BROTHERS In Arms: Hell's Highway (BIAHH) parachutes you deep into World War II (WWII) in Eindhoven, Netherlands. You play Staff Sergeant Matt Baker of the 101st Airborne Division in Operation Market Garden, an ambitious Allied attempt to secure German-occupied bridges.

Although there has been a slew of titles set in WWII, BIAHH stands out with its strong storyline and characters that are painstakingly portrayed through a generous dose of elaborate cinematic scenes. Like an episode of Band Of Brothers, the familiar themes of brotherhood, heroism and tragedy are brought to life.

As a leader, you command squads for assault, suppression or anti-tank tasks. Use these teams to overcome enemies in defensive positions by getting one squad to suppress the enemy while moving yourself or another squad closer.

Keep your eye on that red circle indicator above the target. When it turns grey, the enemy has been suppressed and it is safe to break cover.

The indicator helps spot hidden enemies who, however, may be smart enough to run from a compromised position or dodge a grenade.

There is no health replenishment to worry about. Instead, the screen flashes red to warn that you are getting shot at - take cover or you will be dead in seconds.

Your teammates offer support but the artificial intelligence (AI) is terribly inconsistent and there are times when you are tempted to shoot them for their stupidity.

Squad mates can crouch in plain sight (even though you placed them behind cover) or perform showy moves like running across enemy fire and vaulting over obstacles and end up getting killed.

The more boring missions are the solo ones in which you are required to clear out enemies in houses and the totally misplaced sequences where you play a tank commander driving a sluggish tank.

Visually, BIAHH looks beautiful and the varied scenarios showcase many landscapes such as a rainy village, a fair day on a farm and a hellish night scene of a town on fire. Although the sceneries look vast, each level is actually very small and limits you to predictable and linear manoeuvres.

With BIAHH, you re-enact war in fine detail - limbs and heads fly from explosions, plaster and grit splatter on your face and a good headshot is rewarded with a cool slow motion sequence.

BIAHH includes a half-hearted 'capture the flag' multi-player mode which pales in comparison to its strong single player campaign. Look elsewhere for a multi-player experience.

Overall, BIAHH is enjoyable for its cinematic feel and squad tactics, but the inconsistent AI and disjointed solo missions mar the experience.

By Yap Hui Bin, a freelance writer who appreciates the value of ducking behind a strong cover.

This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life on 5 November 2008.