cheesy. EiB is much better in this sense. It is a very nice change of pace with the commanding officer talking with Hartsock as more of a recollection than actually "being there". Hartsock gets emotional at times, and choked up, and it adds to the dialogue. Not many games can boast having a good dialogue, but this one can.

If you are some kind of run and gun cowboy player, you probably should avoid this game. In the Brothers in Arms world, running into a room by yourself without doing anything beforehand WILL get you killed, and angry.

But if you're a history buff, or a tactically sound player, this game is for you, in terms of historical accuracy and challenging gameplay.

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