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"Brothers In Arms: Earned In Blood" is One of the Best World War II PC Games Out There, Period

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 18
Date: October 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First of all, this review is based only on the Single Player version of the game. I only play Single Player in PC games. I don't play Multiplayer. "Brothers In Arms: Earned In Blood" is a well made, well thought out game with great replay value. I thought the first PC game "Brothers In Arms: Road to Hill 30" was good but this latest game is ten times better than the first one. The maps in this game are well thought out and well made. The graphics are more sharper and crisper and you can hold your weapon more steady now than you could in the first "Brothers In Arms" PC game. You can control fellow soldiers and tanks throughout the game and you can tell them what to do and where to go. You now have choices for taking numerous paths to reach objectives in maps which is how all "First Person Shooter" PC games should be made now. The developer (Gearbox) needs to be commended for making such a great game. They added in a new part to the game called "Skirmish Mode" which was a brilliant move. Now you can play the roles of the Americans or German soldiers on different maps at different play value settings. The "Skirish Mode" alone has great replay value. I knew this game was going to be great because Gearbox already had a great reputation for making great PC games. They made the great add-on PC game for the original Half Life called "Half-Life Expansion Pack: Opposing Forces" back in 1999 which was ahead of its time back then. With the latest Brothers In Arms PC game, I can tell a lot of research went into making this game. What amazes me is how fast this game came out after the first Brothers in Arms game came out and still turn out to be such a great game. There is no excuse and no reason why game developers with today's techology can not make open ended maps for PC games now. I am really disappointed that the game developer "Infinity Ward" didn't do that with the demo for the PC game "Call of Duty 2". The demo is a Single Player version of the game with one map set in the coastal town of El Daba, Egypt on November 4, 1942 that forces the player to take one route throughout the demo. You can't even enter most buildings in the map or use most alleyways or streets in the town. You can't control any fellow soldiers in the demo like you can in Brothers In Arms. Hopefully Infinity Ward didn't end up doing a rushed game just to meet a deadline date. They had a lot more time than Gearbox to make a great World War II PC game. I'm not saying Call Of Duty 2 is going to be a bad game because it's not. I'm just saying look at the game which is going to have more replay value. "Brothers In Arms: Earned In Blood" is definitely going in the right direction as far as replay value goes. Thanks, Gearbox, for a great game.

I agree with the above.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 16
Date: October 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I to have played the C of D 2 demo and I wasn't impressed to say the least. Why, just read what the first guy said, it's not as good of a game as B&A is or Earned in Blood will be. I only played the demo of this game but I can tell you that if Call of Duty 2 gets a higher score than Earned in Blood did in PC Gamer which was (8.7) then there is something seriously wrong! Based on it's demo, it is just an interactive movie to me and very limited. Earned in Blood is like fighting a real life WWII battle making the same desitions strategicly like a real Field Sargent would back then so there's the comparison between the two in game play! Judge for yourselve's. I highly recommend this game and the previous release to anyone who like's control over the entire situation and that requires a little more brain cells than just "run and gun" game play would. Come on Infanty Ward, it's getting old guys! Be creative and catch up with everyone else in the 21st century!

wish it worked, and then there's the starforce....

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: November 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I just installed my copy and the game will not accept the serial number that's clearly printed on the manual. So I'm thinking of just uninstalling it.. Then I have to deal with removing the Starforce crap as well. What else needs to be said. BTW There are no support email addrs listed at their website.

BROTHERS IN ARMS EARNED IN BLOOD

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: November 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

THIS GAME IS NOT WORTH THE FIFTY DOLLARS I SPENT ON IT. THE ACTION IS JERKY, SIGHTS ARE WAY OFF, INFO BOX'S POP UP AT THE WORST TIMES,ND IT TAKES SEVEN TO TEN ROUNDS TO KILL ONE GERMAN SOLDER. THE CARBINE IS USELESS AND THE YOU NEED A BAR OR MACHINE GUN TO STAND A CHANCE TO GET A HIT.

Exactly the same as the first version

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 34 / 51
Date: November 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Simply put...Earned In Blood is identical to the first Brothers In Arms game. It really is not different at all.

They put that StarForce antipiracy crap on the disk. Many computers really get screwed up by it too!!!

I actually kind of like the style of strategy and squad play found in BIA. I really prefer the style of COD but this game was actually fun. I just think this game falls short of what it could have been. That is one reason why I rate it only 1 star

Here is what I really do not like at all about this game and why I gave it 1 star.

1 - You get some level load freeze ups that will happen even on a fast system.

2 - ANNOYING, LONG and POORLY voice-acted cutscenes and storyline that you CANNOT skip past! Ughhhhhhhhhhh...the stupid, dramatic puss spews out for minutes on end and you just get so sick of it after the first few chapters you feel like muting the volume until it is over!!!! And I do hit my mute button! It is that bad and that boring!

3- Nothing new since the original came out. Basically, Ubisoft wants to rip you off for $50 more. I say it is flat out greed this time. If you played the original, your going to feel cheated. If you haven't...save some bucks and buy that in the discount rack!

UBISOFT has really become a huge disappointment to many gamers over the past 2 years. They were rolling along nicely. However, it seems like they have just stopped trying to work hard to provide an interesting product. They have resigned themselves to pumping out subpar games hoping you won't read reviews like this one.

Doesn't work with CD-RW or DVD-RW - needs CD-ROM!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 18 / 24
Date: November 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought this but had to return it because it needs a read only CD-ROM. The copy protection prevents it working with any sort of burner. I bought it retail and was only given store credit event though it does not work. UBI-Soft also does not give a refund if the store doesn't, even if the product does not work.

Stay away from this game - not worth the hassle. Demo looked good, but I could not get it to work, due to the copy protection.

Could be a good game if you were able to load it!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 38 / 50
Date: November 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I just bought my copy and found out too late that it will not work properly on your computer unless you have a cd-rom only drive. This seems to be due to the anti-piracy software that UBI have silently included into the package.

Also, if your cd won't work......As it seems that some have experienced, you have to write to UBI support and wait for them to issue the correct key.

Even if you do get past all that nonsense and get to what you think is the start of the game, you get an error notification or file not found message which directs you to the UBI webplay site. Once you get there, you can't play the game because of the software errors. All this and I downloaded the patch as well. No doubt this is due to the anti-piracy software in some way.

I for one am returning my copy for a refund. If I can't play it and I have an up-to-date top of the range machine then I'm getting my money back.

Save your money or buy another game!How they ever dared to put this on the market is beyond me. It shows very poor judgement on UBI's behalf.

Don't Be Hatin'

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 27
Date: November 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I really don't get what all the negative hype is about. I have played Road to Hill 30 and Earned in Blood and enjoyed both games tremendously.

I personally didn't experience any problems with the 3rd party security software.

The key to this game is obviously its squad based game play. I don't think it is fair to say that EIB is the same as RTH30 simply because it picks up where RTH30 left off.

If you own more than one WW2 FPS then chances are that you are something of a WW2 history buff, so what exactly do you expect to change at a strategic level between RTH30 and EIB given that the you are fighting within the same time frame and in the same theater?

Do you want to break out the light sabers? Or perhaps you want to call a fire strike from the Death Star? Maybe you would prefer to hop aboard a Hewey Gun Ship and massacre the Weirmacht with vollies from your Vulcan machine gun?

It isn't going to happen. This is WW2, and you are supporting the Normandy invasion.

If you really think this game is the same as RTH30 then you should probably have stuck to Doom or Quake or something similar because the sheer effort in illustrating/programming/researching this WW2 epic with the level of accuracy and detail that this games delivers is obviously wasted on you.

I have all of the Call of Duty and Medal of Honor releases, and as much as I love playing and replaying these games, they just don't achieve the same level of story immersion and strategic game play as RTH30 or EIB.

I don't accept that players of RTH30 didn't notice the counter flanking maneuvers to your flanking attacks in EIB. I thought the AI in EIB was definitely more of a challenge.

EIB differs in its ability to tell a story. The period immersion and attention to period detail puts this game way ahead of the competition as far as I'm concerned.

Sure, there are improvements I would like to see. My squad command wish list would require a whole new review, but this is not the time or place for that.

I think the essence of what this game captures is its ability to make you feel that you are fighting as a part of a squad. In MoH or CoD you fight alongside squad members but you have no control over what they do. You can't tell them to move to a better firing position in order to provide cover for an advance or opportunity that you can see. You are still very much on your own, and it is this fact that makes those games fun to play but unrealistic at a basic level.

You are simply not going to win the war on your own.

The basic strategy of EIB is of course the 4 F's: Find the enemy; Fix (pin/suppress); Flank; Finish.

Air strikes will not be available to your squad. Those familiar with WW2 history may be aware that airpower will be reserved for destroying all of the main roads/highways/bridges that the Germans will want to use to mobilize a counter strike.

There are no smart bombs; no laser guided missiles. You are not John Wayne and will not kill 27 Germans with one shot from your Colt or Carbine.

I think BIA EIB is a great game that will appeal to any true WW2 enthusiast and FPS players in general.

If you are used to playing non-cooperative based games then you might get sick of having to think of your squads' safety first, but I think this fact adds a dimension that is lacking in other WW2 FPS's.

If that is the case, then stick to playing Doom or Quake you loser.

Brothers in Arms takes a different direction in the FPS genre

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: December 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

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.

Worst Game Ever????

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 16 / 25
Date: December 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing FPS games since the early days of Wolf3D and Doom for DOS. This is absolutely the worst shooter I have ever had the misfortune to buy. The built in "strategy" scripting will give you a migraine. Unless you are right where the script wants you to be, you could empty 100 point blank rounds into your opponents head and they will then shout at you and kill you with one shot... while your moronic "AI" troops cry "I'm taking fire!"
Totally absurd and constipated game design. Can you believe there is not even a Run or Sprint key for movement? So you must creep at a snails pace through the "authentic" battlefields scripted for suicide. Buy Call of Duty (1 or 2).

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