Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway

Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway
Developer(s)	Gearbox Software
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Series	Brothers in Arms
Engine	Modified Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s)	Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows
Release	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360: EU: September 26, 2008 Microsoft Windows:
Genre(s)	First-person shooter, Tactical shooter (Squad-based)
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway is the third entry in the Brothers in Arms series of video games which follows the men of the 101st Airborne Division (502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment). This game once again puts players in the role of Staff Sergeant Matt Baker during Operation Market Garden in the later stages of World War II.

The game was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on September 23, 2008 in North America, and were in stores on September 24, 2008. The Microsoft Windows version was released two weeks later, on October 7, 2008.

Gameplay

The game has many new features, including a selection of new specialized units (bazooka and machine gun teams). When a command is issued, the player model uses hand signals to issue the command to his squad, similar to its predecessors. The player also has the ability to take cover behind objects and fire from a third person perspective, in a manner similar to Rainbow Six Vegas, which is an integral part of the game's strategy. A new “health” system has replaced the more punishing set health per mission system of previous titles in the franchise. With this system, the player's screen begins to turn red as they expose themselves from cover and will return to normal when they return to cover; failure to do so will result in Baker getting shot and killed. The original 'Situational Awareness' system of the first 2 games has been replaced with a simple tactical map that includes historically accurate recon reports based on period reconnaissance of the exact missions the player is currently playing.

The AI has been drastically improved, and the player's team will adapt to whether or not they are seen by whispering. The AI also makes mistakes, such as tripping, and help each other recover from these mistakes. The enemy AI has also been improved, allowing the Germans to counter your actions. The game is built on the Unreal Engine 3 and the Windows version can take advantage of the features in DirectX 10, which allow for an enhanced graphical experience for more realistic gameplay. Using weapons is "much more effective" according to the publisher of the game.

One of the newer features of Brothers In Arms: Hells Highway, is the "action cam". Whenever the player gets a headshot or good grenade kill, the camera will sometimes zoom in on the action and go into slow-motion. The grenades are especially entertaining but can be a bit too graphical for some gamers. The slow-mo grenade kills produce quite a bit of gore, which is one of the main reasons BIA:HH is rated "M" for mature. To help control some of the violence, the game developers added an option to turn off the excessive gore. As well as turning off the gore, the player can choose to turn off other things like blood and harsh language. All of these can be disabled from the in-game menu.

History and setting

Main article: Operation Market Garden

Operation Market Garden was an extremely daring and hasty plan devised by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The plan was to drop three airborne divisions, two American (82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division) and one British (1st Airborne Division), later to be reinforced by the 1st (Polish) Independent Parachute Brigade, thus making it the largest Airborne operation ever mounted. These three divisions would land in The Netherlands, behind German lines, and secure multiple bridges and towns across Northern Holland, primarily at Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem. British XXX Corps would then make a rapid advance along connecting roads and cross the River Rhine at Arnhem (the furthest bridge from the front line and XXX corps' ultimate objective in the Operation), this would then cut the German line and leave the possibility for exploitation into the Rhur valley in Germany, and would hopefully "End the War by Christmas". The operation was executed on 17th September 1944, four months after Operation Overlord, which was covered in the previous games of the series.

Unfortunately, whilst initially successful with bridges at both Eindhoven and Nijmegen eventually secured, the well equipped II SS Panzer Corps stationed at Arnhem proved too much for the under equipped 1st Airborne Division. The British Landing Zones were captured early in the battle, resulting in the supply drops falling into the hands of the Germans, which made it extremely difficult for the British in Arnhem to survive as they could not re-arm and thus found it near-impossible to fend off the attacking Germans until XXX Corps arrived. Arnhem was all but turned to ruins, the battle kept going day after day, but the British 1st Airborne remained defiant to the bitter end. The XXX Corps never arrived to reinforce them. The armor reached just past the Nijmegan Bridge over the river Waal, but could not advance further to capture Arnhem, as the bridge was now in German hands and around 4,500 British paratroopers were captured. The Allied advance was halted outside Nijmegan, the Top Allied commanders decided that attempting to push toward Arnhem was simply going to continue to be a bloodbath causing more harm than good. The Allied troops' position along one stretch of linked roads was hit by repeated and brutal German counter attacks, locking the Allies onto a narrow stretch of Dutch land which extended beyond the previous front line. The narrow stretch leading up from Eindhoven to Arnhem (which the 101st Airborne Division had to defend from counter-attacks whilst the XXX Corps advanced) became known to the men of the 101st Airborne who fought, suffered, and died on this road as "Hell's Highway", where this game derives its name from. 8,000 British 1st Airborne soldiers would be left behind after the Allies pulled out of Operation:Market-Garden, leaving the encircled British troops, who had fought so hard, for so incredibly long, at the mercy of the Germans. The Dutch would not see liberation for another 7 months.

The Semi-fictional Staff-Sergeant Matt Baker is a squad leader in the 101st Airborne Division. He, and characters from the previous game are reassigned to the division's special reconnaissance unit before the drop into the Holland. The game follows the 101st's assault and securing of Eindhoven, and the subsequent defense of the surrounding area from German counter attacks.

Characters

• Staff Sergeant. Matthew "Matt" Baker: The player character and squad leader. Provides monologues throughout the game showing an insight into the development of his brotherly relationships with his men. Baker takes the death of his men and anybody close to him very hard. He uses a M1 Garand Rifle and the M1A1 Thompson Sub-Machine Gun. Baker seems to be suffering from hallucinations and some form of PTSD. In several missions he sees "ghosts" of his former compatriots who died under his leadership. In the level "Lost" Baker sees the deformed version of Pfc. Kevin Leggett and when he finds Hartsock he ends up shooting at the wall because he thinks Germans are trying to sneak up on him. Hartsock begins to wonder if Baker is mentally stable and brings it up while talking to Mac, who is neutral on the matter. In the final cut-scene, after a heartbroken Baker tells Hartsock he will never be able to walk again, Baker goes outside the medics tent and sits near a tree, after Baker assumes that suicide is the only way out, he pulls out his now iconic "cursed" .45, he then readies himself for death, he is then confronted by Leggett, (actually Baker's conscience and possible rising insanity) who blames Baker for all the deaths that occurred. After a long argument with himself Baker is able to control himself and finally rids himself of the "cursed" pistol. During the Written in Stone Mission you can hear Leggett yelling take him.
  • Matt's "cursed" pistol is a highly polished nickel-plated Colt M1911 .45 caliber pistol given to him by his father (who also was armed with it during the 1st World War), who after he retired, had the pistol engraved with the words "For Matthew, Brothers in Arms", Col. Joe Baker wanted his son Matt to carry the gun with him should another war arise, with his father expecting him to be a great soldier someday, Matt isn't sure he can satisfy his fathers high expectations, and never wanted the .45 in the first place. Baker's close friend from high school, Tank Sergeant George Risner(also from St. Louis) had Baker's pistol before D-Day, he told Baker, that he'd give it to him after they linked up in France, to emotionally ensure that they'd both be okay. George was the first to be killed at "Dead Man's Corner" in outside St. Come Du Mont, France, late in the afternoon of D+1, June 7th. When George ran out of ammo in his M1A1 Thompson submachine gun at Dead Man's Corner, he drew the pistol and started firing, but to no avail, he was killed moments later after being shot repeatedly in the chest, arms, and neck. After George died, the pistol was found next to George's M5 Stuart light tank early the next morning by Pvt. Larry Allen.Then he and Michael Garnett were holding on to it, and on June 9th a couple days later both Allen and Garnett are killed with it and it then ends up in the hands of Pfc. Kevin Benjamin Leggett(3rd Platoon's Radio Operator), who witnessed their deaths and was partly responsible for them. After Leggett couldn't stand the pressure of war anymore, he committed suicide on Hill 30 by standing in front of a Panzer tank yelling at the Germans to "Take Him", Matt got his "cursed" pistol back. All the men in Baker's squad believe this pistol to be cursed because all the men that came in contact with it died with it on them, including Matt's father. Matt is the only one who seems to survive. Possibly it is because his name is engraved on it, Baker refuses to believe in the superstition, but ironically, refuses to let anyone other than himself touch it, hinting that Baker, just may believe the rumors.

• Staff Sergeant. Joe "Red" Hartsock: So named for his fiery red hair, He is from Laramie Wyoming, he has a wild past, full of bar-fights, and overnight arrests, one bar-fight saw Hartsock confronted by a drunken lumberjack armed with a broken beer bottle, the result was a nasty scar on his left cheek. Sometime afterward, he met and fell in love with his wife, Erma, who saw Joe as her "project", after a few months, she'd managed to do the seemingly impossible, she had turned Joe into a God-fearing man, and had even given him a baby daughter, Carol, who he'd never met because he'd enlisted when Erma was 9 months pregnant, Hartsock wants to win the war so he can get back to his ranch and family in Wyoming, and see the daughter that he has been so anxious to meet, Carol will turn 3 rears old in December. In the Military Hartsock began as a Corporal back in Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30. He was promoted at the end of the Hill 30 game to Sergeant, becoming the squad leader of 2nd squad himself. Matt Baker does not lead Red in Hell's Highway, instead Red is a Staff Sergeant with a full squad of his own who will fight alongside Baker, being supported by and supporting Baker in certain missions of the game. He uses mainly the M1A1 Thompson in this game. Tragically, during at an assembly area in the city of Veghel,Holland,Hartsock was crippled by the collapse of the building that was serving as the rendevous point for Recon Platoon and Red was sent home. In Hell's Highway, Cpl. Paddock takes over 2nd squad.

• Corporal. Sam Corrion: Another familiar Brothers in Arms character, Corrion leads the squad's assault team. Cpl. Corrion was in-charge of a textile mill in Augusta Georgia before the war where he made a rather good living, but always wanted a grand adventure after being in the small Georgia town all his life. Corrion was a corporal with Baker and Hartsock before the jump into Normandy and is still a corporal going into Holland, much to his dismay. He believes that he can perform better than Baker and Hartsock on the battlefield, if only given the chance. He uses a M1A1 Thompson submachine gun. Corrion is shot and badly wounded in the mission "Hell's Highway" right after he and Baker have a friendship breaking argument. In the final cut-scene Corrion tells Baker that they will never fight together ever again suggesting that he may request a transfer or leave the squad.

• Pfc. Gary "Jas" Jasper: He is a replacement soldier armed with an M9A1 Bazooka. He named his weapon Stella, after his girlfriend. Jasper is also a member of Baker's machine gun team, so he also carries a .30-caliber Browning M1919. Jasper is a larger-than-life soldier with a great personality and sense of humor, he also is a great soldier and can manage to draw a chuckle even in the worst of conditions. Jasper is a very playful person and make jokes and loves have a good laugh and is well-known and liked by everyone. Gary is the only team leader who is not a corporal.

• Pfc.Timothy Connor: Jasper's assistant on the machine gun and Bazooka.He is a rather quiet man, but shares Jasper's humor and is always glad to do his job, and do it well, and always backs-up Jasper should he be unable to find the right joke for the given situation. He carries two ammunition belts for the machine gun or a backpack containing bazooka shells whenever he uses the machine gun or Bazooka. He mainly uses an M1 Carbine. Connor also has a cigarette box attached behind the elastic band on his helmet.

• T/5. Nathan Holden : The radioman in Baker's platoon, a job that fits him perfectly, he is constantly concerned with the efficiency of the communications and tactics and he is quick to question the squad's methods or orders, the rest of them don't take him seriously in the fact being that his logic rarely applies when things go FUBAR. He uses an M1 Garand Rifle. Nathan was born in San Diego, California.

• Pfc. Mike Dawson: A transfer who served in the 502nd PIR Pathfinders in Normandy; a mysterious character, Dawson doesn't wear a helmet saying it distracts his aim, and he speaks with an English accent. He finds interest in Baker's and Hartsock's stories, it is because of this he is isolated from the rest of the team for they would rather not re-live those events but the others still listen to him and respect him as a equal. He is a member of Baker's assault team. He uses a M1 Carbine. Dawson starts off on a friendly note with Baker but gets on his bad side after attacking a British soldier who apparently found (and wore) Franky LaRoche's jacket. In the final cut-scene he notices Baker talking to himself. Dawson simply ignores this.

• Corporal. Franklin Paddock: Red's Assault-Team Leader introduced in Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood. Paddock is a great soldier all around, though having a comical, and often irritating personality. Paddock has the reputation of being a bit of a Redneck, and is proud of it. He uses an M3A1 Grease Gun. Franklin is a capable and courageous assault team leader(Though his loud and boisterous chatter and taunting of the enemy may be distracting in combat) for Red's squad despite being somewhat arrogant and reckless, and always has a rude, but funny comment toward anyone who tries to talk down to him. He often refers to Corrion as "Sammy-Boy." Paddock is shown to have saved Baker's life in Hells Highway by throwing a German out the window of a tower(Ironically, the same German who killed Lt. Cole). He is shown in the level Written In Stone to end up on Baker's assault team as the only soldier separating himself from his original squad. He helps Baker hunt down the sniper and his platoon that killed Lt. Col. Cole. After Hartsock is wounded Paddock is promoted and placed in lead of 2nd Squad.

• Corporal. Jacob Campbell: Red's Fire-Team Leader introduced in Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood. Campbell is shown to be distraught about the death of Marsh on the ambush of the 2nd Squad, causing him to wonder how Paddock possibly knew it was going to happen. Jacob is a dedicated soldier who wants to prove himself in battle and isn't one for small-talk. He uses an M1 Garand. Campbell is wounded in the explosion that wounds Baker and Hartsock and kills Friar; he survives, but is wounded in the neck, preventing him from speaking for the rest of the game. It is unknown as of now if this is temporary or permanent.

• Pfc. James Marsh: A member of Red's fire-team introduced in Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood. Marsh is a combat veteran of the African-Campaign and is a more than capable soldier, and has a great personality, shown to have perished in the Baptism by Fire mission due to sniper fire. Supposedly Paddock predicted that a team member would die (the team member was Marsh). He carried an M1 Garand rifle.

• Pfc. Dean "Friar" Winchell: A member of Red's Assault-Team introduced in Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood, Friar was the man who bandaged Hartsock's mangled ring finger after it was apparently shot off while entering the town of Baupte in Normandy. He used an M1 Garand rifle. He is killed in the mission "Black Friday". His death was also predicted by Paddock.

• Private. Franky "Beans" LaRoche: LaRoche is a young soldier in Baker's squad who lied about his age to join the army. Young, and filled with heroic ideals, he is eager to rush into action-and all too willing to put his life on the line. He is the fresh replacement or new guy on the assault team and the youngest in 3rd squad. During the celebration in Eindhoven, Frank meets a young Dutch girl and then reveals that he has never really had a girlfriend. This is proven to be true, due to the fact that Frank risks the safety of himself and his squad just to rescue her during the Baptism of Fire mission. Afterwards Franky manages to find an old Victorian hospital a few hundred yards outside the now-burning Eindhoven, abandoned since the first World War (that is actually a makeshift German position after the Allies pushed them out of Eindhoven on September 18th-19th) Franky and his newfound sweetheart plan to sit out the bombing in the hospital. It is there that he and the Dutch girl are confronted by two German guards causing them to flee in opposite directions. This leads to the death of the Dutch girl by German hands and Franky getting lost in the hospital and eventually is found by Baker, but temporarily talks him out of following him, however, Baker is determined to save his young friend, several moments after Baker resumes looking for Franky, he years several distant gunshots, and then finally finds Franky, mortally wounded at the top of a burning staircase. Before Franky dies, Baker confronts him and tells Frank that his efforts were not in vain and the Dutch girl did manage to make it to safety. However, Frank knew the girl was dead and instead jokingly calls Baker a "liar". He dies and his corpse is crushed by the burning ceiling collapsing.

• Corporal Thomas "Zano" Zanovich: An old friend from Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Zanovich is now Baker's fire team leader. The "old man" and another veteran of the squad, Zanovich served in the French Foreign Legion for many years before enlisting in the U.S Army, he is more than capable of doing his job, and is a great leader should the situation call for it. Despite all the combat he's seen, Tom remains good natured and has a strong sense of humor, even when the situation doesn't exactly call for it, he is the type to draw a quick laugh in a smooth casual tone without going to great lengths to get it. Tom is a cynical soldier, and always is the first one to ask "why" about whatever the squad is doing, and often questions the knowledge of the officers who assigns the squad orders. Zano also dislikes the Jeep columns the paratroopers drive in. He uses an M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle and is Baker's ever-trusty B.A.R. gunner.

• Pfc. Jack Courtland: Another familiar face from Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Courtland is a member of Baker's assault team and is a member of the bazooka team and machine gun team. He uses a M1A1 Thompson submachine gun. A bit of a hot-head, Jack joined the paratroopers with dreams of glory and wooing French girls with his tales of valor. His eagerness to be a hero quickly faded after being lost for days in Normandy. Now, Courtland just wants to get back home and fighting for the man next to him is the best way to do it.

• Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole: One of the game's true to life characters, Robert Cole was the commander of the 3rd Battalion 502nd PIR of the 101st Airborne Division Lt.Col Cole was a larger-than-life man, and always led by example, and would never send a soldier to do something that he wouldnt be willing to do himself. He led his men when they jumped into Normandy on D-Day, and during Market-Garden. On September 18th(D+1), a pilot instructed Cole to place orange smoke flares in front of his unit's position so that the air support would see where the friendlies were located, Cole performed the action himself, rather than send in one of his men to do the risky deed, A German sniper located in a nearby farmhouse shot and killed Cole while he was making sure his soldiers were at a safe distance from the incoming air attacks, Only a couple weeks later, Col. Cole was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor for a bayonet charge he'd led outside of Carentan early on June 11th 1944 during the Normandy invasion, He never saw the medal he was awarded, and he is buried in Holland. He used an M1A1 Thompson submachine gun.

• 1st Sgt "Top" Greg "Mac" Hassay: He appears in a cameo role and indeed survives his wound received during the events in Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood. In the first game he was Baker's platoon sergeant and was a close friend of Baker's father, Col. Joe Baker and his family for many years, and always has a close eye on Baker, Hassay is much like a father-figure to Baker, and the men. In Hell's Highway, he is now a 1st Sgt of what is presumably Baker's old company. He uses an M1A1 Thompson submachine gun.

• Pfc. Dale "Kid" McCreary: Another face from Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, McCreary is a member of Baker's fire team. It is believed he is the character who Baker stops from hitting the ground during the demonstration video (he does not die in the actual game). He uses an M1 Garand Rifle. Dale has a small packet on his helmet most likely because it's to distinguish him from other soldiers.

• Tank Commander Henry Redwood: Redwood is the player character during the first tank mission in Eindhoven. He may be a part of the Irish Guards, due to his accent and the fact that is the forward unit of XXX Corps. He introduces himself to Baker by saying "My name's Redwood, we're here to help you get through this shitehole".

• Pfc. James "Jimmy" Roselli: Roselli is a replacement for Hartsock's assault team, he is shown in most videos to be another one who rarely speaks and acts when time calls for it. James replaces Marsh who was switched to the fire team after Normandy. Jimmy was first seen in the second dev diary fighting with Paddock with Hartsock holding Roselli back. He also has a cigarette box attached behind the elastic band on his helmet. He uses an M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle.

• Col. Robert Sink: Commander of the division's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment who appears as a cameo role. Voiced by Dale Dye, who also portrayed Sink in Band of Brothers.

Limited Edition

Gearbox has officially announced a special, limited edition version of the game. The limited edition includes a 6 inch Sergeant Matt Baker figure with 13 accessories, a blister pack holding the figurine and accessories, a 32-page Brothers In Arms First Edition Comic book, a full color map of Operation Market Garden, special packaging and 2 more playable multiplayer characters.

Development

Official system requirements

	Minimum	Recommended
Windows
Operating system	Windows XP with Service Pack 3 or Windows Vista with Service Pack 1
CPU	Pentium D 925 3 GHz	2.6 GHz dual-core
Memory	1 GB	2 GB
Free space	8 GB of free space
Graphics hardware	DirectX 9.0c compliant card with 128 MB RAM must support Pixel Shader 3.0. ATI RADEON X1600/1650/1950/HD 2000/3000 series and NVIDIA GeForce 6800/7/8/9 series
Sound hardware	DirectX 9.0 or 10.0 compliant
Network	Broadband internet connection with 384 kbit/s upstream

On September 15, 2008, Ubisoft & Gearbox announced that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game had gone gold. The Windows version went gold two days later. Playable demo's on the PlayStation Network and Xbox 360 Marketplace are available now.

Reception

Hell's Highway was generally well received, and was highly praised once again for its realistic, and often tragic and graphic portrayal of WWII infantry combat, and has gotten to be a favorite among tactical gamers, and WWII fans, it also is one of the top tactical games of 2008. However the game had several encounters with bugs, glitches, and lag in it's multiplayer section, which was created by Rockstar New England, the game is somewhat let down by it's less-than-glamorous multiplayer, and was criticized for not sticking to the multiplayer roots of the previous Brothers in Arms titles, which included cooperative play, and "skirmish", which was well received in the first games, but Hell's Highway's developers, Gearbox software, says that they were focusing primarily on the Single player campaign of the game, and had agreed to let Rockstar New England create Multiplayer, much to the public dismay. Also the Unreal Engine 3 which was used in this game has had some problems with slow texture loading,clipping, and frame-rate problems with some game systems. However gamers all seem to agree that the Single player of Brothers in Arms:Hell's Highway(although somewhat short) was a welcome relief from all the recent first person shooters that came out before it, which mainly featured the usual run&gun style of gameplay. Hell's Highway was also loved for it's continuing true-to-life story and lovable and memorable characters as well as it's realistic squad tactics and familiar squad control system. The end of this game's campaign strongly hints that the next Brothers in Arms title will take place in "The Battle of The Bulge" which has been a frequently asked questions by many of Brothers in Arms forums, so far Gearbox software hasn't announced any news regarding the next Brothers in Arms game.

Reviews

Eurogamer	70%
TeamXbox	81%
Official Xbox Magazine U.S.	90%
Official Xbox Magazine UK	80%
Computer and Video Games	79%
Video Gamer	80%
PC Gamer	93%
PC Gamer UK	85%
PSM3	70%
Game Reactor	70%
IGN	76%
X-Play	3/5
Gamespot	8.5
XGReviews.com Magazine	8/10
GameTrailers	8.3/10
Game Informer	7.75/10
Gamer.no	8/10
PC Zone	86%

Novel

Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway has also been published into a popular companion novel for the video game by the video game's Historical Director, Colonel John Antal (United States Army Retired after 30 years in the United States Army).

External links

• Official website