One of my fondest memories of gaming was playing Medal of Honor Frontline and storming Normandy beach to attack the bunkers on top of the hill. It felt like Saving Private Ryan and at the time really gave me a sense of the panic of war. Of course, Frontline is now very old and I might not feel as excited to play it again, but thanks to Sector 17 in Port Elizabeth I got my hands on the 2010 Medal of Honor. I wanted to play it in anticipation for Medal of Honor Warfighter which is being launched in Port Elizabeth on the 26th of October. This title absolutely blew me away with how good it is.
I am confident in saying that the battle that rages between Call of Duty and Battlefield has a new force to fight against in Medal of Honor, and MoH is like a special ops soldier sent in kick some serious military butt! Storyline, graphics and gameplay all win hands down in this gritty, gripping action game. You might say that this is a big statement and my answer would be: You bet! And here’s why…
The storyline is based in Afghanistan in 2002 and you play as four different characters, a Navy Seal, an Army Ranger, a Delta Force Sniper and an Apache Gunship gunner. The story is a fictionalized account of a real battle, the Battle of Roberts Ridge which took place in the Takur Ghar mountain range, between US troops and Taliban insurgents. The characters play a big role in the game and you truly feel immersed and part of your squad as the game progresses. There is a strong connection between yourself and all the troops and I feel that MoH achieved this by developing a story that draws you in and makes you care about the outcome of your fellow soldiers. By the end I was truly moved by the comradery and had a taste of what battle must feel like for these Brothers in Arms.
The graphics are really good, the mountains look realistic and the villages that you go through also look realistic and the same as what I have seen on documentaries about the war in Afghanistan. The player animation is also good and I never noticed any glitches in the character movements. The sound also plays a big part, the voice acting is top notch and when firing weapons you get a feel that you are firing a powerful weapon, not a paintball marker.
The gameplay is superb! I was so chuffed to finally play a FPS which had a realistic shotgun, something which most games don’t focus on. Yes, they have shotguns and yes, they usually give one shot kills, but the shotgun in MoH actually blows bits out of walls and parts off of insurgents (gruesome, I know, but that’s how far the developers have taken the realism of the weapon!). There are some great sniping moments from huge distances that make you feel pretty skilled, even though the closest thing you’ve ever gotten to a real sniper feeling is shooting at tin cans 30m away. One of the key things about MoH which I thought really gave a feeling of realism, was the distances that some of the battles involved. While other shooters pit an enemy 20m away, most of the fighting in MoH happens from quite a distance away and the enemy takes cover behind rocks and buildings, inviting you to get to a better vantage point to gain ground in the battle. The Apache gunner mission is tons of fun and again, you get a true feeling of realism beneath the rotors. There is one particular mission which is very reminiscent of Frontline in that you are a Ranger having just touched down on enemy territory, and there is confusion and mayhem as bullets whiz past your ears, hitting rocks either side of you, and you are fighting against Taliban insurgents who are difficult to see in the dust and brightness of the sunlight. They have a definite advantage over you in terms of their position and the confusion which ensues. This provides for a moment in the game where you truly feel engulfed in the battle and the noise and chaos of war. Another thing about the gameplay which stands out is that the battles are on a grand scale, it doesn’t give the impression of a game which is funneling you from one group of 3 guys to the next, there always seems to be an army advancing on you with numerous bad guys to deal with. And, saving my favorite feature for last…. A cover system for a FPS! I thought it was a great idea to develop a workable cover system, which the game designers have done wonderfully. This is how it works: you slide behind a rock (very handy when numerous Taliban bullets have your name on them), hold L2 and lean on the left stick in a direction (up, left or right), your character moves his head and gun in that direction, and when you see said bullets with your name on careening in your direction all you have to do is let go of the left stick and you’re in cover again – ingenious! I hope to see that in other FPS’s to come.
There is also a multiplayer mode developed with the Frostbite engine, the same one used in Battlefield, bringing in destructible environments and tons of fun, but to me, the campaign made this game more than worth the price on the box.
All in all I’d say that Medal of Honor did a great job to get me excited for MoH Warfighter, but even without such a great title on the horizon I would definitely recommend this game to any FPS fans. Pick it up new or second hand at Sector 17 in Westbourne Road (depending on availability).
And parents, with all the violence, swearing and the nature of the game, please be aware that this is for over 18’s only.
Dubbel Gee’s Rating: 9.5/10
Author: Garth Ginsburg
Website: http://dubbelgeesreview.wordpress.com
Alan Straton
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