Even though the World War II FPS genre is completely saturated with games, occasionally franchises come along and break the monotony. The first Brothers in Arms' effort Road to Hill 30 gave gamers incredible control over their squadron while creating a fevered vision of war.

Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood upholds the standard set by its predecessor. Gritty, visceral and intense, Brothers in Arms: EIB has your squad play one small part in war's theater. The squad management can get a little tedious, but not because of your team's AI - your soldiers are smart. Instead, the plethora of commands and constant scanning of the horizon make the game play like an RTS game - with a first person view. The problem? Sometimes I just want to blow stuff up, rather than tell my squad what to blow up.

Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood ships Oct. 3 for PC and Xbox and Oct. 15 for PS2.

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