Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30™—from reliable-to-a-fault Xbox® publisher Ubisoft and the talented folks at developer Gearbox—isn't your typical first-person shooter, and definitely not your typical World War II sim. The historically sharp and dramatically engaging single-player campaign is a marvel of tight squad-based FPS combat with deceptively simple tactics and unforgiving realism (i.e., bullets really hurt). Is it tough? Oh, yes. Is it good? You'd better believe it. But if you're going to get to the eponymous hill, you're going to need a little schooling in the fine art of battlefield strategy in occupied France.
Keep them alive, and they'll keep you alive.
Tactics can be (and are) helpfully spelled out by the "four F's":
Find the enemy. This is harder than it sounds, especially if you turn off the suppression meter for added realism (which is totally how our friend Hardcore plays all the time, but he's insane). Make use of the black button to bring up your tactical map to make sure you know how many foes are really there—a suppression meter is assigned to a group, so even if you leave it on it won't tell you the full extent of the enemy forces.
Fix the enemy. No, not like you fixed your cat, though that would certainly be an effective tactic if it was offered. This is "fix" as in "fixed to the spot." This means use your squad and yourself to lay down suppressive fire on the enemy position. Unless you're a raving loon like Hardcore, you see the suppression meter slowly turn from red to gray as you pin the enemy down. Once it's gray, you're more or less safe to move in the open. Make sure to move each fire team into position before targeting the enemy. They are smart, A.I.-controlled allies, but if you don't place them where they do the most good, they may try to suppress from too far away.
Flank the enemy. Once one fire team is laying down the suppression, it's time to move the other in for the kill. Flanking simply means "not being directly in front of their gun barrels," but specifically you want to get the flanking team to a position that minimizes the effectiveness of cover. At first, this just means finding the side of their barricade that's missing a wall, but soon you're moving into the upper stories of nearby buildings, sneaking around in a desperate crawl through a dangerously shallow ditch, and going through other harrowing experiences. In case you couldn't tell, it's more fun to personally stick with the flankers, in general.
Finish the enemy. Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to pull of some of Raiden's finishing moves in this game; it sure would be easier. In this case, you're finishing the enemy the hard way—one bullet at a time. Road to Hill 30 is punishing as far as ammo is concerned, so choose your shots wisely. If your enemy is behind cover, either wait until he pops his head over the side, or get flanking; otherwise, you're just wasting precious bullets. Finishing the enemy is much easier said than done, so make sure you take out at least half of them before you even think about storming a position. It's almost always preferable (though not always possible) to use the suppression and flanking tactic instead of charging at 'em like crazies. One more note: In close quarters, the melee attack (the B button) is a great way to get a quick "finish" and save lead. For the war effort, you know.
The perfect strategy … for getting kacked.
Beyond the 4 F's: The 3 L's The four F's are the official strategy. For your consideration, we also offer the "3 L's":
Look out at all times. The countryside is filled with guys who enjoy both pickled cabbage condiments and shooting Allied soldiers. Keep your eyes open; you never hear the one with your name on it.
Listen to what your troops are saying and what your enemy is shooting. The A.I. dialog, in addition to providing a vocabulary lesson that rivals Deadwood in intensity, clues you in to sudden changes in the situation—like the death of a character speaking A.I. dialog, for instance. Audio clues and stereo directional sense also let you pin down and pick out machine gun emplacements, anti-aircraft batteries, and other specific threats you can deal with personally.
Load. Your. Weapon. Always. Okay, it's the most basic of advice. I mean, duh, right? But remember the realism here—reloading an M1 is not done at the touch of a button; it takes precious time that could cost you your (virtual) life.
One team suppresses, the other flanks. Simple!
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 is a kick in the pants to lazy FPS gamers that might be used to being an army of one instead of a band of … dangit, I wasn't going to say it this time, but … okay, I will: a band of brothers. Keep them safe, and they'll keep you alive.
