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First details of Brothers in Arms D-Day on PSP

No, we're not in Dire Straits

First details of Brothers in Arms D-Day on PSP

Ubisoft has at last given us some details concerning Brothers in Arms D-Day, the PSP debut for its World War II home console series.

The focus of Brothers in Arms' first PSP outing will be the Normandy invasion. Controlling the series' favourites Sergeants Baker and Hartsock and their squad of 'Screaming Eagle' paratroopers, you'll be fighting them on the beaches just as soon as your UMD has stopped spinning.

As Baker you'll make your way to Carentan, and as Hartsock you'll head toward St. Sauveur, thus taking in all the sights of the Normandy campaign.

Various new tactics and gameplay tweaks to the basic squad-based firstperson shooter template are being promised for the PSP version. For instance, you can launch surprise attacks on the enemy to gain the advantage in firefights. You'll also be able to lead a fire team throughout the entire Normandy campaign, including for the first time a bazooka team.

You can also have your team wield MG42s, or to fire mortar rounds. And just to show off, destructible cover will also be a feature of the handheld version.

Most importantly, Brothers in Arms D-Day is the latest of a crop of PSP games declaring that the control system has been overhauled to improve play on Sony's handheld, so avoiding the control gripes that plagued first-generation PSP titles. The publisher is also promising unique gameplay sequences specifically designed for the on-the-go nature of handheld gaming.

Finally, an enhanced co-op mode (Skirmish) offers players a 12-mission campaign to fight through with a friend over an ad hoc wi-fi connection. It's not yet clear if there will be any competitive multiplayer modes though.

Brothers in Arms D-Day is being developed by Ubisoft Shanghai in collaboration with Gearbox Software. It's due to be released in autumn 2006.