REVIEW
Brothers in Arms: Double Time is a port of the Xbox games "Road to Hill 30" and "Earned in Blood", and comes as a 2-disc package.
Positives
+ Runs in 480p widescreen
+ It's an M-rated war game by a third party publisher
+ It made it to stores
+ It wasn't advertised
+ I think it's a better war simulation than Medal of Honor
+ The environments have plenty of foliage and obstacles, far from a "flat floor" level design in many shooters. Generally looks better than the original Ghost Recon
+ Level design encourages use of squad tactics: assigning suppressive fire and maneuvering around structures to flank enemy positions
+ Telling squadmates where to stand and when to shoot is easy
+ No health packs
+ Sounds effects are OK. They haven't changed in 10 years
+ Probably aims/moves better than Far Cry and Red Steel
Negatives
- No DPLII surround sound. A war shooter without surround sound made after 1998 is a crime
- It's a port by Ubisoft
- It was released anyway
- Other people might play this game
- Reticule response is a little delayed/floaty, similar to RE: Umbrella Chronicles
- Bounding box is too large for my liking (still smaller than Red Steel), transition from non-turning to steady spinning feels sudden and jarring
- Bounding box, turning speed options aren't detailed and therefore aren't helpful
- Collision/damage detection SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS. Enemies in crouched positions behind barriers seem perfectly protected from bullets: exposed heads and limbs don't respond to gunfire despite steady aim.
- Framerate SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS. Tries to hold on to the magick 30fps when you're alone. Drops to Perfect Dark levels when 2 or more characters are on-screen and within ~20-ft of you. Poor framerate destroys aiming functionality; aiming reticule becomes a victim of the framerate and becomes hard to recover when it jumps around during intense action-packed slideshows. Game is generally playable (15-20fps) when opposing forces are fighting at longer ranges.
- No bullet holes are generated, meaning there's no good way for me to evaluate reticule aim vs. in-game results
- The only single one Nunchuk waggle command this game has does not work well. I'm not sure how many times I'm supposed to twirl it, I end up doing 3-4 hard RRR2-type twirls to make things happen
- Health is measured gradually; no specific body damage or immediate incapacitations
- Non-enemy objects are indestructible
- No friendly fire
- Lacks music in general, not even a Band of Brothers type theme
- Voice acting is not Sega-bad (otherwise it'd be somewhat likable). Shouting and profanity sound unnatural, like they don't know what they're shouting at or just having a conversation with a wall
- Loading screens are ugly
- No dynamic lighting
- Another brilliant use of the Unreal Engine by Ubisoft
- The good qualities aren't real, like the game engine implies
- It makes me lose confidence in Samba de Amigo
Final Score:
"I'll sell this back to GameStop tomorrow" out of possible 10. (not an average)
[I'll revise this if my time with "Earned in Blood" is noticeably more positive]
Topic: Brothers in arms coming to the wii! (Read 9002 times)
