I was rather uncertain about purchasing this game due to the poor reviews. I went ahead and got it because it was dirt cheap. I did have problems with crashes causing the computer to restart. These ended up being caused by an out of date video card driver. I did not have any problems with security software, but I have a DVD ROM drive. The game does work for ATI and Nvidia video cards. Make sure you download the latest patch.

The designers made a concerted effort to recreate actual WWII combat movements of the 101st Airborne starting with their parachute drop in Normandy. The buildings and other terrain shown in the game are based on WWII aerial reconnaissance and pictures. The missions are based on combat action reports recorded by the actual soldiers who fought in WWII. As you play the game, extras are enabled to be viewed which show various things about the actual WWII missions, pictures from Normandy during WWII and now, and lots of other interesting material.

I like the squad based commands. This is a great merger of combat strategy and first person shooter (FPS) games. The commands are very simple to use, but they are limited to line of site. Contrary to some of the reviews, you can hit target even that have cover, but basically you have aim using zoom feature in the gun and range has a major influence. Cover provides significantly more protection than most other shooter games, but I think this adds to the strategy of the game. The game uses a suppression system that is really cool, but the indicator in the game detracts from the realism (this can be turned off). The situational awareness feature allows you to pause the game and see the position of your team members. This is useful to be able to move your squad efficiently and plan attacks. I think is a little overdone. It allows you to zoom in on enemy positions. I think it should be more limited to line of sight of the team members. My only real complaint is that the computer AI does not try to use the same squad based tactics that the player uses. The Germans mostly only fight defensively and their counterattacks are not coordinated and do not react to your placement.

I gave the game four stars because of good use of squad based commands and authenticity of the terrain and missions. It's something different than the typical WWII FPS games.

The good news is this game only cost about 5 dollars. Other than that, not much good to say. On the good side, the graphics are very well done, with attractive rendering and details, and nice iron sites on the weapons.

The bad:
The enemy doesn't move too much, except when they are scripted to do so. You can sit forever in one position and keep shooting or just hide - they will never come look for you.

So far (I have gotten about half way through the game) you don't get to drive vehicles, fly planes, etc. Compared to BF and Medal of Honor, this is a disappointment.

As other reviews said, you basically just shoot and move. This gets rather repetitive very quickly, especially since the computer seems to just sit around (though perhaps that's my difficulty level).

The missions are basically get from point A to B, by flanking.

For 5 dollars this game is fine, but I wouldn't spend much money or time on it overall.

Played the demo liked it so I had to buy the game, even bought Earned in Blood to go with it. Don't like having to play through then start over on a different difficulty level. Overall game was great.

I like the game and it adds some different things compared to COD and MOH if your familar with...its not as fast moving imo, but close... you'll need more patience here compared, to succeed ....

I like the fact of watching and taking care of your squad it makes the game a bit more personal and maybe more realistic but i think its a notch or 1/2 notch below COD and MOH overall though maybe its because i'm more familar with them, but its not below in all aspects.....

Its a good game and worth looking into..

You won't be disappointed in the game imo,but THE MISSIONS SEEM SHORTER , you don't have surgeon packs laying around to heal you and you will have to put more into the game as in attacks, controling your men and YOURSELF to accomplish missions...

Overall its a good game , their is some LANGUAGE in this game adding to the different aspect of things but more realistic i would say...

Good game and complements MOH and COD though the same in some aspects, different in some too..

Ok...I saw "Band Of Brothers" and thought it was a cool series. I also saw a documentary on The History Channel hosted by Ron Livingston (he played Capt. Lewis Nixon in Band Of Brothers) called, "Brothers In Arms: The Untold Story Of The 502nd." This particular documentary had cut-scenes from this game (maybe the Xbox version?), so..I felt like I wanted to give it a try. What really drew me to this game was that it was based on actual maps/battles which occurred around D-Day. Read on...

I played it on the easy level first time around (and used some cheats...yep..I cheated)....THEN went for more difficulty and DIDN'T cheat. There are several little easter-eggs you can open as you get through the levels (historical things, weapon details, etc.)..and one of them is a little video with one of the writers of the game playing and discussing certain aspects of the game. Watching this vid made me want to play w/o any cheats...

For realism, I would say the game is very realistic...one thing I hated was the fact that I couldn't get the sight to sit still on an enemy, but if you think about it...in heated combat...this is VERY difficult to do...unless you're sniping from far away, maybe. Another bit of realism...if a round hits NEAR you...you flinch...and react from the concussion...you even see a little smoke from where it hits near you.

It's stated in the game that the sounds (such as rifle shots, etc.) were recorded from the actual guns that you use. So..the M-1 sound..is the sound of an actual M-1 being fired. Also, the maps/levels you traverse...are based on ACTUAL places that existed around the time of D-Day (fields, houses, intersections, etc.). Very cool. You can check all of this out in the easter-eggs that pop up after you complete various levels.

You can crouch or stand. I would've liked to have had the ability to go prone, but...it isn't necessary.

The game, like many others, is limited in where you can go explore, etc.. This isn't uncommon as the game has certain goals to be tackled, then you move on. One thing I really liked (and still like) about Operation Flashpoint (I know...old game) is you can go any where.

I'm no hard-core gamer, but I do like war/shooters....and this one is a good one for the price.

Oh...and you can also unlock some cheats like "Oldmovie," (you play in black & white), "Infinite Ammunition" and "Supersquad" (takes longer for your squad to get hurt or die; they can take more hits) as you beat the game on various difficulty settings.

There's a difficulty setting called, "Authentic" which I haven't gotten to, yet. I believe it is where you don't get any heads-up about where enemies are...and you don't get a sighting-reticule....hmmmm...should be interesting!

Anyway..I know my review isn't chocked full of good game details...sorry...kinda early in the morning w/o my caffeine at this point. This IS a fun game....a great one to add to the library! Have fun!