Released on 15/10/2010

• Medal of Honor Preview

  Medal of Duty?

  EA’s Medal of Honor represents a major – and risky - step for the long-running first person shooter series. For the first time in its ten year history the franchise leaves the theatre of World War II in favour of a modern, war-torn Afghanistan setting, giving the developer the chance to tell a story that’s authentic and relevant, but one that also needs to be handled sensitively given the current political climate.

  Different perspectives

  The game’s single player campaign tells the story of elite US soldiers from a number of different perspectives, players taking control of characters from both the Army Rangers and the specialist Tier 1 ground operatives during Operation Enduring Freedom. The former is part of the conventional army, fighting the war on a larger, more general scale, while the latter is a relatively unknown entity which takes on specialist missions that no one else can handle.

  Jets roar overhead, bullets zip by in all directions and the sound of gunfire penetrates the smoke and dust.

  Playing as a US Ranger you’ll take on a crucial but often backseat role in large-scale objectives like all-out assaults, providing covering fire and working alongside your squad to help them advance and achieve their goals. Working as part of a team as jets roar overhead, bullets zip by in all directions and the sound of gunfire penetrates the smoke and dust succeeds in making you feel like you’re playing just one part in a much wider conflict.

  Tier 1 missions – which account for about two thirds of the game - are more precise, requiring the player to keep control of the chaos and avoid gunfights if possible. Living, breathing, precision instruments of war, these soldiers are experts in the application of violence and function on a plane of existence above and beyond even the most highly trained Special Ops forces.

  Like riding a bike

  First person shooter players will feel right at home with Medal of Honor’s gameplay and its familiar rhythm of letting off bursts of fire at enemies before nipping into cover. Typical in-game objectives are similar to those issued in real army life, such as storming enemy villages and hideouts, rescuing hostages and carrying out undercover operations. The single player campaign also includes drivable vehicles such as Humvees and helicopters.

  First person shooter players will feel right at home with Medal of Honor’s gameplay.

  Aside from a minimalist HUD that only shows your ammo counter when firing weapons, it feels and looks pretty similar to rival shooter series Call of Duty, which is no bad thing. While much of the gameplay shown to date centres around the hillsides and dusty townships often associated with the territory, Afghanistan is a geographically varied region, meaning we’re likely to see battles play out on snowy mountains and lush grasslands too. Loads of research and extensive work with consultants from the US military has been done to make the whole thing feel authentic, from the gameplay right down to the clothes worn by your enemies and the languages they speak.

  Blast away!

  Medal of Honor looks set to be a blockbuster first person shooter that doesn’t stray too far from its well established roots. Full of exciting set-pieces, cinematic moments and edge-of-the-seat combat with a little bit of stealth thrown in, it should be pretty familiar to fans of the franchise as well as its EA stablemate Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and other rival offerings like Modern Warfare.

  Where it has the potential to elevate itself above typical shooter fare is in the story and multiplayer departments. If it delivers a tale that respectfully focuses on its subject matter and doesn't descend into silliness, and if Battlefield: Bad Company developer DICE’s work on the game’s multiplayer matches its previous efforts, then Medal of Honor should put up a good fight against its competitors like Call of Duty: Black Ops.

  Preview by: Tom 'Tier 1' Ivan
  

  Published: 23/09/2010

• Medal of Honor Review

  Re-boot camp

  Call of Duty has solidified its position as the top military first person shooter series this console generation with genre leading single player campaigns, top of the class multiplayer action and record breaking sales. But it wasn't always this way, as for many years Medal of Honor was the shooter to beat.

  Turning the tables?

  EA's hoping that its series reboot, which sees the franchise leave the theatre of WWII in favour of a modern, war-torn setting for the first time in its 11 year history, can turn the tables once more. So how does it fare?

  Medal of Honor's campaign sees you take control of two US army units: The specialist Tier 1 ground operatives and Army Rangers.

  Based on the current conflict with the Taliban in Afghanistan, Medal of Honor's single player campaign sees you take control of two US army units. The specialist Tier 1 ground operatives undertake missions behind enemy lines that no one else can handle, contributing to the game's more stealthy, strategic missions, while the Army Rangers carry out more run of the mill military procedures on the frontline, taking a combat friendly approach to proceedings.

  While we're more than impressed by the ruthless killing efficiency the Tier 1 operatives sometimes display, other missions – like tracking enemies and targeting them for air assaults rather than engaging in combat – are a little more slow and uneventful. Given EA's extensive work with real life soldiers, these missions are probably highly realistic, but we prefer the more action-packed Army Rangers levels that allow you to take on waves of Taliban forces. The core running and gunning in these sections, which can often become repetitive in shooters, is nicely broken up by mini-tasks like jumping into a gunship and manning the artillery.

  Hostile territory

  As the two parallel storylines make their way across the country, the Afghan setting delivers more variety than you'd expect, from expansive deserts to crowded villages and snowy mountaintops, meaning there's enough visual stimulus to keep your attention. At times though, the gameplay suffers in wide open spaces as firefights play out at distances that are too large to sustain tension, the Taliban's preference for guerrilla warfare meaning they often stay camped up in the hills.

  Enemy intelligence can be a bit dodgy at times, with the opposition happy to continue shooting at the spot you entered their sightline while you flank around and take them down from the side. It doesn't sit well, even if it does give you an advantage. When you do manage to get up close and personal it's a different story, as each gun feels suitably weighty, powerful and refreshingly unique, giving you a real sense that you're in the middle of a dangerous warzone loaded with deadly weapons and gadgets. Unfortunately it's all over a little quickly; our play through of the campaign coming in at around the six hour mark.

  Multiplayer confidently blends Battlefield's objective-based game modes with more brutal, fast-paced action found in the likes of Call of Duty.

  Medal of Honor has a case of split personalities, the campaign and multiplayer components having been developed independently from one another from different sides of the globe. While the former was created by US-based Danger Close, the latter was constructed by Sweden's DICE, maker of the excellent Battlefield shooter series. And Medal of Honor delivers in the multiplayer department.

  Confidently blending Battlefield's cleverly orchestrated objective-based game modes with some of the more brutal, fast-paced action found in the likes of Call of Duty, multiplayer pits up to 24 players against one another on foot and in vehicles across eight maps. The environments span mountains, valleys and cities, providing a decent mix of open spaces, sniper spots and claustrophobic areas. It might not be especially innovative, and there are a few issues with dodgy respawns, but it's extremely well-crafted and balanced. Particular highlights include the story-driven Combat Missions, where teams of 12 slug it out in giant battles across the Afghan terrain.

  King of the hill?

  It would have been unfair to expect Medal of Honor to topple Call of Duty with its first real attempt, but the series is certainly a serious contender in the FPS genre once again. For now it offers a fantastic multiplayer experience and a decent if at times slightly frustrating single player one - there's no getting away from the fact that anyone who doesn't like or can't play games online will be missing out on the best of what this package has to offer. It might not be top dog quite yet, but based on this largely strong showing, Medal of Honor may yet have its day again.

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • Smooth and solid FPS mechanics.
  • Plenty of variety.
  • Great multiplayer.

  

  • Short single player campaign.
  • AI intelligence has some weak points.
  • Action occasionally slows to a crawl.

  Review by: Tom 'Ranger' Ivan
  Version Tested: PS3
  Review Published: 14.10.10

  Published: 14/10/2010

• Medal of Honor Review

  "Intel really dropped the ball"

  Man, Special Forces used to be cool. Remember the SAS storming the Iranian embassy in 1980? Or Charlie Sheen in Navy SEALs whispering to "God" in his headset, and then it turns out God is a sniper? These days we know too much. Delta Force? Pfft. SEAL teams? Get over it.

  Fortunately, it turns out that there is an even more elite version of the average Special Forces soldier, and his story is still to be told. He is the Tier 1 Operator - and he's one of the stars of EA's new Medal of Honor game.

  Whereas the old Medal of Honor games were fixated on World War II, first in Europe and later in the Pacific theatre, the new Medal of Honor takes on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare by setting itself in the present-day conflict in Afghanistan.

  It's not overtly political about it, preferring to focus on the soldiers, but its recreation of the Shahikot Valley area of the country is said to be very accurate and the action within owes a lot to the experiences of real-life Tier 1 Operators.
  

  "Danger close!"

  So who are the Tier 1s? They're the best of the best of the best recurring to infinity - forces so special that they don't just get to wear their own clothes and have cool-sounding call-signs like "Deuce" and "Dusty", but they basically do whatever they want.

  Whereas the other soldiers you play as in Medal of Honor are beholden to orders from their superiors about where and when to shoot people in the face, the Tier 1's radio operator sheepishly asks what the Tier 1s think they should do then says, "I agree!"

  You start off with the Tier 1s having your sniper sights guided around complex environments on the other side of the valley, as Dusty calls out targets for you. Later you take on large groups of Al Qaeda forces by waiting for them to bunch up and then quietly dividing the targets among yourselves before you start pulling the trigger. The game's great at demonstrating precisely how much more disciplined these guys are than their colleagues.

  You also get to play as US Army Rangers - merely the best of the best, presumably - who storm the hillsides of Afghanistan in sequences reminiscent of Medal of Honor's Normandy beach landings. They run into quite a lot of trouble when it turns out the intel was rubbish, however, so you end up scrambling to stay alive, painting targets and calling in airstrikes from passing F-15s and UAVs.

  You also get to play as an Apache gunfighter gunner in a rollercoaster-like sequence where your helicopter strike team tackles Taliban in a village and then takes out mortar emplacements on mountainsides using a mixture of heavy machineguns and forward-firing missiles. The military jargon is extremely immersive throughout the game - if you spent the days after watching Generation Kill telling people you were "Oscar Mike", you'll love this - but nowhere more so than in the Apache.
  

  "Great guns!"

  The campaign isn't the longest, and can be a little repetitive - for heavily armed and terrain-savvy terrorists types, these Taliban and Al Qaeda guys do spend a lot of time popping their heads up helpfully behind rocks and running around outside cover - but the mixture of set-pieces and the developers' unusual approach, quite different to Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2, make for an enjoyable game through to its slightly dodgy conclusion.

  Multiplayer, developed by the people who make the Battlefield series, is also strong. Perhaps inevitably, it's like a cross between Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2, but the player classes are few and well-defined, the maps are well-designed and the game modes are interesting.

  You're rewarded well for your efforts with Support Actions like airstrikes and the ability to see enemies on your mini-map, but nobody is ever given an unfair advantage over other players. With that said, it's very likely that if you don't start playing early on you'll be annihilated when you try to break into it later - but then that's true of all multiplayer first-person shooters.

  It's not quite as spectacular and exotic at Modern Warfare 2, but Medal of Honor is an exciting step in a new direction for a series that's been dormant for too long. A short, taut campaign mode married to an interesting, fast-paced multiplayer section should be enough to keep you ticking over until Black Ops next month.
  

  

  Takes the Gold
  + Super Army Soldiers!
  + Multiplayer by the Battlefield guys
  + Brilliant jargon - maintain noise discipline!

  Runner Up
  - AI isn't amazing.
  - Only eight maps in multiplayer.
  - Campaign quite short.
  

• Medal of Honor dev explains Taliban controversy

  Medal of Honor dev explains Taliban controversy

  The ability to play as the Taliban in Medal of Honor's multiplayer mode has been a bone of contention in recent weeks, with MPs attempting to ban the game and US military stores refusing to stock it, ultimately leading to a climbdown from the developer, who changed the name to 'Opfor' - a term used by the armed forces - so as not to offend.

  "[It's] more out of respect," explains Danger Close marketing director Craig Owens. "The objection was kind of from an older generation that doesn't understand games, that the soundbite was 'Play as the Taliban and kill US soldiers.'"

  The game's executive producer Greg Goodrich had earlier said the change was made in response to feedback provided by the families of serving soldiers. Speaking to Joystiq, Owens pointed out that among the half-million players who experienced the multiplayer beta there were no complaints whatsoever. Owens further suggested that the controversy had arisen through a misunderstanding. "[The] soundbite kinda caught wind and got taken out of context, really."

  Throughout development, Danger Close has insisted its focus has been on respecting those troops still on active service, and having played the campaign we can only agree that it succeeds on that level. You can find out for yourself when Medal of Honor launches on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC this Friday.
  

• Medal of Honor deemed successful, sequel likely

  Medal of Honor deemed successful, sequel likely

  Despite all the controversy surrounding its release, and a handful of less-than-impressive review scores, EA's Medal of Honor has been a resounding success for the publisher, the company's CEO John Riccitiello has said.

  Speaking to investors yesterday, Riccitiello claimed the game "has exceeded our plan and expectations", adding that "consumer feedback has been strong". Most excitingly, he all but confirmed that a sequel was in the offing, continuing by saying "we've got a franchise now that we can successfully sequel in the future. I think it's the first step for this franchise back into the marketplace."

  It seems Riccitiello's confidence is well placed. To date, Medal of Honor has sold over 2 million copies worldwide - not bad for a game that's only been on sale for three weeks. It seems this is one series that has been successfully rebooted, and we can expect any sequel to continue the focus on contemporary conflict.

  Earlier this week, EA's Patrick Soderlund refused to confirm speculation that another developer was working on the next game in the franchise, though he did admit that Danger Close - who worked on the single-player portion of the game - was "absolutely working on something". We're looking forward to finding out exactly what that could be.
  

• Medal of Honor: Warfighter incoming in October

  Ready for another battle of the shooters? Following last years scuffle between Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3, EA has confirmed online rumours that a new entry in the Medal of Honor series will arrive this October, ready to go toe-to-toe with whatever Call of Duty game Treyarch is cooking up for Activision.

  Warfighter will be developed entirely by developer Danger Close, which put together the single player portion of 2010's series reboot, simply called Medal of Honor. Battlefield developers DICE supplied the multiplayer for that title, but will not be involved with Warfighter. The game will still use the same Frostbite 2 engine, however.

  In confirming the news, EA released an official piece of art, showing a special ops soldier in desert camouflage. The series began life as a Steven Spielberg produced World War 2 shooter, before being brought into modern day Afghanistan for the reboot. EA has yet to confirm any details about setting or story for this latest entry.

  Medal of Honor: Warfighter will be unleashed in October for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

• Co-op play and "hardcore" mode for Medal of Honor: Warfighter

  A few more fact-bullets have been fired from the Medal of Honor gun, hitting the news target bang in the chest.

  In an interview with the US Official Xbox Magazine, developer Danger Close has revealed that the game will feature co-op gameplay, though not whether that will mean a co-operative campaign or separate standalone missions in the style of Call of Duty's Spec Ops mode. It also described a one-hit-kill hardcore mode, for those who want maximum reality.

  Warfighter, presumably titled so as not to be confused with the pacifist game Warhugger, will continue to follow the exploits of Tier 1 operatives in a series of foreign engagements. Isabela City in the Philippines is the only location confirmed so far. Characters such as Preacher, Voodoo and Mother will all return.

  The game will be developed entirely on the DICE's Frostbite 2 engine, previously only used for the multiplayer portion of the 2010 game. This will apparently allow the single player story to include such environmental features as swaying chandeliers, splinters of wood and papers that scatter when you open fire on a desk, just in case there's a terrorist in the drawers.

  Medal of Honor: Warfighter is due this October for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

• Medal of Honor: Warfighter promises truly international multiplayer

  After attracting criticism for using Taliban forces as a multiplayer faction in the 2010 reboot of Medal of Honor, developer Danger Close has revealed that it plans to take a very different approach to online battling for Warfighter, the upcoming sequel.

  Rather than pitching two armies against each other, online play will take the form of a "who's hardest" contest between elite fighting forces from around the world. Britain's SAS, Australia's SASR, Germany's KSK and Poland's GROM units will all be available alongside the expected US troops.

  "We're doing this because, quite frankly, kids in Poland do not grow up dreaming of being Navy SEALs. They don't," explained executive producer Greg Goodrich at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco. "They imagine themselves as GROM commandos, so we're taking a page out of the FIFA playbook and giving gamers the chance to feel some national pride in an FPS. Play for the home team, wave that flag, battle with the best of the best online."

  "This is good guys versus good guys," he continued. "This is who would win in a fight - Batman or Superman. It's really, really cool and I can't wait for you guys to see it."

  Warfighter now also has a firm release date of October 23rd, when it arrives for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

• Rebooting The Classics: The '90s Games That Are Rocking 2012

  
  

  In our eco-friendly times, recycling is everything. But it's not just empty soup cans and milk cartons, as great ideas are increasingly being mulched down, rebuilt and turned into something cool. Hollywood, somewhat inevitably, is ahead on this curve, increasingly plucking its summer blockbusters from the TV shows, movies and even toys that we enjoyed in the past. Now the games industry is catching on, and publishers are rummaging in their cupboards for beloved franchises that are ready for a second chance.

  

  Everything Changes

  Syndicate, currently nestled in the top ten, is a prime example. First released in 1993 for the PC and Commodore Amiga, the original game was a cyberpunk strategy game in which you played as the head of a sinister international mega-corporation. Able to despatch (and then control) four-man squads of bionic agents to disrupt and destroy the competition - with little regard for public safety - the game was a subversive cult hit.

  Revived last week by The Darkness developer Starbreeze, the new Syndicate flips the perspective from top-down view to first-person shooter, and casts you instead as one of the elite agents, able to augment your attacks with an array of cybernetic abilities.

  

  Back For Good

  Not all reboots opt to switch the gameplay style so dramatically though. PC cult classic Jagged Alliance also began life with a birds-eye viewpoint in 1994, but when it was revived earlier this February it had retained the distinctive turn-based strategy top-down style. Once again released for PC, the new version - Jagged Alliance: Back in Action - stays close to the original template, but injects lots of modern ideas as you train mercenaries and wage war on evil dictators across a campaign that can last 70 hours.

  Have A Little Patience

  Then there are the retro classics that try to have it both ways. X-COM was yet another PC strategy game from 1994, when its B-movie tale of government agents battling alien invaders was a natural fit for a world besotted with TV hit The X-Files. The series eventually fizzled out, but will return not as one reboot, but two. 2013 will bring the now hyphen-less XCOM, which re-imagines the game as a 1950s-set first-person shooter, developed by some of the team behind BioShock 2.

  

  Before that radical re-do arrives, however, we'll get XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which stays true to the isometric 3D tactical gameplay of old but updates it with such 2012 flourishes as destructible scenery and advanced AI. Developed by Firaxis, the company behind the mighty Civilization series, it should be a real treat. Is this the future of video game reboots? One game for the purist fans, another for the modern blockbuster audience? That remains to be seen, but it's an interesting and commendable experiment.

  

  Relight My Fire

  Reboot fever isn't just restricted to cult strategy titles from the early 1990s, however. Take the Medal of Honor series, for example. The original was a sombre World War 2 shooter developed in 1999 in conjunction with Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks Interactive. A new version, still developed by veterans of the same studio, now called Danger Close, hit the shelves in 2010, updating the action to modern Afghanistan but kept the same sense of duty to its real-life military subjects. It's also the first of the modern reboots to spawn its own sequel. Medal of Honor: Warfighter arrives this October.

  

  Rule The World

  The trend has even spread beyond the obvious avenues of the FPS genre. This year the decision was made to defrost the 2000 snowboarding game SSX, and the result is on the shelves now. There's not much scope to turn extreme winter sports into a first-person shooter, so instead we get a game that sticks to the style and tone of the beloved original, but beefs up the gameplay with cutting edge physics, oodles of online social features and over a decade of accumulated wisdom regarding how best to allow players to flip, grind and spin on virtual boards. It effortlessly straddles the joys of both old and new,

  Is this urge to revive and remix the past a healthy one? It would seem so. The games industry has a better track record than Hollywood of improving franchises as time goes on, and few would deny that there are some amazing games and ideas in the history books, waiting to be dusted off and given new relevance. Combining the comfort of the familiar with the thrill of today's technology, what's not to love? And which would you like to see come back?

  Published: 01/03/2012

As a valued customer we now offer you the facility to sign up to email price alerts. Please enter the price you want to be, or below, and if drops to that level we will let you know...