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> Results: Brothers in Arms DS
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The ESRB Says
Violence: GamerDad was back re-fighting World War II once again. Language: A few instances of the usual war-inspired exclamations. From the moment I first touched my DS I thought that the stylus and D-pad could do a great job as a substitute for the WASD and mouse of the PC in producing top-notch first person shooters. So far we've only had a couple of games that have taken advantage of the control scheme - the mediocre GoldenEye Rogue Agent and the excellent Metroid Prime: Hunters. Now Ubisoft brings DS FPS fans a game that steps back into the fertile territory of World War II shooters using the excellent Brothers in Arms franchise, and the results are solid and enjoyable. Playing the game is simple to get into but challenging to master - you move using the D-pad, aim with the stylus and fire using the 'L' shoulder button (left handed gamers can switch controls easily at any time). Sensitivity is tuned about right for making quick moves without ever feeling out of control. One interesting thing is that the game has load times - they are only 5 - 10 seconds but will immediately stick out for DS gamers used to load-free gaming. Brothers in Arms DS is mission and checkpoint based with loads of fun and challenging things to do, but occasionally the objectives are unclear and you get stuck into a 'die-and-retry' loop until the game gives you enough clues to figure out your goal. But this is a rarity and most things work very well - tanks and jeeps steer well, as do aiming with guns and rifles and mounted weapons. The zoom mode on sniper rifles and 'aim down the sites' modes work very well, and the reloading mechanic is wonderful - the pull-reload is simple and allows you to avoid the very long automated reload of running out of ammo mid-battle. There are two other recently released handheld World War II shooters, both on the PSP - Call of Duty: Roads to Victory and Call of Duty: Roads to Victory. While the PSP games are more graphically advanced, they are hampered by the slowness of their control schemes. Brothers in Arms DS is better than Call of Duty: Roads to Victory in all regards, and has a more balanced and well-rounded single-player than Call of Duty: Roads to Victory, but the fact that the developers pulled the WiFi multiplayer and don't have any form of single-card multiplay hampers the longevity of the game. If I had to choose a single handheld World War II shooter at this point I would be hard-pressed to select between the two, but for the DS gamer the lone choice is a solid game that will not disappoint FPS fans.  
Anyone who has played the wide variety of World War II first-person shooters knows what to expect - tense battles, frequent die-and-retry scenarios, occasional curse words in exclamations and killing, killing and more killing. Similar to the PSP WWII games mentioned above this is a fast and frantic experience, with a 'blood border' similar to Call of Duty that alerts you when you are getting close to dying. There is some additional blood when you are hit in sniper mode that I am surprised didn't earn the game a 'Blood' ESRB descriptor, and the screen that comes up when you fail a mission is rather gruesome as it features a disturbing image of a dead soldier staring open-eyed out at you. This is definitely a game built for teens and adults moreso than the other DS shooters to date and I definitely recommend this as a GamerDad Age Seal of 14+ for older teens.
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