The Brothers in Arms series has distinguished itself by emphasizing story and characters as much as the action, and Hell’s Highway is no different. While familiarity with the characters and the overall story arc will certainly help, it is not ultimately necessary to have played the prior entries in the series to become engrossed in the campaign. That said, if Hell’s Highway were to have one flaw, it is that the out-of-sequence story elements can be a bit jarring at first, and as a result, it takes a while to get your bearings and warm up to the characters. However, by game’s end, it’s hard not to care deeply about the soldiers of the 101st, and the story has some powerful moments that deliver a surprising amount of emotional impact, on a level rarely seen in gaming.
Hell’s Highway is not your typical run-and-gun shooter. In fact, players who attempt to push ahead guns blazing will quickly be met with a reload screen. Rather, Hell’s Highway relies upon strategic squad-based approaches to each skirmish and a heavy emphasis upon the use of cover. When encountering an enemy, a circle appears above each squad’s heads, indicating their tactical situation. A fully red circle means they are at an advantage, ready to fire upon your position with deadly accuracy. However, by concentrating your teammates' fire upon the enemy position, this circle will turn gray, signifying that the enemy has been effectively suppressed. It is then that you can take your time to line up a shot, or to command your squadmates to leapfrog up the field to a better position. Alternatively, you can use that cover to move to a flanking position that allows you to gain a tactical advantage. It is a mechanic that effectively turns each battle into a puzzle with many potential solutions, thus allowing players a significant amount of freedom in determining how to tackle each situation.
Of course, squad-based shooters live and die on the quality of the friendly AI, and on the ease of commanding your troops. Fortunately, Hell’s Highway succeeds on all fronts with excellent NPC pathfinding and relatively simple command controls. One button will cycle through each squad, consisting of a combination between machine gun units, bazooka teams, base of fire teams, and assault teams, each of which have their own advantages in battle. Aiming with the reticule and pulling the left trigger will order your squad to move to that position. If there’s heat, they will intelligently dig in behind the nearest cover, and suppress the nearest enemy. With the same mechanic, you can also target the suppression circles above each enemy’s head to order them to suppress or destroy specific targets. The whole system works quite well, so much so that you can literally clear an entire battle without firing a shot yourself, if you so desire. It is just another way in which the folks at Gearbox have managed to craft a flexible gameplay system that allows players to choose the strategy that works best for them.
The enemy AI is no slouch, either, even on the easier difficulty settings. Enemies will use cover and will work together to suppress your squad with a barrage of gunfire. Should their cover be destroyed or if their position is otherwise compromised, they will scramble to find a new position to re-establish the advantage. Very seldom will you find an enemy leaving himself out in the open. Though they may not be as aggressive as enemies found in other shooters, the terrific enemy AI makes each battle very challenging, requiring a great deal of planning and careful maneuvering.
On occasion, the campaign splits off into some solo action, notably sequences which leave the open battlefield behind as you clear a building. These sequences don’t work quite as well as the squad-based sections, but they still provide a lot of nail-biting moments, augmented by a sense of dread that comes from some interesting survival-horror type interludes; while they may seem out-of-place in a WWII shooter, these horror elements actually work well within the context of the story. In addition, some sections put you in the driver’s seat of an overpowered tank as you decimate the battlefield in front of you. These sections are quite a bit of fun, since your heavy weapons lay waste to just about everything in your path, but they lack the challenge of other areas. Still another interlude has you perched on a sniper’s roost, providing cover for a civilian as he tries to make his way through a trainyard. This section doesn’t work as well as the others, if only because the enemy positions keep repeating, making the whole thing feel a bit rote after only a few minutes.
The armory is a bit plain, but keeps within the sense of realism. Most missions will equip you with a long-range rifle, an automatic weapon, and a pistol. Each has its advantages, but since close-quarters combat is rare in the game, you’ll probably find yourself relying upon the rifle throughout most of the 12-hour campaign. If there were one complaint about the weaponry, it would be that the grenade mechanic does not work very well. Holding down the grenade button will cast a circle where it is expected to land. However, the aiming is very finicky, and dropping a grenade just behind cover is quite difficult to pull off. In the end, it’s simply easier to order your assault team to close in and attack, at which time, one of your squadmates will toss a grenade with deadly accuracy. It is pretty much the only blemish on an otherwise great combat system.
Graphically, Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway is easy on the eyes, though not without a few issues. The environments are vast, with excellent terrain and vegetation. The texture work during the gameplay is solid, and the particle and lighting effects make for some very vivid fireworks. A particular high point is a battle through the streets of Eindhoven during a downpour. The rain and water effects make for a brilliant backdrop for the explosions and firefights. The characters animate extremely well on the battlefield, and appear to move with purpose and situational awareness.
During the cutscenes, however, the graphics falter a bit. The character models are generally very good and are fairly expressive, but they fall a little too deeply into the uncanny valley a times, making them appear a bit too wooden at times. Also, some of the decals on the soldiers’ uniforms lack resolution, which is unfortunate, given the close-up angles that are often used during these interludes. The textures occasionally drop out when the camera moves quickly, making some of the more detailed objects stand out a bit oddly. On top of it all, the scenes are rendered with what appears to be film grain, which does add to the ambience, but it causes the shadows to have an unnatural stippled look that detracts from the overall look of the game.
That said, the cinematics are extremely well done, shot in a style very similar to Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers. The camera angles are dynamic, with quick cuts interspersed with long tracking shots. It is camera work that is every bit as good as that found in a feature film.
From an audio perspective, Hell’s Highway shines. The gunfire gives off hearty reports, with clean pops and cracks, mixed with realistic mechanical sounds that literally allow you to hear when you’re running low on ammo. The explosions are window-shattering, and the dynamic on-field chatter changes with the situation, making for a very immersive soundstage. The game also features a sweeping orchestral score which is used sparingly to augment some of the action and most of the cutscenes. The voice acting is generally very good as well, though there are some voices that sound a little out of place, including a few characters that suffer from surfer dude accents and wooden delivery. Overall, however, the audio presentation is excellent.
It’s obvious that the people at Gearbox were committed to delivering a game that satisfies on all fronts, and they have succeeded brilliantly. The story, while a bit confusing at first, emerges as a very engrossing interwoven tale, which is augmented by a generally fantastic script. What’s more, the cutscenes rarely overstay their welcome, providing just enough exposition before you are thrown right back into the heat of battle.
Over the past few years, the market has been flooded with a glut of WWII shooters, many of which have started to feel like the same experience rehashed over and over again. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway manages to brilliantly transcend these trappings, and emerges as a very compelling experience that is vastly different from other series, including Call of Duty and Medal of Honor. Ultimately, it is a game which handily surpasses its competition to provide the best WWII experience currently available, and is a must-play for any fan of strategic action.