Brothers in Arms: D-Day

"2 Strikes for WWII FPS for the PSP..."

I. Introduction: What has been the glaring problem for the PSP? No second analog nub. Yes this forces developers to come up with unique mapouts for controls for FPS, and many times it has failed. MOH and BIA have one huge problem, and its the control. For example, when an enemy is nearby, say behind you, its hard to quickly turn around and focus on killing that enemy, when your accidentally pushing the wrong buttons or trying to aim, and you end up dead.

II. Single Player Campaign/Story: Nice story developed as you take a troop out from the planes and land seperated due to your plane being shot down. You control a team, whether a tank, or your dorky guy with glasses, you command them to take cover and suppress enemies while you flank. Yes, its lives up to the BIA franchise in terms of fleshing out a story that most WWII Shooters never get into. Way better storyline then say that MOH:Heros, which Id say had no story line. [9/10]

III. Mechanics: Suppression meter. Very unique to FPS like this game. You see a circle nearby ontop of an enemys head. If its red, that means they are on the offensive, constantly shooting, or moving ahead (sometimes they charge after you). If its grey or lightish grey, they are being suppressed, which just means they are so preoccupied hiding behind cover waiting for the right moment to strike. Yes this game has that eagle eye view of where your opponents or objectives are. You command your troops to either suppress, or follow you. Very simple, very rewarding, and very entertaining, that is to say until couple hours later in the game where youl think to yourself..... [10/10]

IV. Controls: My gad how horrible WWII FPS PSP games and their horrendous controls. If an enemy is nearby you, you cant swivel your guy fast enough to react. And if you happen to have them nearby you, youll end up most likely dead. Very tough, no precision can outmatch that of another analog nub. Lets just say, if one enemy is nearby you and your are out in the open, you will die. 2 or more and yes you will die. So yes this game does live up to its advertisment, meaning you need to think tacticically. Just dont expect to live long when you decide to go rambo. You will live and die behind the walls/crates/bushes all thanks to the limitations of the psp. And to add insult to injury, this game has NO CUSTOMIZATION for controls. [0/10]

V. Loading Times: Not so great. GTA for PSP. Yep youll see the bar loading across your screen. Yes it does hamper for the on the go gamer. [5/10]

VI. Multiplayer/Skirmish Mode: If you ever happen to get into those skirmish modes, you will see why this game fails. It forces you to make sure the enemy never gets near you, or else you will die. And trust me, you will die because aiming in this game is horrible. I applaud for adding bots to the skirmish mode for the offline gamers. However the controls.... [6/10]

VII. Music/Sound: MOH had better sound effects and music. Way to muffled in this game. And the music? Heh. Just only in the menus. Voice samples in this game are cool to listen too. Like my guy shouting out "I got 20/20 so dont think you can hide from me" Too bad there is stuttering in the cutscenes. Alot of stuttering, due to loading and other issues. [6/10]

VIII. Graphics: Despite all my hatred for the mechanisms in this game, I love the graphics. I love it more than syphon filter, I mean games that confine you indoors are easier to pull off superb graphics like syphon. But boy here, its all outdoors, and boy does it look good. Sometimes youl get some slowdown, but it is very rare. [9/10]

Conclusion: MOH failed. BIA failed. Hard to enjoy a WWII fps when the controls are very limiting. How can I recommend a WWII FPS game like this, when it really has problems in its execution in terms of shooting. If I aim at a guys head, I want him to be dead in one shot. Here it takes several shots to take them down, even if you aim at their head. It takes dedication to aim at a guys head with the severe control mechanism in this game. So at least they should have gotten that part down. But they didnt. Call of Duty better get this problem down, or its 3 strikes and Im done with FPS for psp. [6/10]

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/06