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Number of Reviews: I'm going to voice my biggest complaint about this game first, so that anyone thinking of buying BIA because it looks "realistic" or because it looks like a "simulation" might be deterred. The major drawback to the game is actually one of the simpler things: You are forced to use bulletproof wooden fences (huh?), haybails, and tin barrels as legitimate cover for yourself and your squad. This is all in a game which claims to let you use "Real Military Tactics." Ridiculous stuff. The tutorial part of the game actually instructs you to use things like fences as defendable positions. Exactly what soldier did they consult for those great hints? Basically, you cannot crawl on the ground or go prone, so using dips in the terrain is not too common. The rare gully and stone wall or rock is really your only option for "real" cover, but the game more or less expects you to use the haybails to hide behind when a German with an MP40 is shooting at you. I would LOVE to know what was going through the minds of the designers for Brothers In Arms when it comes to that portion of the game. Come on - you don't have to be a genius to note that an MG42 is going to tear a wooden fence to bits and pieces, so why would the majority of the cover provided be thin wood or tin? No soldier in his right mind would scramble to a fence when being fired on, unless it was his last and only place to try and hide. The game was built on the Unreal Engine like America's Army, so it's at least up to par in that area. The sound effects are great and accurate, making it seem like you're in a movie (the rip rip rip of the MG42 is what it should be -- alarming). The visuals and firefights seem great as well, grenade explosions look like they should and the flak being fired into the sky by Germans in fields around you makes it very immersive. As for commanding the squad, it is easy and is a great idea, but the tactics are always the same: pin down the enemy and then find the ONLY route on the map to flank the enemy, as there is usually only one route to do so. The game doesn't offer large, open terrain, but levels consisting more or less of corridor-like fields for you to navigate, much like Call Of Duty. That normally isn't a problem when it is disguised well, but regardless, it gets old. This is probably not the definitive WW2 grunt game you were lookin' for.