Medal of Honor ($59.99 direct) has been plastering its ads with the notation that this game has been made in collaboration with real soldiers. Most likely to make up for its controversial move to let players take on the role of the Tailban or the, now, "Opposing Force" in multiplayer mode. Unfortunately, the Taliban controversy proved more intriguing than the game itself, as it lacks in the engaging story and gameplay found in its chief rival, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
Uninispired Story
Players take the vantage points of the rugged rangers of Wolfpack and the efficient Tier 1 officers while fighting real-world battles that happened on the Afghan warfront in 2002. Medal of Honor begins much like a movie, with a bang of a scripted introduction that eventually fades to black, from which point you're taken back to 6 months earlier. And, for the most part, the story is very Hollywood. But instead of giving it any depth or, even dramatic fluff for that matter, it feels cliché. You have ground soldiers on ground fighting the good fight, with a high-powered official giving foolish orders 1,000 miles away. So these men have to make their own rules and do what they think is right—you've heard it before.
Flat Gameplay
While the story isn't the most gripping material, one would think the gameplay would at least be Medal of Honor's saving grace—it's not. Enemies come from one direction, right in front of you. And while most shooters try to keep a quick pace in their firefights, it's hard for me to even justify the battles I had as such. I felt as if I was playing Duck Hunt, waiting for another foul to show its face and shoot it down. If anything, I didn't feel challenged to take strategic position or approach a situation from a different angle.
Even moving through levels became slow, if not frustrating. In order to trigger the next scripted sequence I often was circling around, searching for that small patch of pixels to move to the next part of the story.
Good Graphics, Sound, and Music
Developer, Danger Close, excelled in texture, lighting, and environment design, which looked marvelous during the game's daylight hours—not quite as much after dark. However, the characters were well crafted, each having distinguishing features, such as a beard to separate him from the pack. The guns were also well-detailed and polished. The sound effects popped with each gun fired and cooked grenade thrown, making good use of my external speakers. The score also deserves a nod, adding some dimension to the events, but may well be forgotten, undercut by the closing song in the tune of Linkin Park.
Multiplayer Controversy
I haven't spent enough time in Medal of Honor's multiplayer mode to give a thorough assessment yet. Once I've spent a few more hours in it, I'll report back.
However, I feel it's necessary to comment on changing the name of the Taliban team to "Opposing Force." While the name doesn't alter the gameplay, I do believe it was an overstated controversy. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's multiplayer, you play in the skin of a terrorist, yet there's little news about this. In Medal of Honor you don't carry out acts of terrorism as you do in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's campaign mode where players have the option to shoot down unarmed civilians in an airport.
I understand that each new generation needs to have a "rock and roll music" or a "comic book" controversy that lights up headlines, but having Nazis or terrorists in the multiplayer mode is a staple of this genre.
Should you Buy Medal of Honor?
Compared to the current state of first person shooters, Medal of Honor fails to step it up by creating a story with any depth and gameplay with any oomph. While I commend it for taking a much-appreciated step away from its WWII roots, I also recognize that it's only due to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's overwhelming success. If Medal of Honor intends to be a competitor in this ring it will have to make great strides to become a unique asset.
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