To mention all the war-based shooters that Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood has to compete with would require a huge Ace Ventura-like breath. Furthermore, within that genre it has plenty (and I mean plenty) of war titles that are set in the same WWII era and it's not easy going up against a series as strong as Medal of Honor or Call of Duty, to name a couple.

For a game to charge forward in this crowded and demanding battlefield without being killed or horribly maimed in the process requires an immensely chiseled physique. As a matter of fact, for a game to stand out it has to be close to perfect, so that the good people at Gearbox have set themselves a real challenge from the off. On the positive side, they have the chance to do something innovative with a genre that offers few surprises any more. Once the game has loaded up, the menu system doesn't seem to offer anything particularly innovative - you can choose from Story mode, a Skirmish or Multiplayer - and this is topped off with a Saving Private Ryan style soundtrack (with military trumpets galore).

Luckily, the menu selections and opening tunes are not on the list of things particularly significant to add spice to a game's recipe. More importantly, when I fired up the story mode I was pleasantly surprised to find that the plot was enough to whet my appetite. It is hardly groundbreaking cinema, but at least it doesn't copy every war movie under the sun, like some of those other war games (you know who you are!) The entire story is told by central character Sergeant Joe Hartsock, known as 'Red' to his fellow soldiers. Hartsock was one of the US Airborne troopers who were dropped behind enemy lines the night before the Normandy landing in France. The story and the campaign are based on the real-life stories of these soldiers, as they fought across the French countryside in the first two weeks after invasion. Those of you who played Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 may remember that Hartsock was a featuring character. When you are initially placed in his combat boots - so to speak - this first person shooter is instantly atmospheric, with light piercing through the trees and the sound of distant gunfire and explosions. This is a nice touch, and one that will probably be taken for granted once the game becomes more familiar.

An important ingredient to break you into the action gently comes in the form of an interactive tutorial that can be turned on and off at your leisure, which teaches you everything you need to know as you play through the Story mode. This early part of the game is very dull, but it helps you to get to grips with both the controls and the tactics that are essential for your success as you progress. Although these mechanics are not perfect, the game does get a bit more exciting after you have been schooled in their use; it's not too long before you are in at the deep end, blasting at hordes of German soldiers, with a helping hand from your easy-to-direct squad.

You can truly appreciate how atmospheric Earned in Blood is when you are first standing in the vicinity of an exploding grenade. You are abruptly slung to the ground, with chunks of earth flying past you after a thunderous boom. You stumble slowly back onto your feet, as your ears ring and your vision returns from a disorientating blur - obviously you're hurt, but this sinks the message deep that you are one lucky bastard to have survived the blast. However, this is no time for a philosophical rethink of your current position in life, but rather the time to put your finger back on the trigger and spray some lead at that soldier who tried to blow you to bits!

Unfortunately, wreaking your revenge is not as satisfying as the atmospheric grenade encounters. Although successfully hitting an enemy with a bullet is a challenge, it's never really that gratifying to do. This could be due to the fact that many of your firefights are from long range (without a sniper scope), so you don't really get to see the results of your hard work up close and personal. Trying not to sound like a gore thirsty maniac, this could also be due to an unconvincing amount of blood; don't get me wrong, there shouldn't be pints of liquid spraying from huge wounds every time you successfully hit someone, but at the same time it shouldn't be a tiny squib-like burst each and every time either. Earned in Blood has a 16 rating, so there are no excuses here - it may sound like nit picking, but the satisfaction you get from shooting the enemy is a pretty important element in a war game. The animations for soldier movements throughout the game are incredibly realistic and crisp, yet when it comes to troops and enemies being hit or killed there are surprisingly few animations - and even fewer that are very convincing.

At least the game is not all about mindless shooting; the tactical element of the battles is unusual and interesting, as you have to suppress your enemy with fire before flanking them (coming in from an angle where they are not covered). You can tell how suppressed an enemy is from the meter displayed high above their heads - this can be turned off if you wish, but then your only indication is when your troops shout out that they're fully suppressed. These shouts from your troops come fully garnished with swear words, so although this is realistic, you'll agree that Earned in Blood is not for kids. [I'm not so sure about that… try listening in at your average secondary school during break time - you might learn a new word or two! Ed] You may also notice that your squad AI is not amazing, although you truly appreciate them when they're gone, as they are a great distraction for the Germans, allowing you to get a clearer shot in. Your squad moves very convincingly - the transition from a ducking position to a cautious standing position in order to fire over an object is very smooth and realistic. Anyway, once your enemy is suppressed, you can go about charging them or shooting at them from another angle, while your squad continues to suppress them. This is fun a couple of times when it is a new experience, but it soon becomes dull and it's rarely high octane, unlike the Medal of Honor series.

Coming back to the graphics, this is an aspect of Earned in Blood that is very praiseworthy, despite its faults being somewhat glaring at times. The detailed and realistically animated soldiers, along with intricately reproduced weapons and objects are constantly upstaging the surrounding environments, which are often quite dull, lacking detail and variety in their texture and look. Although the graphics push your PS2 hard, the hackneyed maps immediately highlight how it falls short of what other war titles have achieved in the past. The sound effects and voice acting, however, are probably as near to perfect as you are going to get, which is why a somewhat significant lapse in gameplay is so surprising. The music within the game is almost as atmospheric as the effects, although the soundtrack does fail to be unique, feeling similar to any other game set in this time period. That doesn't mean to say it isn't excellent however, as it fits in very well with the theme of the game.

The slightly empty gameplay experience of the single player campaign is made up for, to a degree, by the multiplayer mode, as taking out human enemies is always a much less straightforward affair than gunning down AI controlled Nazis. A range of tactics is most definitely needed to tackle human opponents who are often much more adventurous, charging towards you rather than sitting in the stalemate position. Having said this, the multiplayer mode will never rival the likes of the keyboard and mouse driven Counter-Strike, which has a much faster pace and is far more satisfying to clock up the frags.

Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood has plenty of nice features, but the gameplay fails to meet that near perfection that is needed to compete with the super powers of the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series. Earned in Blood is very atmospheric, with plenty of challenge (and plenty of helping hands/hints if you have them turned on) but the long range and often stalemate-style firefights are reasonably shy of exciting, while the often-confined environments feel like they restrict your freedom of movement and your choice of how to tackle the enemy. If you want a tactical and atmospheric gaming experience, then Earned in Blood may well be for you; however, if you like games infused with excitement and energy throughout, then you should probably look elsewhere - and there are plenty of other places to look.

Reviewed by Liam Bennion for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).