Video game:Microsoft Xbox Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30

Developed by Gearbox Software and published by Ubisoft in 2005, Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 became the first game of the Brothers in Arms series. Gamers can play this first-person shooter on Microsoft's Xbox, Sony's PlayStation 2, and PC.

Set during World War II, Road to Hill 30 is based on the true events of the 101st Airborne Division during D-Day operations in Normandy, France. On the night before the beach landings, Allied paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines to disrupt German defenses and prepare for a counter-attack. Outnumbered until reinforcements from the beach came inland, paratroopers relied on one another while fighting the Germans. These events take center stage in the Brothers in Arms series. Players take on the role of fictional main protagonist Sergeant Matt Baker as the game progresses from the night of the airborne landings to the Battle of Bloody Gulch near the town of Carentan. Baker commands, at most, two different squads of soldiers, a Fire Team and an Assault Team, to aid in the completion of objectives. The player instructs these squads where to move, which enemy to attack, and when to take cover or charge the enemy.

Brothers in Arms features a suppression system which brings a level of strategic planning to the game. Instead of running-and-gunning as in other shooters, players must utilize their squads to suppress enemy positions, and then flank them from the sides. Circular red indicators appear above enemies, and gradually turn grayish as the enemy is further suppressed, thus indicating to the player when it is safe to move a squad from cover to cover. For further strategic planning, a Situational Awareness map provides a top-down view of the battlefield. This suppression system, and insistence on using your squads, is what hammers home the idea of fighting as a unit rather than fighting alone. The narrative story of Brothers in Arms focuses heavily on humanizing characters and evoking the emotional trauma caused by the war. The men Baker commands display their own unique personalities that differentiate them from the rest of the group. This creates a much more realistic experience, as players become attached to their soldiers and feel an emotional impact when they die.

Road to Hill 30 included an online multiplayer for up to four players at a time. Despite being such a limited experience, players command squads similar to the single-player campaign, making the battles seem larger in scale. Multiplayer matches pit two teams against each other with an objective to complete. When a team runs out of reinforcements before completing its objective, the team loses the game. The game's popularity among players and critics alike led to a sequel, Earned in Blood, which released just seven months later.