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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
essential fps for intelligent people, 28 Mar 2005
Yes, it's another world war two first person shooter (don't groan yet), but BIA is a serious evolution, I'm tempted to say revolution but I think that's perhaps too strong a word. You play matt baker of the 101st airborne, a squad of American paratroopers. But, you don't just have control of a single man, no, you have TWO entire teams of men to control, using an intuitive one-button context sensitive command system (technically it's 5 buttons but let them boast anyway!) you can lead your two squads, an assault team and a fire team (or sometimes a tank) through Normandy, a 100% completely realistically accurate recreation of Normandy, to kill the Nazis!The game requires you to command your men while fighting yourself like some kind of fps - real time strategy hybrid, you're required to use realistic ww2 tactics - that is to suppress the enemy with your fire team, flank the enemy and then finish them off with your assault team. It makes every fight an exercise of thought more than the twitch skills that fps players have come to rely on as victory comes from well executed and well planned assaults rather than being able to quickly fire off a number of headshots, and although much slower paced than conventional fps games, it makes very an extremely satisfying and unique experience. The missions are supposedly based on those that the real 101st airborne undertook while in Normandy, and they range from blowing posts out of a field so gliders can land (while being constantly bombarded by German fire) to guiding a tank through a heavily defended town, to running through a smoked field under German control while praying for your life, and your men's. Every character has a unique and interesting personality and in-engine scenes at the start and end of each mission will give new insight into their thoughts and personality, including a superman vs batman debate! You come to care for your soldiers, and want them to survive not only because you need them to work at maximum efficiency, but also because you simply don't want them to die. The developers (gearbox) tried to add a serious emotional element to the game, and it shows. To get back to something mentioned earlier, the game is set in an entirely accurately reproduced Normandy, meaning that there is rarely a single linear route to take, and certainly never any corridors, you rarely have too much freedom but you can often choose from several routes, and will have many walls, buildings and even things like dead animals for cover from enemy fire. Initial enemy locations are completely fixed, but everything besides that is all artificial intelligence powered, there's little or no specific scripting going on, meaning that every move the ai makes is reactionary, and since you have so many options on how you play the game and have many routes to take through a map, it means that almost every encounter will be a unique challenge. Controlling your AI team mates is the central focus of the game, you can order them to move to an area, fire on an enemy, charge an enemy (basically suicide most of the time), you can also order them to follow you, while doing this they intelligently cover all angles and hide when fired upon, and try to engage the enemy, and you can also order them to take cover. Your team mates do a lot of talking, they shout when they get hit, when they encounter an enemy, when they're reloading, and so forth, it creates an extremely realistic ambience - there's no music in the game, all you have is the fwips and pangs and khhh of gunfire, and thunderous booms of explosions and the screams of your men - it makes for an extremely real atmosphere. Some of the firefights are simply amazing, your men are screaming for you to get behind cover, soldiers are dying on both sides, mortar bombs are landing all around you, a tank appears from nowhere crashing through a hedge and bullets are whizzing past your head - it all comes together perfectly, and (sorry for the cliché) it's as close as you'll ever want to get to war. Every enemy drops a weapon when they die, meaning there's essentially an unlimited amount of ammo on every level, but you can only carry 2 weapons (and 5 grenades), so you have to choose what to take wisely - I generally think it's best to use the weapon of the enemy, as it means a constant top-up of ammo after every kill, but if you're sensible you can finish a level with the supplies you start with. There's also no healthpacks in the game, at all - you heal at the end of every level (and if you die a few too many times, the game offers you a chance to heal and revive any fallen comrades - as the game says 'war isn't fair, but a game should be' - it's a smart feature that helps a lot if you choose to use it). There's also no crosshair on the hud, which is one of the most refreshing ideas in a long time - to aim accurately you have to shoulder your weapon and aim down the gun's reticle (but you move very slowly like this) or shoot blind from the hip - accuracy or speed, your choice. Based on unreal technology, the game looks fantastic and runs well on my 2ghz 512mb ram geforce 3 machine at 1600x1200, although for some maps I have to knock the resolution down to 1024x786 to get a solid frame rate, I'm not sure why as they all seem pretty much the same. At about 12 hours long, the game is probably a little too short, but the excellent visuals, sound and game play, including many unique innovations, make for an excellent all round game, and a must-own for any fps fan.
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