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Video game:Microsoft Xbox Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood

Microsoft2005

The Strong National Museum of Play

The Strong National Museum of Play
Rochester , United States

The first-person shooter Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood became the second game in the Brothers in Arms series. Developed by Gearbox Software and published by Ubisoft in 2005, Earned in Blood came out just seven months after the release of the series' first game, Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30. Gamers can play Earned in Blood on Microsoft's Xbox, Sony's PlayStation 2, and PC.

Earned in Blood takes place during the same World War II events as its predecessor, Road to Hill 30. Instead of retaining the role of Sergeant Matt Baker, the main character in the previous game, players become Sergeant Joe Red Hartstock, who appeared as an NPC (non-playable character) in Road to Hill 30. The story reflects on the events of the previous game through the eyes of Hartstock, as he tells his story to an Army historian. Many gameplay features of Earned in Blood remain the same as in Road to Hill 30. Players control up to two squads of soldiers and try to outmaneuver enemy positions. Running-and-gunning is not a viable option in the game. Instead, players must move themselves and their squads from cover to cover while suppressing their enemies, in order to prevent being shot while out in the open. A circular red indicator appears over enemy positions to indicate their status. As players unleash more suppressing fire on the enemy, the circle turns gray, and when the red completely vanishes, players can safely move to a new location.

Earned in Blood introduced smarter enemy A.I. (artificial intelligence) than its predecessor. In Road to Hill 30, enemies hunkered down in one location and usually would not move, which forced players to use their squads to outflank the enemy. In Earned in Blood, enemies became much more mobile and moved from cover to cover to mimic the player's actions. These improvements created a greater challenge than in Road to Hill 30, as a flanking position that looked promising at one moment could potentially give no real advantage the next.

Earned in Blood also expanded on the multiplayer mode introduced in Road to Hill 30. Offering both cooperative and competitive game modes, gamers accessed multiplayer mode online, through system link, or through split-screen. A Skirmish mode gave players increasingly difficult custom combat missions, and new cooperative and competitive modes gave players a multiplayer mode with much more replay value than in Road to Hill 30.

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  • Title: Video game:Microsoft Xbox Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood
  • Creator: Microsoft
  • Date Created: 2005
  • Location: USA
  • Subject Keywords: electronic game, video game, Microsoft, Microsoft XBOX, Xbox
  • Type: Console Games
  • Medium: plastic, printed paper
  • Object ID: 110.13244
The Strong National Museum of Play

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