His is the latest game that has moved me. Brothers In Arms is a World War II shooter from Gearbox, published by Ubisoft, and is based on the true story of the 101st Airborne paratroopers who led the D-Day invasion. The game puts you in the role of Sgt Matt Baker, a real-life member of the 101st Airborne Division.

Ou?ll start out the night before D-Day, when your platoon parachutes down behind enemy lines into France, fighting your way into the town of Carentan. As you carry out each mission, you?ll unlock extras, such as photographs and reconnaissance photos, which show you how closely the game?s levels match the real-life situation.

He game?s presentation is extremely cinematic, borrowing cues from popular movies such as Band of Brothers. Every chapter begins with a sombre narration by Baker?s character. You also get to watch some cutscenes that summarise the previous mission and also get you acquainted with your squadmates. These presentational aspects set the mood, but unfortunately can?t be skipped.

Here is one thing though that breaks the mood of the game, and that?s when squadmates who die in the course of the game all of a sudden appear in the next mission. This is a minor gripe, though, and the game would be unduly difficult if you were allowed to lose squadmates over the course of a mission.

He game levels are linear in design, so much so that you feel like you are in a maze with only one correct path. Flanking opponents and rushing in from behind or from the side to take them out is the only way to kill them, and it gets old very quickly. Brothers in Arms is an undeniably authentic experience. While the main character?s story itself isn?t all that engaging, the context of the battles is always very clear and meaningful.

Here?s an interesting mode called ?situational awareness?, which zooms out and gives you an overhead view of the map. From here you can examine your position and that of your squad, relative to that of enemy positions. This mode is extremely helpful in making intelligent decisions on manoeuvering and positioning.

Our assault team is armed with Thompsons, M1 Carbines and plenty of grenades to deal with enemies at close quarters. In most missions you?ll be equipped with both the M1 Garand and the Tommy gun. If those weapons aren?t your style, you?re free to switch weapons with those you find in the field.

Hus this is a must-buy this summer for all you World War-II fans. But the system requirements are pretty high so better watch out for the RAM requirements. It runs good only on machines with 1 GB RAM.

B>System requirements: Supported OS: Windows(r) 2000/XP (only); Processor: 1 GHz Pentium(r) III or AMD Athlon (2.5 GHz Pentium IV or AMD); RAM: 256 MB (1 GB recommended); Video Card: 32 MB DirectX(r) 9.0c compliant (see supported list*); Sound Card: 16 bit DirectX 9.0c-compliant sound card (PC audio solution containing Dolby(r) Digital Live required for Dolby Digital audio); DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c; Hard Drive Space: 5 GB; Peripherals: Windows keyboard and mouse only; Multiplayer: Broadband with 64 Kbps upstream (128 Kbps recommended); Laptops are not supported.