Brothers in Arms DS follows an elite paratrooper unit through 16 missions set in Normandy, North Africa, and the Ardennes. Players direct a squad of soldiers as they work through objectives and battle Axis forces across a range of environments.
The gameplay is built around squad management, giving players tactical options like suppress, flank, and assault. It also includes a varied selection of authentic World War II weapons, such as rifles, submachine guns, and grenades.
The game also includes vehicle combat sections, where players take control of tanks and jeeps to move through certain stages. Multiplayer support adds skirmishes on different maps through local wireless connectivity.
As a handheld adaptation, the game makes use of the dual-screen layout to show tactical maps and character status, while keeping the series' core squad-based mechanics intact.