Take Mark to the clouds above...

The March release of Medal of Honor: Vanguard marked the Medal of Honor series’ return to the limelight on PS2 and Wii systems – but this is going to be the be one for the guys at EA. Medal of Honor: Airborne sees the honorific WWII first-person shooter return to PC and debut on Xbox 360 this August (with a PS3 version due in October) in the Medal of Honor brand’s biggest new release yet.

Like Vanguard, Airborne is based on the heroic campaigns of the intrepid 82nd Airborne Division, this time putting players behind the eyes of Private Boyd Travers. However, Medal of Honor: Airborne takes the idea of Vanguard’s novel-but-short pre-mission parachute drops and builds the entire game on this premise. Floating down from thousand of feet, Airborne will give players not seconds, but minutes to survey their terrain from above and land literally anywhere in the level, which should mean a different game experience every time they play.

Open-ended gameplay

The Airborne dynamic has seen EA take a different approach to level design with this latest Medal of Honor than previous games in the series – and indeed, different to any other WWII shooter out there. And because Airborne players can choose their own starting point by touching down where they like, it provides a truly open-ended experience.

Levels in Airborne aren’t your usual linear, scripted affairs, but instead take on a siege mentality as you drop into action and fight your way to your objective. Steering your descent should prove tricky, but, brilliantly, mastering this will be worth it.

Hitting the ground with your allied Airborne troops, for instance, allows for a spot of squad-based action, whereas landing on your own throws up a completely different, you-against-the-masses approach. Likewise, landing atop a tower will provide a height advantage to let you snipe on lower-down foes – however, Airborne’s most advantageous start positions are a frequently risky proposition, surrounded by the most densely packed Nazi hotspots on each map. Land in these and you’ll know about it!

Medal of Honor: Aiborne ScreenshotAnd that’s because Medal of Honor: Aiborne’s violent, ballistic WWII gunplay is delivered with considerable technical ability. Running on a modified form of the same Unreal 3 Engine that brought us Gears of War, Airborne is an impressive graphical proposition and immersive WWII experience. Indeed, if enemy A.I. stands up to close scrutiny (and we’re hearing nothing but good thing on that front) then Medal of Honor: Airborne could be as convincing a depiction of WWII as yet seen in a game.

Approachable and playable

Realism aside, Medal of Honor has always been an approachable, instantly playable series, and Airborne will be no different, offering a very familiar FPS recharging health system and the usual slew of WWII firearms. Interestingly, however, EA have applied its own unique spin to both in Airborne. Health is split into four pills, and these will regenerate if not fully depleted by enemy fire, while you’ll need a health pickup to replenish a completely empty one.

Weapons, meanwhile, can be fully upgraded depending on frequency of use and your prowess with them, allowing a degree of customisation that spans the entirety of the game. Add to that the series’ eponymous achievement Medals to earn and an online multiplayer mode (which EA are keeping under wraps for now), and Airborne looks a very well-rounded FPS package.

In fact, we’d go as far as to say that Medal of Honor: Airborne promises to offer a visceral, innovative and polished shake-up to the WWII shooter. And given the overworked nature of that particular genre, that’s definitely saying something.

Preview by: Mark Scott
Preview Published: 26.07.07