Brian 5
Sami PetrosMedal of Honor: Review
Console:
PC
Article:
Review
Score (out of 10):
10
Author:
Sami
Online Multiplayer:
Yes
Playing off of the recent success of the hit game Modern Warfare 2, Medal of Honor puts you in the shoes of soldiers fighting terrorists in the modern day world. The majority, if not all of the game, takes place in remote mountain villages in what appears to be Afghanistan.
Rangers
You play many roles in the game. You play as a fierce Ranger, Specialist Adams. The Rangers are described as the "hammer" of the army. They get things done by blowing up and killing every and anything in their way, and they are ruthlessly efficient.
Tier 1
You also play as several Tier 1 operatives, Rabbit and Deuce. Tier 1 is described as the "scalpel". They are precise, accurate, efficient, stealthy, and most importantly, deadly. Whereas the Rangers might blow up everything in their path and leave a trail of destruction, Tier 1 will strike in the middle of the night or from several miles away. You don't see Tier 1 coming, and they are gone before you realize they are there.
This gives the game a nice nice mix of both light stealth combat and heavy action combat. The game flows nicely and you rarely, if ever, will find yourself bored or confused as to what you need to do next. Objectives are clear, simple, and diverse. Also, there is a good mix of weapons and enemies in the game. The different characters' story lines are connected, and some of them met during the course of the game.
Look & Feel
The graphics are better than expected, especially with the highest settings enabled. The cutsceens have a realistic, gritty look to them which helps add to the immersion. The controls are smooth and there is almost no lag, even when there are dozens of enemies on screen. The AI was better than expected also; I found myself continually wary of getting flanked and I could have sworn enemies were moving places behind cover.
There were many interesting missions, but one stood out above all the others (no spoilers, don't worry). You and your squad find yourself ambushed at the bottom of a mountain by literally hundreds of terrorists steaming down the mountain attacking you. You have no cover other than a single hut, and even that gets destroyed thanks to numerous RPGs and a truck filled with explosives. As your squad of four men try to hold off the onslaught, your ammo and supplies depletes rapidly. Although backup is on the way, your squad leader realizes that you guys aren't going to make it long enough for the help to arrive, so he calls it off. The whole time this is happening, dramatic music is subtly playing in the background. The music's volume rises and you slowly realize this is probably your squad's last stand. You continue fighting using the gradually crumbling walls of the blow-up hut as cover. As you fire your last round, the enemies charge at your hut. Then...well I guess you will just have to play to find out.
Multiplayer
I feel inclined to briefly mention Medal of Honors multiplayer, although I usually don't review anything but the single player modes. MOH's multiplayer was developed and is run by DICE, the guys behind the Battlefield series's multiplayer. MOH's multiplayer felt like a cross between Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Its a good mix that manages to get the best of both and combine them.
Conclusion
Overall, the game was fantastic. I hate giving perfect scores, but Medal of Honor is an anomaly...a really fun, awesome anomaly. As much as I tried, I couldn't find anything that was wrong with the game (except that there wasn't more of it!). And so, I very grudgingly gave it a perfect 10.
***PRO TIP***
Cover is your best friend. Use it. You can't go Rambo or play this game like other shooters. Even on medium difficulty, it is essential you are behind cover at all times!
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