Brother in Arms

Without proper medical supplies, the wounded men in the barn are likely finished, prompting Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Cassidy to send Hartsock and a pair of privates, Franklin Paddock and Dean “Friar” Winchell, to the nearby town of St. Martin. There they’ll find bandages and plasma in a church. However, they’ll also encounter German soldiers guarding the medical depot.

Producer Mike Wardwell, writer Mike Neumann, writer/adviser Col. John Antal, and I follow the trio as they cautiously make their way along a dirt road. An eerie quiet hangs over St. Martin, as if the Normandy Invasion is trying to catch its breath during what will turn out to be the most frantic day of the war.

In Your Sights. Look down your scope to improve your aim. Your mobility will severely decrease, however.

“You’re invited to think about combat tactically.”

- Mike Wardwell, producer

“For me, the personal stories of these heroes were the most compelling reason to make Brothers in Arms,” Antal remarks, motioning toward the men in front of us. “These games focus not only on the combat and tactics of battle, but also on the brotherhood between soldiers, where friends are made and lost and the heroic actions, decisions, and sacrifices of one can save the lives of many. This is a story worth telling.”

Move Out! After getting a top-level view of the situation and issuing orders, watch your troops move into position.

Flanking Manuevers

Hartsock and his men come across a field with low walls along two of its borders. Hay bales and barrels dot the landscape, providing cover for attackers and defenders. Situational view offers a top-down perspective on the action, allowing you, in the role of Hartsock, to plan out a strategy. After you return to the battlefield, order your squad to take specific positions and lay down suppressing fire that forces the enemy to take cover while you flank them. When you have a clear shot at the defenders, eliminate them and send your squad to the next engagement.

Mission Accomplished. One early assignment involves taking out enemy AA guns.

“You’re invited to think about combat tactically,” Wardwell says as Hartsock begins issuing orders. Bullets whizz by, but they don’t faze him: the corporal calmly calls for suppressing fire on the enemy. Circles above the German soldiers’ heads turn from red to gray, indicating they’re pinned down, and Hartsock creeps into a flanking position. “All games employ the concepts of suppression and flanking to some degree, but Brothers in Arms built a game around it,” Wardwell continues.

Later in the game, you’ll add a second squad, so one can engage in suppression while the other handles assaulting the enemy. Each situation you encounter in Road to Hill 30 and Earned in Blood requires a unique strategy. How do you handle two or more groups of enemies firing from different positions?