Game Reviews

Brothers in Arms 3: Sons of War

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Brothers in Arms 3: Sons of War
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| Brothers in Arms 3

Brothers in Arms 3 reminds me of the venerable UK shopping chain, Woolworths. Stick with me on this one.

When Woolies went out of business a few years ago, the managers decided to sell everything. And I mean everything. You could buy shelves, light fixtures, displays, the cashier's seat, and even the janitor's mop.

Similarly, Gameloft has put everything here on sale. You can pay for grenades and health packs and Molotov cocktails, respawns, energy, weapons, upgrades and abilities, bonus XP, extra events, 'flamethrower access', and even the ability to stop bleeding.

I'm surprised you aren't charged to change the volume or edit the control scheme. Just 69p to invert the y-axis!

Fight them on the beaches

And like Woolworths, it's depressing to see such an institution as Brothers as Arms reduced to this. Gearbox Software made a series of thoughtful and painstakingly authentic war games, not ones where you could buy individual grenades or wield a super sniper rifle powered by lightning.

All this scrimping and scalping hurts because beneath the thick, crusty layer of monetisation hides a genuinely enjoyable little Nazi-blaster. Nothing revolutionary or award winning, but fun and fit for mobile play.

This is a third-person shooter, with quick missions that have you gunning your way through a pack of German soldiers. It's all about getting into cover, so you'll spend a lot of time hunkered down behind some sandbags, taking pop-shots at dudes named Franz and Hans.

And that works well because when you're in cover you can focus your thumbs entirely on aiming and shooting, giving you way more control over the action. And it's easier to land those satisfying head shots on enemy soldiers.

Bunker Buster

Plus, the levels are short and varied, with some missions about attacking, some about defending, some about sneaking, and others about shooting down enemy spy planes. The lengthy campaign has plenty of different locations, too.

But then you lob a grenade and realise that doing so just sapped five medals from your stack of premium currency and remember, oh right, Gameloft wants to fleece you at every turn. Suddenly this enjoyable slice of military fun turns sour.

Sure, it's possible to play without paying, but in the same way that it's possible to eat a bowl of custard with your hands tied behind your back - messy, laborious, and frankly a little demeaning.

Bombing run

You'll always be aware of the fact that these darn enemies would be a lot easier to kill if you just chucked a few coins at the game. That's if you even can play, instead of sitting and waiting for a timer to expire or for your energy to refill.

If Brothers in Arms 3 was a premium game, I'd tell you to go get it. I'd say it's a little shallow and rather straightforward, but genuinely enjoyable and great for a quick blast between bus stops.

But with such consistent, nagging, and exhausting requests for my money, I find the whole thing about as much fun as a month in Colditz.

Brothers in Arms 3: Sons of War

Brothers in Arms 3 is an enjoyable shooter with lots of content and smart controls, but its buried under so many IAPs it feels like a hilarious parody of free to play games
Score
Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer