It’s here, Medal of Honor, EA Games latest first person shooter and this time it’s set in the modern war era taking a leap forward from the usual classic WWII action.
Single Player – Campaign
The single player campaign is set in present day Afghanistan and sees you take the role of a number of U.S. soldiers as they take on Taliban fighters in the early part of the current Afghan war. Visually the game is stunning with impressive recreations of mountain ranges, buildings and explosions. Sound wise again pretty good standard stuff with constant chatter from your AI team mates (although this can get a tad annoying later on).
The game aims for realism throughout. When ambushed and surrounded whilst teamed up with 3 fellow Special Forces guys I had to double check my targets as the indicator hovering above them is not constantly viewable, there’s a 1-2 second delay before it appears. This means either you wait the 1-2 seconds to see if it’s a foe or friend or visually identify the target before you shoot and blow your team mates head off. You get used to it and it keeps you on your toes, which is not a bad thing.
The Missions are varied, but not overly challenging. I played on medium level and completed it within 4 hours. The AI comes across as basic compared to games like Call of Duty, they run in straight lines and mainly stay behind the same piece of cover popping up and down. This turns many parts of the game into a fairground shootout.
Multiplayer
Now this is more like it! The multiplayer has been developed by another team using a separate graphics engine. Again very realistic layouts of areas of Afghanistan are available and the gameplay is heavily team based. Running around as a lone gunman won’t get you far, instead to get the maximum from the game you need to be aware of locations of your team mates and the enemy. Learning the maps will help initially, but only by teaming up and following team mates will you ensure surviving long enough to rack up the points.
COMBAT MISSION: (Helmand Valley, Mazar-I-Sharif Airfield, Shahikhot Mountains)
Overview: Coalition forces must clear five consecutive objectives to win. OPFOR servers as the opposing forces and are going to stop the coalition forces at any cost. Clearing objectives unlocks new areas of the map, which then reveals what the next objective of the coalition forces is.
TEAM ASSAULT: (Diwagal Camp, Garmzir Town, Kabul City Ruins, Kandahar Marketplace, Kunar Base)
Overview: Team Assault is a team-based combat mode. The two teams struggle to reach a certain number of points to win the match. Each kill is counted, so take down OPFOR to increase the team’s points.
OBJECTIVE RAID: (Diwagal Camp, Garmzir Town, Kabul City Ruins, Kandahar Marketplace, Kunar Base)
Overview: In Objective Raid, OPFOR swarms across a map to sabotage two objectives using improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Coalition forces must stop them and defend their installations. OPFOR has a limited amount of time to accomplish their objective.
SECTOR CONTROL: (Diwagal Camp, Garmzir Town, Kabul City Ruins, Kandahar Marketplace, Kunar Base)
Overview: Sector Control forces two sides to fight for possession of three objectives. These objectives are represented by flags. Holding an objective accumulates points. The more objectives you hold, the faster your points accrue. The first team to achieve a preset score wins.
(Gameplay modes from the game manual)
Overall
It’s Ok… If you are after a game that takes you into Afghanistan and a taste of teamplay action this is worth a look, but don’t expect anything challenging in the short single player campaign.
Score: 75%
Links:
http://www.ea.com/games/medal-of-honor
http://www.medalofhonor.com
