E3 06: Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway

You know how it goes... one minute you're chillin' in a shop in Germany awaiting new orders and the next your tearing a jagged hunk of glass out of your forearm while pieces of the building clatter off your helmet. Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway takes the soldiers of this first-person series into unbelievably dangerous territory, and we got a chance to join them.

Hell's Highway seemed big on throwing you curve balls. Just when you think you've got a chance to take the briefest of breathers, something explodes and showers debris all over you and your squad. The upside to that scenario is that it could result in more cover for your squad... the downside is that you might all be dead now. Set in real locations, Hell's Highway drastically modifies them as the game progresses, which completely alters the terrain and your tactics.

The addition of your new squads also gives the road a few new bumps and potholes. While you may already know about the bazooka team and their ability to frag on the fly or the machinegun team that smokes Nazis by the truckload, you can't forget about the radio man, who may look humble, but can call in air strikes to devastate the enemy and the environment.

All of this decimation and ruin affects your squad's performance, as it would with real human beings. Your men will trip and fall or stumble over debris, requiring other members of the team to help them up. Even the character you play, named Baker, has a real three dimensional presence in the game world, so when you perform actions like vaulting fences, you'll see your legs swing over the obstructions and watch your hands find grips.