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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mad Nice Game Right Here, December 1, 2008
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Brothers in Arms: Double Time (Video Game)
Brothers in Arms: Double Time for the Nintendo Wii has received very little attention in the reviewing world, either from professionals or consumers themselves. Any attention it has been given, though, has been largely negative or sub-par. And, in an effort to perhaps sway some on-the-fence potential buyers, allow me to say that this game completely exceeded my expectations.
Background:
For the uninitiated, BIA: DT is actually a direct port of both "Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30," and "Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood" originally released for the PC. Despite being released together here, the games are stand alone titles, and "Double Time" presents each on a separate disk. The stories intertwine overall, but each is a distinct entity.
Graphics:
One of the main complaints about BIA: DT is the graphics, which have gone largely unchanged from their original, 2005 style. Yes, the newest BIA game "Hell's Highway" looks tens of times better than anything in DT. The faces are all pretty expressionless, except during certain cutscenes, and many character models don't seem to have any weight, but if that's the deal-breaker in games for you, I doubt you're really the type of person who would enjoy a BIA game, anyway. Framerate complaints are also numerous, and also pretty spot on. Gearbox could have cleaned up the title a little bit, but I've played the game for hours at a time, and it hasn't frozen on me, it lags every once in a while, but again, it doesn't ruin anything about the game.
Gameplay:
BIA: DT is a first person shooter set in World War II with a heavy emphasis on team strategy over individual heroism, with very little "run-n-gun" fun to be had. To underscore this, there is no health regeneration system (the old standard of crouching behind cover will do nothing to clean up your bloodied avatar on the menu subscreen,) aiming is often sporadic (never unfair, but under enemy fire you'll find yourself unable to line up your shots perfectly.) And the more squadmates you send into enemy fire, the harder your job will be in the end. Throughout all 31 levels on both disks, many missions become similar and a bit "same-y" but they never cross into straight out repetition. Every level brings something new, and while you'll inevitably find a few missions to be your favorites, you'll most likely play through all of them several times.
Story:
One of the greatest stories of any video game, let alone a war game. Teary-eyed "Oh Say Can You See" moments are at record lows, and very little is done to over dramatize an already dramatic situation. It becomes really easy to become immersed in the story as a whole. Very well written all around, which plays more like an interactive movie than a video game.
Presentation:
Dialogue is a bit hit-or-miss. With some genuinely entertaining bits ("Don't even try to argue with me, son. I was kicking a** while you were still playing dolls with your sister") and some hammy lines every now and then, but nothing too bad. Voice-acting is the same way. Unfortunately, Sgt. Baker (your character in RTH30) is one of the more poorly voiced characters, and his narration can become cheesy. Sgt. Hartsock's narration in EIB is much more competent. In the heat of battle some soundbytes become over-used, which is a fault most action games share.
Overall:
Overall, a very good buy. Two games for $50, with a pretty high replay value. (The removal of the skirmish feature detracts from this heavily, though.) And lack of multiplayer is almost criminal. Don't believe the negative hype surrounding this game, easily the best war game to be released on the Wii so far, and if you can get past the dated graphics, you'll find an incredibly enjoyable gaming experience.
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