Brothers in Arms Series

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 is a first-person shooter video game created by Gearbox Software for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Mac OS X. It is the first game in the Brothers in Arms series. It is published by Ubisoft and was released in early 2005. The game takes place during World War II and focuses on tactics. It was ported to the Wii in 2008, as part of the Brothers in Arms: Double Time compilation.

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 was also used to recreate scenarios in a 2005 History Channel special, also titled Brothers in Arms.

Story
Brothers in Arms is based on the true story of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment of the famed 101st Airborne Division who were dropped behind German Lines on D-Day. The game is based on the historical Mission Albany, in which the player has to complete true-to-life missions of the 101st.

The sequel Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood is also based on the last missions of the 101st, such as link up with 82nd Airborne Division and capture of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte (which historically did not involve the 101st A/B as a whole, but some members volunteered to assist the undermanned 82nd Division). The player takes the role of Sergeant Matthew Baker, a paratrooper (based on Harrison C. Summers and various other people) and leader of an airborne squad from Fox Company. The missions range from dropping into France on June 6 to the final defense of Hill 30 eight days later. Baker must lead his men through troubled times and make decisions that may result in the death of a paratrooper, which causes him much heartache.

[edit] Characters
Main article: List of Brothers in Arms charactersBaker's squad consists of Cpl. Joe "Red" Hartsock, Cpl. Sam Corrion, Pfc. Jack Courtland, Pfc. Stephan "Obi" Obrieski, Pvt. Larry Allen, Pvt. Johnny Rivas, Pvt. Michael Desola, Pvt. David Muzza, Pfc. Thomas "Zano" Zanovich, Pvt. Michael Garnett and Pvt. Dale "Kid" McCreary. The Radioman is Pfc. Kevin Benjamin "Legs" Leggett. The squad is one of three under Platoon Sgt. Greg "Mac" Hassay. "Mac" served under Sgt. Baker's father, whom he had much respect for, in the First World War and has promised to himself to make Sgt. Baker into a good soldier.

Another character included is Sgt. Baker's best friend, Tank Commander Sgt. George Risner, with whom he spent his childhood. He commands a M5 Light Tank. George follows Sgt. Baker into a small French town outside Saint Côme-du-Mont where his tank is hit by a panzerfaust. He soon dies while firing back at the Germans with Baker's Colt .45 pistol. Also included are real life personalitiesGeneral Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force and Lieutenant Colonel Robert G. Cole, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading a charge against a German position outside Carentan early on June 11, 1944. Another real-life character is Col. S.L.A. Marshall. Lt. Col. Patrick Cassidy is also featured in the series, he is the Commander of the 1st Battalion of the 502nd PIR. Col. Howard R. Johnson (The Commander of the 501st PIR) is featured in the series.

Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood
Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood is a video game and sequel to Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 and the second game in the Brothers in Arms series, developed by Gearbox Software for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. It was ported to the Wii in 2008 as a part of the Brothers in Arms: Double Time compilation.

Earned in Blood continues the Brothers In Arms saga as newly-promoted Sergeant Joe "Red" Hartsock (Hartsock was the Corporal of Baker's Fire Team), who was part of the historic Normandy invasion in the previous game. Earned in Blood includes several new multiplayer missions, weapons and vehicles, plus a new co-op skirmish mode. The AI of enemies has also been improved considerably in this game, while level designs are more open-ended than the original.

Story
The story is essentially told as a "reflection" on the events that took place earlier, as Army historian Colonel S.L.A. Marshall is interviewing paratroopers 15+ days after D-Day. The story is divided into three parts. The first part of the game is recollection of Hartsock's time in Sergeant Matt Baker's squad during the initial D-Day invasion. The second part picks up when he takes command of 2nd Squad, 3rd Platoon during the liberation and defense of Carentan, and the eventual link up between 82nd and 101st Airborne Division at the town of Baupte. The final part will take place in and aroundSaint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte. Although the first part takes place under Baker's command, every mission is one not included in Road to Hill 30. The player commands Desola, Allen, and Garnett from 3rd Squad, and some soldiers from 2nd Squad at first. Then the game switches the player to command the entire 2nd Squad after the Battle of Bloody Gulch (Hill 30).

Hartsock's squad consists of the remains of the original 2nd Squad (Cpl. Franklin Paddock, Pvt. Dean "Friar" Winchell, and Pfc. James Marsh) and the remnants of 1st Squad (Cpl. Jacob Campbell, Pvt. Will Paige, and Pvt. Derrick McConnell). In addition, the player will also be in command of Corporal (later promoted to Sergeant) Seamus Doyle of the 82nd Airborne during the initial D-Day invasion in early parts of the game.

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway is a first-person shooter video game. It is the third entry in the Brothers in Arms series of video games which follows the men of the 101st Airborne Division (502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment). This game once again puts players in the role of Staff Sergeant Matt Baker during Operation Market Garden in the later stages of World War II.

The game was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on September 23, 2008[1] in North America, and was in stores on September 20, 2008. The Microsoft Windows version was released two weeks later, on October 7, 2008. It was made available on Steam on October 8, 2008.[4]

Plot
Matt Baker, now a Staff Sgt, is becoming more and more haunted by the events of RTH30, especially the unknown deaths of Garnett and Allen, and Leggett's supposed involvement in it, yet refuses to talk about it. His best friend, Joe Hartsock, is now also a Staff Sgt, and commands the 2nd squad of Baker's unit as they prepare for Operation Market Garden, a high risk Airborne operation intended to try allow the Allies to "Win the War by Christmas." Baker's unit now has a few replacements, including a fresh arrival in Pvt. Franky LaRoche, as well as a transferred replacement, an Englishman fighting with them, Pfc Dawson, who is intrigued by the stories of Baker's so called, "Cursed pistol," and wants to know the truth, despite the reserved responses by the other soldiers in the unit. Also, Cpl. Sam Corrion is now becoming frustrated that he has been passed over for a promotion three times, believing he can be just as good a squad leader as Baker and Hartsock. As a test, Frankie is put under his wing.

Baker's unit safely arrives into Holland by gliders and meet up with a member of Dutch resistance, a shoemaker named Nicholas, who provides some early recon to help them. Baker links up first with 1st Sgt. Mac Hassey and then, after assisting some crashed gliders, link up with the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne, commanded by Col. Sink (voiced by Capt. Dale Dye, who also played Sink in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers) Baker's unit fights to take the Son bridge, but it is demolished by the German Army, which sets back the whole operation some. Baker's unit is then assigned to take the town of Eindhoven, which results in first Baker, assisted by Cpl. Paddock, to take out a deadly German sniper, and then take out artillery in the outskirts of Eindhoven. During this, Nicholas tells Baker that his son, Pieter, has gone missing with his gun, apparently intending to enact his own revenge on the Germans. Baker's unit is able to clear a path for British tanks to take Eindhoven, and Baker is able to find Pieter after the boy had killed several Germans. During a celebration by the Dutch citizens of Eindhoven, Baker reunites Nicholas with his son, while Frankie fratenizes with a pretty Dutch girl and starts to fall in love.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;text-align:start;">That night, as the unit rests just outside of Eindhoven, Dawson goes to Baker and mentions that he met someone who knows the truth Baker is hiding. Before more can be said, though, the GermanLuftwaffe bombs Eindhoven. Baker's unit fights its way into the burning rubble and meet up with Hartsock's squad. Meanwhile, Frankie leaves to go find his Dutch girlfriend, despite Corrion's attempts to stop him. Once linked up with Hartsock's squad, they find out that one of their own, Pfc. Marsh, is dead from a sniper, which heavily traumitizes Cpl. Campbell. Paddock then shows up with the body of Pieter, having died when a building collapsed ontop of the one he was in, which killed his father Nicolaas as well. Baker, despite being very emotionally disturbed by Pieter's death, leads the unit through the burning rubble of Eindhoven, fighting through several German squads in the process. They manage to find Frankie, leading the Dutch girl to apparent safety through a burning building. Baker runs inside himself, but gets disoriented by the flames and ends up jumping through a window into a river. When he comes to, Baker is near an abandoned hospital. He spots the Dutch girl being killed in cold blood by some Germans and fights his way into the hospital, armed with just his pistol. He goes inside, finding Frankie, who had gotten fatally shot. He asks Baker if the girl escaped, which Baker tries to say yes, but Frankie, with his last words, calls Baker a liar. Hartsock finds them and leads a now visibly distraut Baker back through the crumbling hospital. Baker goes into a lecture hall where a bomb falls through the skylight, but is miraculously caught by the skylight's iron frame. Baker then sees 3 Germans standing above him, preparing to shoot him and he raises his pistol and shoots in response. Hartsock sees the whole incident and sees that Baker was imagining the Germans and they were not actually there.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;text-align:start;">The unit leaves Eindhoven and meet up with Hassey in Odendrode. There, Hartsock admits to Hassey that he is worried about Baker and that he may not be emotionally stable now. It is now also apparent that the rest of the unit is also starting to lose faith in Baker, especially with Market-Garden starting to fail. The unit goes to Veghel, where they are attacked by Germans again. They are able to fight back the Germans, once again thanks to some help from British tanks. Baker then meets up with Hartsock in a cafe, where he tries to get Baker to admit his problems. During this, the cafe is suddenly hit by a mortar. Baker escapes with the left side of his face severely cut, while Campbell gets wounded in the throat, and Pfc. Friar Winchell, who was also inside, is killed. Hartsock is initially assumed dead, but gets revived by Corrion. Later that night, Col. Sink meets with Baker and asks Baker to name a replacement for Hartsock to lead the 2nd squad of the unit. Even though Corrion is hopeful, Baker instead chooses Paddock for the promotion. Corrion finally confronts Baker, who promptly blames Corrion for Frankie's death because Corrion couldn't keep him in line.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;text-align:start;">The unit then travels down the infamous Hell's Highway where they are ambushed by Germans. They manage to fight their way through, but Corrion gets shot in the chest during the fight and they have to take him to an aid station. Afterwards, Dawson meets up with Baker again and tells him that he had met Leggett in Carentan and that he told Dawson the secret about the deaths of Allen and Garnett. He tells Baker to tell the rest of the unit or Dawson himself will. During the drive back to Veghel, Paddock is also shown to be troubled. He admits that back in England, he had unknowningly predicted that "Marsh and Friar were going to bite it," which has bothered him since. This causes Baker to finally tell the rest of the unit the truth about what happened in RTH30.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;text-align:start;">In a flashback scene, it is shown that Leggett got into a very heated argument with Allen, to the point where Leggett punches and kicks Allen relentlessly. Suddenly, Garnett is shot in the head by a German, which causes Allen to kill the German in response. Another German fatally shoots Allen, but he manages to get back to his rifle and shoot both the German that shot him and another German dead before dying himself, all the while, Leggett just stood there and watched it happen.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;text-align:start;">Baker's unit then clears out German artillery in one last assault to clear an exit for the Allied soldiers. It is here that they finally learn that Market-Garden has become a huge failure, causing over 17,000 Allied casualties. Baker goes to find out what happened to Hartsock and runs into a healed Corrion, who has already heard the true story about Leggett and has finally completely lost trust in Baker, telling him, "We are never fighting together again." Baker then goes to the unit's medic, who tells Baker that Hartsock was paralyzed in the mortar hit. Baker tells Hartsock this, saying that Hartsock has finally achieved what he had wanted, to be able to go home to his wife and infant daughter who he has never met. Baker promises that he will meet up with Red again after the war is over. Afterwards, Baker, now on the verge of an emotional breakdown, is approached by Leggett (though, when seen from Dawson's point of view, Baker is only imagining it), who first taunts Baker for failing to protect his fellow soldiers and then hints at what will be coming ahead for Baker and his unit, asking him, "Now that you've made it through Hell, how do you feel about...snow?", hinting at the upcoming Battle of the Bulge. Baker regains himself and with new determination, makes a passionate speech to his unit, saying that he will continue to lead them until the end comes. He also finally has enough of the rumors of his "cursed pistol" and throws it into the nearby woods, saying that it is just a gun.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;text-align:start;">While the rest of the unit rally back to Baker, Corrion doesn't and walks away as Baker watches on.

Credits
Brothers in Arms - Road to Hill 30 Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_in_Arms:_Road_to_Hill_30

Brothers in Arms - Earned in Blood Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_in_Arms:_Earned_in_Blood

Brothers in Arms - Hell's Highway Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_in_Arms:_Hell%27s_Highway

Brothers in Arms Wikia: http://brothersinarms.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

All information, citation, and reference can be found on these Wiki's.