The game has many new features, including the ability to command a further squad, from a selection of new specialised units (Bazooka Teams, Machine Guns teams, Mortar Teams, as well as Radio Teams with which to call in artillery support). When a command is issued, the player model uses hand signals to issue the command to his squad, just like the previous games in the series.
- In the pre-E3 trailer, a civilian is shown distracting the Sergeant to reveal a hiding soldier behind a clothesline. Such outside AI communication might be implemented.
- Also, Matt Baker might be able to use heavy weapons against the enemy, such as he ordered his squad to use the artillery piece in the trailer against the German Tank.
- A cinematic slo-mo cam has been implemented where the player can see the death of a squad-mate in slow-motion. In the pre-E3 trailer, a squadmate can be seen getting shot and dying in the player's arms. This has been referred to as "Brotherhood Moments" by Gearbox.
- The player's weapon swings around more realistically as it would in real life instead of just staying still (or moving slightly). Also, squadmates can jump walls, and in the E3 video (see External Links), more "Brotherhood Moments" can be seen, such as when one soldier helps another up from the ground.
- The player can now go prone as well as crouch and stand. Only crouching and standing were available in previous games in the series.
- The full E3 video can be downloaded in 720p from the Xbox Live Marketplace.
June 6, 1944, D-Day in Normandy France, was a turning point in WWII. The American, British, Canadian forces cracked open Hitler's Atlantic Wall and poured ashore. In days the beachheads were secure and the Allied Armies firmly established on the European Continent.
Hard fighting ensued in France. By August, Hitler's forces were defeated and raced back to the safety of their defenses in Holland and the Siegfried Line in Germany. The Allies realized that a great opportunity existed to exploit the German defeat in France and end the war by Christmas 1944. The problem, however, was that their supply lines - still supported from the beaches at Normandy - were long and getting longer as the Allied Armies marched toward Germany. With supplies low, the forward movement slowed.
Many Allied generals believed that one strong push could bring about the collapse of Nazi Germany and the end of the war. This possibility seemed too good to pass up.
To exploit the enemy's dislocation, British General Bernard Montgomery came up with a daring plan that was code named Market Garden. In his plan, the 1st Allied Airborne Army, consisting of three Airborne Divisions - the U.S. 101st and 82d Airborne Divisions, the British 1st Airborne Division and the free Polish Parachute Brigade - would drop into Holland to secure a narrow road that would become the axis of attack for the powerful British XXXth Armored Corps.
The Allies had air superiority, a powerful armored corps ready to strike, and a new Airborne Army that was anxious to get into the battle and get the war over with. In short, the Allies were sure of success.
On September 17, 1944, in broad daylight, the Allies launched the largest airborne operation ever conducted. The 101st Airborne had the critical job of securing the base of the penetration. They seized the bridges in and around Eindhoven, Netherlands. The 82d Airborne was jumped to the north to seize the bridges in and around Nijmegen, Netherlands. The British 1st Airborne and the Poles jumped near Arnhem, Netherlands, to secure the bridge across the Rhine.
The Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division secured their objectives and fought desperate battles against determined German counter-attacks to block XXX Corps route. The fighting along this area became known as the fight for "Hell's Highway" and the courage of the soldiers on both sides is the stuff of legends. The story of the battle for Hell's Highway is one of the most dramatic of WWII.
The 82d Airborne, after hard fighting, also secured their objectives. XXX Corps met fierce opposition as it attacked along the 60 mile long single road to link up with the British 1st Airborne at Arnhem. It was a race against time.
At Arnhem, time and the Germans worked against the British. The British Airborne ran in to a buzz saw of German counter-attacks. Outnumbered and outgunned, the British paras captured one end of the bridge crossing the Rhine, but XXX Corps did not arrive in time and the elements of several German SS Panzer divisions captured thousands of British paratroopers and forced the rest to evacuate south of the Rhine.
Operation Market Garden nearly succeeded and is one of the great "what if's" of WWII. If the bold plan had succeeded, the war might have been ended by Christmas 1944 and millions of lives could have been saved. As it was, the war dragged on and did not end until May 8, 1945.
It has also been confirmed that Pvt. Allen and Pvt. Garnett, who where killed in Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, will return in some form which will most likely be a flashback cutscene which might also explain the mystery of how they were killed. |
