Brothers in Arms: Double Time Review

By Dan Whitehead Published 6 October, 2008

Missing in action.

Version tested: Wii

The World War II shooter genre has yet to make itself essential on the Wii, with the best efforts on the console - Call of Duty 3 and Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 - still only managing to scrape their way to disappointing 5/10 scores. Now it's the turn of Ubisoft's squad-based Brothers in Arms to take up the challenge.

Arriving on the Wii almost a year after it was first promised, Double Time is a conversion of both the original Road to Hill 30, and the follow-up, Earned in Blood. Both games are packaged separately inside a cardboard slipcase, giving the impression of a substantial experience. However, since both games focus on the same overly familiar territory of rural France during the D-Day landings, and feature most of the same characters doing much the same things, it's hard to really see them as distinct entities.

The games are supposedly narrative-driven - they're both "based on a true story" as the cover reminds us - but all this means is that the action is constantly interrupted for poorly staged cut-scenes rendered using the game engine. The graphics are fairly grim and rather undersell what little poignancy the trite story can muster. The attempts at depth and emotion just come across as a warmed over imitation of Saving Private Ryan, performed by balloon-faced mannequins. None of which helps distinguish the series from all the other wartime shooters that trade in the giddy thrill of shooting virtual Nazis, but then pull sad faces so we can pretend our vicarious sofa battles are somehow respectful to the men who actually fought and died all those years ago.

Much has been said about how the Wii interface should make it ideal for FPS games, but it's perhaps telling that the only game to really deliver on this promise was Metroid, which is only partially an FPS anyway. The good news is that Brothers in Arms does a pretty good job of boiling the expected control system down to work on remote and nunchuk. Movement and strafing is mapped to the nunchuk stick, while aiming and turning are handled via the remote. Shooting uses the B trigger, with the nunchuk buttons set aside for crouching and precision aiming. It's a core set-up that most previous Wii shooters have stuck with, and while aiming initially has a slightly floaty feel it soon becomes second nature.

'Brothers in Arms: Double Time' Screenshot 2

The red dots show enemy emplacements that have yet to be suppressed. Or possibly clowns.

Squad commands are simple, with the decent friendly AI filling in the blanks for the blanket orders you're able to give. Hold down the A button and you can direct your fire team where you want them to go. They're smart enough to find cover and return fire without you having to determine their combat stance, and should you move the squad cursor over an enemy it changes to a target. Your squad mates can then lay down suppressing fire, or rush the enemy, with a simple button press. Hardly the deepest squad system in gaming, but it's adequate for the needs of the game. Later on you get to order some tanks around, which makes for a nice change from the near constant flanking manoeuvres the rest of the game relies on.

The motion controls, usually the area where the lure of gimmickry proves many a game's undoing, are also mostly successful. Recalling your squad means raising the nunchuk and making a circular motion in the air. It's hardly essential, but it's the sort of stoic Hollywood-approved military signal that encourages you to get into the play fighting mood. Less successful are the melee attack and grenade throwing. Hitting an enemy with your weapon requires a horizontal bashing movement with the remote, while grenades are aimed by holding down the plus or minus button, and then thrown with a vertical flick.

It's not the accuracy or response that's the issue, just the inescapable problem of how these movements affect your view. Using your aiming device to carry out these attacks is like asking PC players to fling their mouse around, and when throwing a grenade leaves you staring at the sky you know something isn't quite working. But motion control can be switched off for grenades, and the sensitivity of the remote can also be tweaked, so while it's an annoyance it's still far from the clumsy and unintuitive waggling that Call of Duty 3 demanded.

No, what ultimately lets Brothers in Arms down is a game engine that only ever manages mediocre performance, and is often shockingly poor. The frame rate is low, with frequent inexplicable pauses and stutters, while levels are linear, little more than a procession of claustrophobic pathways punctuated by scripted encounters. The enemy AI, in particular, leaves a lot to be desired. One memorable moment found me discovering a trio of German soldiers sitting at a table in a farmhouse. Apparently oblivious to the American soldier in the doorway, they even failed to react when I shot one of them dead. I then tossed a grenade into the room, which killed another but still wasn't enough to rouse the final enemy from his important sitting down duties, so I shot him as well. No wonder they lost.

'Brothers in Arms: Double Time' Screenshot 3

Vehicles make sporadic appearances, but it's not enough to break the monotony of war.

That's an extreme example, but you really have to ramp the difficulty all the way up to get enemies that even begin to provide a credible challenge, and it's at those unforgiving difficulty levels where the limits of the floaty aiming become a hindrance. Things certainly aren't helped by some horribly inconsistent hit detection. Headshots are no guarantee of a kill, while enemies will often take two or three bullets to the chest without even reacting. The complete absence of multiplayer is another black mark against its name, especially when Call of Duty 3 showed that it's far from impossible on the Wii, with a little effort.

You're left with a frustrating package. There's a wealth of gameplay, across the two discs, but very little variety. When you've seen one empty field or chunky polygon village you've seen them all, and enemy encounters soon settle into a predictable suppress-flank-kill routine that robs the game of all its tension. In terms of control there's a lot here that comes close to finding a workable solution for the FPS genre on the Wii, but it's undermined by the undeniable fact that it's all in service of a technically sloppy game.

5 / 10

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Picture of Dan.

About Dan Whitehead

Dan has been writing for Eurogamer since 2006 and specialises in RPGs, shooters and games for children. His bestest game ever is Julian Gollop's Chaos.

Read more articles from Dan by visiting the Dan Whitehead archive page.

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Comments (44) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • woodnotes #1 3 years ago

    Wiilol

  • Bleh #2 3 years ago

    Shame was hoping that it would at least be a bit good but on the other hand it was almost obvious that it wouldn't. 3th party games are just not doing well on Nintendo consoles.

  • kiroquai #3 3 years ago

    Shame really - I've just polished off Hell's Highway and enjoyed it so much I thought I'd backtrack to the previous two. Was thinking this might be an ideal way to do it, but I guess I'll keep digging around in the second hand Xbox game bins...

  • secombe #4 3 years ago

    This will be a fun comments thread.

    I do despair, I was playing Mario Galaxy yesterday and it's just so perfect, both in its design and its suitability for the Wii. Why is it only Nintendo who seem to be able to make it work for the most part?!

  • Raya #5 3 years ago

    The new call of duty looks darn good on Wii - let's hope it plays well too.

    [link url=http://wii.ign.com/dor/o bjects/14222041/call-of-duty-5/videos/callofduty5wii_071508. html
    ]http://wi i.ign.com/dor/objects/14222041/...[/link]

  • Cadence #6 3 years ago

    And it's not like the FPS is impossible to get right on the Wii - Metroid showed that. Perhaps Nintendo will make a decent WWII shooter?!

  • rotmm #7 3 years ago

    @Raya,

    That DOES look good. I'm impressed.

  • Cadence #8 3 years ago

    Looks ok Raya, the people playing it seem to be aiming and not much else though! I love these lifestyle videos.

  • jamespo #9 3 years ago

    Don't expect a gamecube engine to be able to power a modern FPS

  • Razz #10 3 years ago

    woodnotes
    06-Oct-08 11:22:09
    Wiilol

    Read the review and you'd find out it is the game that is vapid, generic and unoriginal. Not the console.

    woodnoteslol

  • mkreku #11 3 years ago

    Back to the bouncing tomatoes for Wii owners then, eh?

  • Darren #12 3 years ago

    Oh dear... Wii struggle to do good third-party games, don't Wii? ;)

  • barchetta #13 3 years ago

    @ Raya

    Why was I reminded of the cheesy adverts found in RoboCop and Starship Troopers! TJ Laser comes to Wii this holiday!

  • DanWhitehead #14 3 years ago

    Looks ok Raya, the people playing it seem to be aiming and not much else though! I love these lifestyle videos.

    Call of Duty 3 had an arcade mode on the Wii that basically turned it into an on-rails lightgun shooter, so that's probably what they're doing. Personally, I'd rather see more developers doing that than try to keep cramming square pegs into the Wii's round hole.

    Oo-er, fnar etc.

  • niz #15 3 years ago

    "Don't expect a gamecube engine to be able to power a modern FPS"

    Maybe you meant "Don't expect a gamecube to be able to power a modern FPS"?

    I think that is, sadly, the truth. Even if somebody is able to nail the controls the rest of the game is going to be lacking by today's FPS standards.

  • Triggerhappytel #16 3 years ago

    Is this graphically inferior to the Xbox versions, then? I seem to recall they were both pretty attractive in their day.

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #17 3 years ago

    It's a shame as there's always fun to be had popping a cap in Nazi arse but from the preview of Call Of Duty that sounds like the game that could deliver on the Wii.

    Good to see the trolls are back on form after a disappointing showing in the recent reviews of good Wii games. Carry on perpetuating all those misguided beliefs boys, you'll soon convince us all to give up our Wii's.

  • TheEnd #18 3 years ago

    "Read the review and you'd find out it is the game that is vapid, generic and unoriginal. Not the console."


    Play the original games and you'll find the assessment is wide of the mark.

  • septimus #19 3 years ago

    So glad I sold my Wii. My wife summed the console up - random pointlessness. It works when you apply it to most of the games, especially the controls.

  • Muddtallica #20 3 years ago

    "Much has been said about how the Wii interface should make it ideal for FPS games, but it's perhaps telling that the only game to really deliver on this promise was Metroid, which is only partially an FPS anyway."

    "Telling"? I'm a little confused as to the implication of the phrasing here; are you suggesting that a pure FPS can't be done on Wii? All I'd take from the current status quo is the impression that it takes talent and effort to get the best out of the hardware, which is hardly an earth-shattering revelation.

    Anyway, whatever: wake me up when The Conduit comes out.

  • DanWhitehead #21 3 years ago

    "Telling"? I'm a little confused as to the implication of the phrasing here; are you suggesting that a pure FPS can't be done on Wii?

    More the fact that the one game to get it truly right was the one not trying to emulate the way the FPS genre is handled on other platforms.

  • UncleLou #22 3 years ago

    Well, I actually thought Red Steel was better than its reputation, and not bad for a launch title. Gun controls were pretty good, it was the swordfighting and the cheesy plot with questionable production values that were the game's main problems. Seeing that this was two years ago now, I am rather surprised there hasn't been anything good in the meantime.

  • mk-1601 #23 3 years ago

    "In terms of control there's a lot here that comes close to finding a workable solution for the FPS genre on the Wii -"

    Metroid Prime 3, MoH:H2 and Quake all implemented great first person control with the Wii Remote. Not quite up there with M+KB but so far ahead of what can be kludged together with dual sticks it's not even funny.

    It's a shame the Wii keeps getting these half-arsed WW2 FPS games, perhaps Call of Duty: World at War (for once not a port) will buck the trend.

  • Triggerhappytel #24 3 years ago

    Quake? There's no Quake game on the Wii, is there?!

  • dryden555 #25 3 years ago

    suppress enemy, suppress enemy, boring, boring

  • BartonFink #26 3 years ago

    Cadence
    And it's not like the FPS is impossible to get right on the Wii - Metroid showed that. Perhaps Nintendo will make a decent WWII shooter?!
    Problem there is Metroid is not a FPS

  • NumberNone #27 3 years ago

    I was a big fan of these games on the original Xbox. Bought this yesterday as I have been waiting an age for them to hit the BC list on the 360. played through the first half of the first title, 'Road to Hill 30,' and am really enjoying it. This a decent port of the games. Yes, the grenade motion control is nonsense but switch it off and the pointer makes grenade throwing really accurate. The aiming is not the issue stated in the review either, I remember then guns not being that accurate in the original game. This was a stab at realism by Gearbox, trying to show how difficult it was to use the weapons of the Second World War, it also makes you rely on the squad tactics. That said, it ain't so hard to get a headshot AI is top notch if played on veteran or above. This is not a new set of games, but for a re-issue of two quality squad shooters from 3 or 4 years ago they do the job from what I can see. Gonna finish Hill 30 and EIB before I have a bash on Hell's Highway.

  • rudedudejude #28 3 years ago

    It's simple really. They know the Wii has a much larger casual base than any other console and so will buy any shit they release on it. Not so much on the xbox, but on the Wii they can get away with it san still make money.

  • MattyD #29 3 years ago

    FFS, the 'dodgy hit detection' isn't dodgy at all. The game has a math model that stops you being able to kill enemies without first establishing a tactical advantage, i.e. setting up flanking fire or getting close enough to grenade their position. It's a contrivance to encourage you to play the game properly instead of ducking up and down behind a wall like Pop-Up Pirate whilst shouting BOOM HEADSHOT KEKEKEKEKE ^_^

  • Oh-Bollox #30 3 years ago

    The BIA games were always a bit lacking anyway, that there's a shoddy port of them is no surprise. All about tactical combat...but the enemies never assault you, or try to flank you, or retreat to a better position. They just sit there. Riiiiiiiight.

    The conveniently-placed bits of cover are absolutely hilarious. That's warfare, alright. When you need a bit of cover, there just so happens to be some. Fantastic. Especially the hay bales that stop tank shells. Really done your research, lads.

    The enemies are basically invulnerable until you find, fix, flank and finish them. Nice one. How about giving the enemies some decent AI and have them limit their exposure to enemy fire, give them the ability to fire and maneouvre? No, fuck it, just make them invincible. It's not even like fire and maneouvre is a complex tactic anyway, especially not when you've contributed loads of cover to the battlefield. But obviously it was just too much bother...

    Going for realism and then fucking it up is much less admirable than just making an unrealistic gung-ho shooter. Wii owners are not missing anything good by avoiding these games.

  • Waldo #31 3 years ago

    Quake? There's no Quake game on the Wii, is there?!

    It's an unofficial homebrew of the GameCube version.

  • Triggerhappytel #32 3 years ago

    But there are no Quake games on the 'Cube, are there?!

  • Waldo #33 3 years ago

    Well, it's a homebrew version of some edition of the game. I'm sure Smelly knows which one. ;)

  • jebus #34 3 years ago

    @secombe
    I do despair, I was playing Mario Galaxy yesterday and it's just so perfect, both in its design and its suitability for the Wii. Why is it only Nintendo who seem to be able to make it work for the most part?!

    Probably because they don't have to make games for other consoles, so it is designed specifically for the Wii and coded specifically for one platform.

  • darc #35 3 years ago

    "I do despair, I was playing Mario Galaxy yesterday and it's just so perfect, both in its design and its suitability for the Wii. Why is it only Nintendo who seem to be able to make it work for the most part?!"

    You should def. check out Da Blob - it has a very similar quality about it.

  • smelly #36 3 years ago

    GOODY!! A NEW BAD WII REVIEW!!!

    I can now go into the thread and tell everyone how my wii (not that i own one) is gathering dust or other such nonsense

  • beastmaster #37 3 years ago

    I have no Wii. I don't want a Wii. Will not get a Wii.

  • captainrentboy #38 3 years ago

    Smelly, do you ever actually make a constructive comment? You pop up in various comments sections, make some random fanboy baiting remark and then fuck off again.
    I know you regularly like to point out what a sad Xbot I am, but at least I occasionally try to contribute to what everyone else is actually talking about. You truely are a sad bugger.
    Annnyway on to this game. What is it that makes it so difficult to make an awesome FPS for the Wii? It's all there for the developers to take advantage of, but no. Anyone know if this one looks worse than its Xbox/PS2 brothers? Surely that would be slightly inexcuseable too.
    After a slow, slightly crappy start I'm now really starting to like the new one on the 360 (I'm on chapter 6), and I haven't played any of the others, I'm guessing they're a whole lot more of the same, only slightly uglier.
    Edited by 1 at 06/10/08 @ 21:54

  • J.C #39 3 years ago

    Is this graphically inferior to the Xbox versions, then? I seem to recall they were both pretty attractive in their day.

    Yes. the original xbox versions wipe the floor with this wii effort. no surprise really, the xbox still continues to wipe the floor with the wii in terms of visuals. many wii owners will argue with this. (you know who you are) i dont know why, people thought the wii had more power under its hood than the xbox. the truth is, their is STILL nothing on the wii that technically matches the best of Xbox. although mario galaxies comes very close. and The Conduit? its not doing anything, halo1 wasn't doing years ago. i cant wait for the Conduit review!

  • mk-1601 #40 3 years ago

    "many wii owners will argue with this. (you know who you are)"

    Ones with eyes, presumably. SMG and MP3:C chuck around more geometry at a smoother framerate than anything on the Xbox1.

    The Conduit is not a good demonstration of the Wii's technical strengths, as High Voltage are preoccupied with trying to 'fake' effects that the GPU doesn't support natively. CoD:WW looks better from what I've seen. As does Metroid.

  • neonemesis #41 3 years ago

    Personally, graphical limitations don't bother me since I knew what I was getting when I decided to buy a Wii. What does bother me though is the terrible AI that this game apparently has. Reading the examples in the review made me feel like I was reading about Medal of Honour Frontline or something similarly aged.

  • Z101 #42 3 years ago

    "Much has been said about how the Wii interface should make it ideal for FPS games, but it's perhaps telling that the only game to really deliver on this promise was Metroid"

    The Wii-Interface is ideal for FPS, that's a fact. The controls of Heroes 2 are fantastic and better than MP3s. But the game itself was not good.

    Ubisoft is making only crap-games always, this is not new.

  • Dark_Wolf_1991 #43 3 years ago

    Ahhh what a shame........ I am enjoying hells highaway on PS3 and I was gonna pick this up but looks like I will scot around in the pre-owned and bargin buckets

  • HammyWammy #44 3 years ago

    Well MOHH2 set the pace for FPS on wii. As I can see is COD: World at war is a possiblilty, although it only runs at 30fps. So therefore, as I already have the top ww2 game (MOHH2) I'll be waiting for the Conduit.

    AKA wiihater lol