The horrors and heartbreak of war can bring out the surfacing of improbable heroes. For example, Sergeant. Joe (Red) Hartsock. What would you do when a drop over France gets horrid and members of your team are scattered around? Your first objective is to round them up.

Brothers In Arms: Earned in Blood is the successor to the highly paraded and critically acclaimed Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30. It is, at heart, a first-person World War II shooter with linear passages through levels, yet with smart AI and an engrossing storyline.

Gearbox Software Ubisoft are the teams behind the sequel. And while graphically a pleasure, the game does have a few minor slips that avert it from being as original as its prequel. While saying that, if you have not played a Brothers In Arms title prior to this, you will be pleasantly surprised with it.

There are several modes for you to sink your teeth into – the vigorous and deep story mode, skirmish and multiplayer. The multiplayer allows players to play over Xbox Live or in a split-screen mode with two controllers .Co-Operative play is also available like this. Skirmish is a swift form of multiplayer combat broken down into four different game modes. While it is highly enjoyable , the multiplayer modes altogether lack the depth of the story . The great thing about the single player is that the NPCs have emotions, and personalities. When you see one of you men die it is a truly horrifying experience.

This game itself is all about squad-based and shooting tactics. It does seem fairly repetitious in that you always seem to be travelling through the levels in a very linear manner. The task is always the same – find the enemy, out-wit them and kill, followed by the ever so same mission when you enter the next level or area. When you look at the game in the perspective of the story line though there is more to it.. The first chapter of the story is all cut-scene leaving a very cinematic feel in the players minds.

After this you begin to pick up assault team members. By pulling the left trigger the game brings up the assault command list and from that point on you can begin to issue orders to your squad. Some options are “All out Assault“ and “Suppressive Fire“.

The AI is what compliments this game. Enemies take cover and even pull back if their position becomes indefensible. There are new weapons in the game, and as you complete each level, you will receive medals and new unlocked content depending on your chosen difficulty settings. The situational awareness view allows you to pause the game, view the battlefield, come up with a plan of attack and then return to the game to perform it. You can be the one to lay down suppression fire while sending a unit to flank the enemy and take them out. While it may seem tricky at first, it continually gets easier with experience.

Graphically Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood stands tall among many others. The physics resemble real-world effects and the sound is superb – from the orchestral musical score to the foreign language barriers of war. Each command you give is yelled, though, which might not always seem to be the shrewd choice, particularly when you are within earshot of the enemy.

But Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood is a smart game, with an advanced AI system that brings war to life in all its horror and especially the relationships formed in the heart of squads. It is a great tactical game that brings a new element to first person shooters. Earned in Blood may have only been release six months after its predecessor but it surpasses it in many ways. This is a must for world war fans, that is if your pockets aren’t dry from the already growing world war two catalogue.