Medal of Honor

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The Medal of Honor series from Electronic Arts is not a rookie in the first person shooter genre. The competing Call of Duty series, however, with its Modern Warfare 2 title and the upcoming Black Ops release, seems to have grabbed most of the attention of first person shooter fans. In an attempt to regain some of the spotlight, EA and Danger Close chose an early release date for the newest Medal of Honor. Keep reading for a closer look.

While the timing is great, the end product is a bit lacking. Medal of Honor does have plenty of positive elements, but it also has negative ones that keep it from claiming the title of the best war game available.

Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of Medal of Honor is its setting. Unlike many other games, the developers chose a real-life conflict as the backdrop. The game takes place in modern  Afghanistan, and the enemy is the Taliban. Throughout the game, you will take command of different characters that are part of elite American military units. At times you will find yourself on sniping missions, or marking locations for air support. Other times you will be in the cockpit of an attack helicopter. You may even find yourself rumbling through the countryside on an ATV, or kicking in doors as you search for hostiles. 

Whatever the task may be, the variety of missions and characters is refreshing.  To add an extra dose of realism, the developers consulted actual Tier 1 operators.  Tier 1 operators are somewhat of an unknown, yet very elite sector of the U.S. military, and they are who the game is based on.

While the advice of actual Tier 1 operators definitely helped add a sense of realism to the game, there are certain aspects that make it seem unrealistic. The linear single player mode seems very scripted; it offers nothing we haven't seen before in other war game plots. You'll encounter several outlandish explosions, hordes of enemy fighters, and many other predictable events. 

The predictability tends to take away from the replay value, since the gameplay can seem played out in certain instances. The game does have plenty of realism in terms of how the characters interact with one another, how they move, and more, but the overall missions can seem like something out of an arcade at times.

 

Speaking of predictability, such is the enemy AI when you play on normal difficulty.  Enemy movements are easy to anticipate, and most of the time you can wait for them to pop out before you blast them. Even if you are outnumbered, these anticipated movements make it easy to get out alive. 

If you want a real challenge, however, it is available via the Tier 1 mode. This mode requires you to go through timed missions on the hardest difficulty. Achievements like head shots will buy you time, and you can compare your scores with friends or other players online.

Next: Details on Gameplay >>
 

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