Entering the first person shooter genre nowadays is a very difficult task what with the likes of powerhouses such as Call of Duty, Halo and Battlefield. EA however have taken this risk with developing Medal of Honor, but does it pay off? In many respects yes it does, but in others maybe not.
Medal of Honor (2010) is definitely a game of two halves, so this is how I'm going to treat it. The single player campaign is based around a tight squad of Tier-1 operators in Afghanistan on the front lines fighting against the Taliban. As you play through the game, you'll gain a great feel for the characters and setting, much as you'd expect if you've played any past Medal Of Honor titles.
The setting and visuals for the singleplayer are absolutely gorgeous - what you might expect from a shooter hitting shop shelves in 2010. Sometimes the landscape and map can seem too vast and too open, leading to several "mini-battles" happening between AI's, which can cause you to get shot from somewhere you might think is in the distance but it is actually not. Bearing this in mind you have to play the game extremely carefully and strategically if you want to make it through.
The level design is top notch throughout and well thought out. If you're not sneaking round with a sniper rifle you're racing around on a quad bike or even controlling air support to destroy a village. The game really does offer a large amount of variety in so many ways which ensures you'll enjoy every step of your journey as a Tier 1. With the added level specific achievements/trophies you could spend even longer aiming for these; of which thankfully don't feel like a chore at all, but instead a lot of fun.
Despite the well thought out level design, the game is fairly linear. You're always given one path to go round and very rarely are you given the option to properly flank, or use various forms of strategy. Instead the game makes more use of your superior firepower to muscle your way through, which at times can lead to some repetitive stages of the game. Another problem is that because the game's singleplayer is of great contrast from its multiplayer, the time you spend on the campaign will not provide you with any real skills or experience with the mechanics of the multiplayer, as it's almost a completely different game.
Despite some of its flaws the single player half of the game provides a good length campaign with a lot of enjoyable experiences to take away with it. If you don't mind having some repetition every now and again you'll enjoy the campaign and possibly even want to play it through again after completion. Not to forget the "Tier 1" Campaign Mode offers the same campaign but with extremely tough difficulty and timed conditions! It's certainly a challenge but feels rewarding at the end of it.
The multiplayer is developed by Battlefield veterans DICE using a modified version of the Frostbite engine, used in Bad Company 2 - the most recent Battlefield game. As i said before the single player portion of the game will not help you with the multiplayer, but playing Bad Company 2 might! Having said this Medal Of Honor's multiplayer does play differently to the Battlefield series on multiple levels.
There is no real destruction, like that seen in BC2, instead you're able to pick away at certain weaker cover objects to expose your enemy. Even though the Frostbite engine has the capabilities of some fantastic destruction, it wouldn't have really worked here. Having smaller maps is one thing but having destruction would literally cause the map to be full of debris, as opposed to the specifically placed cover, which would simply wreck the game.
The sound in Medal Of Honor is second to none in my opinion, when you enter a multiplayer match you'll start to hear the absolutely amazing gun fire and explosion sounds. They truly make the game feel authentic and immersive as if you're in a real war-zone.
The 'killchain' system in the game is actually very well thought out - you receive points for your kills, such as 10 for a standard kill or 15 for a headshot, with specific types of kills offering bonus points. These then add up to a pool of points, instead of having to reach a certain amount of kills for a killstreak you can get smarter kills and hit the thresholds earlier. Every point you hit will give you an option between an offensive or defensive killstreak i.e a mortar strike or UAV, which can be called in at your own will, so for example if you're being pushed back then you may use UAV whereas if you're on the offensive you might use your mortar strike.
The game offers multiple gamemodes but the stand out is certainly the Combat Missionmode. Although you have the regular Deathmatch and Domination style modes, Combat Mission tasks each team with either an attack or defend objective - much like that seen in Battlefield's Rush mode. However the difference is that the experience is extremely intense and focused. Attacking objectives vary from planting a bomb to simply capturing a point. As each objective is complete the map opens up further and the battle literally moves forward. Allowing players to spawn at a random teammate on the frontline consistently maintains that feeling of 'pushing up' the battlefield.
Overall Medal of Honor doesn't really offer anything new or innovative, and does have it's flaws, it does a lot of things right. Having a good looking balanced shooter with extremely well made maps is guaranteed to provide a good time. Even though it's not a Call of Duty beater it is a solid game which will give you many hours of enjoyment.
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