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Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 Review - Xbox

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 has been followed by many, ever since the game was shown off in all its glory in the form of an exciting video at last year's E3. Following that came a stream of gameplay videos, developer diaries, video interviews, television features and documentaries, all of which generated more and more interest. However, those of you who haven't heard much about the game if at all before now will be wondering what makes Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 so special - why is it any different to the likes of Medal of Honor and Call of Duty? The answer is simple: it delivers the best and most authentic World War II gaming experience yet, rolling tactical elements and explosive gameplay into one amazing shooter.

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 is set in Normandy during 1944, beginning on the 6th of June - also known as D-Day - and ending on the eighth day following it, also known as D+8. It focuses on the American paratroopers, who parachuted into Normandy, France early in the morning under fire from German artillery. Many of the gliders carrying the paratroopers, however, were brought down in flames or were running low on fuel and had to unload their passengers prematurely, leaving many of them scattered across the landscape. Unfortunately, this misadventure only foreshadowed the devastating events to follow on their mission to liberate the surrounding area from Nazi Germany. Anyone who has seen the fantastic miniseries Band of Brothers will instantly recognise many of the sequences seen in the game; while not linked, both media serve to represent the heroic actions taken by the American paratroopers of World War II.

You awake to find raindrops dripping onto your face, screams and yells, thunder and lightning, gunfire and explosions gradually growing louder as your senses grow more and more conscious. Sergeant Hassay pulls you to your feet and you find yourself standing in a soggy trench lined with your comrades, some struggling to get a signal on the radio, some tending to the wounded and some firing on the Germans pouring down the hill ahead of you. Realising your only option, you begin to fire on the Germans with the M1 Garand in your hands as they move to cover or peek over fallen trees and boulders for a better look at the action. Enemy mortar rounds grow ever closer; a tree lining the trench is hit and splits into curled fronds of bark. Suddenly a tank rolls in from the right, ploughing through foliage and coming to a halt, within moments directing its long, deadly turret towards the trench - instinctively, you crouch, but the blast the shell induces as it slams into the brink of the trench topples you over onto your back, leaving you unaware, now, of whether your comrades are dead or alive. As your head rolls to the side you notice one of the soldiers next to you - (continued next page)