Randy Pitchford, Gearbox president, hammers home the importance of destructible environment cover.
"In Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway, being able to shred the kinds of things soldiers hide behind is a big deal. Yes, it does look awesome to see bullets tear apart a wooden fence splinter by splinter, but it is about more than just looking amazing. You see, if the cover that the enemy is protected by is invulnerable (as it is in just about every game you've played before), then your only option is to wait them out or charge up on them.
"Brothers in Arms has always been about suppression and looking for flanks (like real combat), but now it's also about combined arms and volume of fire. It's intense and the feature takes Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway to a new level of authenticity."
There's more: "Wood can be shredded splinter by splinter and hard cover emplacements, like sand bags, can be blown away with high explosives (grenade and bazookas). It's amazing to watch and great fun to play with. I can't believe we're actually doing what we're doing because no game I've ever played feels this cool with destructible environments.
2Having destructible environments/destructible cover changes the decisions that are made on the battlefield and the options for winning. It changes the game quite a bit. And there's a lot of variety too, not just in the gameplay but also in the background, in the level design and the ways that you progress through these environments and the tactical encounters you run into."
Jun 20, 2008
