Medal of Honor

The new Medal of Honor was released on 12 October 2010 for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Actually it is the newest title belonging to a quite old franchise, which started back at the time of the first Playstation. The last game of the franchise was Medal of Honor: Airborne, launched in 2007. After a hiatus of three years, Electronic Arts, behold us with another title in this series, once set in World War II. EA brought Medal of Honor to the present day. This is modern warfare, this is what we mean. The Call of Duty series has already suffered a pass in time, so did the latest instalment of the Medal of Honor franchise.

The game is set in Afghanistan, and almost entirely in the mountains. Its onset is at night, with Tier 1 already in action in enemy territory. The goal is to basically destroy any camps and armed members of the Taliban forces that you run into. Although we are in a different franchise, Medal of Honor (2010) has many similarities with Battlefield: Bad Company 2, a title also released in 2010.

This is a game that offers you missions where you must use more tactical and less Rambo style. It is clear that the Afghanistan factor is present in the game. Provides an additional appeal and interest, though often dangerous and tragic when dealing with something real, a real war where people are dying. This may cause many people away from this title, forgetting for example that there are few games like this that will be played and viewed in current times as the games set in World War II.

Unfortunately the story of Medal of Honor comes down to attack the enemy, and something that could be further explored by EA and the developers: the interaction between the protagonists. During the campaign you take the role of four different characters. The Rangers, Tier 1 and SEAL's, in all these three groups are not created many links between characters lacking at certain times, a more personal position by their companions. Playing as a Tier 1 you will get more doses of interaction, it is worth remembering, but do not expect much in this aspect.

This is not anything that disrupts the gameplay itself, but such a gap could very well have been better exploited. Of course there are exciting moments. Dramatic. Tragic. Very sad sometimes. However, the vision you have of this is that of a spectator, to a large extent, and not to someone who is there at that moment in the conflict. Maybe they tried to withdraw some of the emotional burden contained in the plot because of all the controversy that caused the game, however, this changes nothing about the fact that we are dealing with a real modern warfare.

The gameplay of this title is very intuitive and easy. Especially for those who are used to FPS's. There aren't many gameplay details that differentiate this game from other FPS's but, in short, you can not get lost nor discomfort when playing Medal of Honor. All responses are quick, the characters move in line, slower or faster as required. The sense of realism in the handling of weapons is great, and you feel that every shot influences the next one, and this may be more or less impact depending on the type and caliber of the weapon you are currently using. Walk, run, jump, crouch and throw grenades are other movements as in any good FPS.

The single player campaign portion of the game is short, however, the game is interesting. You can not drop the controller for a long time, before ending the campaign. Despite similarities with BBC 2, however, felt a lot of destructible buildings. Do not expect to knock down a house as in Battlefield: Bad Company 2. This is totally out of the question. Major flaw, if this possibility had been inserted into the game, we would have a "war experience" much more realistic and intense.

It is noteworthy that the plot reverse is possible sometimes. There are times when you should seek other shelter in the middle of a gunfight, simply because the enemies are shooting the shack where you are. It is remarkable the difference between the characters that you control. While the Tier 1 are very precise, meticulous, careful, and work much closer together, the Rangers are bold, brave and noisy. Much of the campaign happens to you in the shoes of a Tier 1 code-named Rabbit.

One of the things that aren't present in this game are the indestructibility of the buildings. However, the graphical quality of Medal of Honor is very competent, if we disregard the water element. Frankly, we found the water in MoH very poorly made. It has a glossy look that way, and is insensitive to our passage, for example. You pass running or walking on a puddle of water and may even hear a noise of water, quite low. But spills and stuff like that are out of the question. Do not expect the same vegetation with strikingly live BBC 2, and Medal of Honor. However, we commend their good appearance and well done, although not very interactive with our presence.

The desert dust reaches disturbing sometimes so realistic. The wind can raise the dust at certain times and make you start getting shots without targets around. The same happens when you request air support: the rain of dust and debris that falls on your team gets to choke, so well done. Scary, actually. The fire has a tremendous vitality. The flames seem alive, and its color is a tremendous feeling of warmth. Flying over the mountains on board the helicopter provides an awesome experience, and you come to think often that you are watching a war movie.

The game's music is beautiful. Often possessing a wonderful note that Arabic can be intercalated with guitars and bass, the audio accompanies the action perfectly. In dramatic moments it is replaced by very welcomed orchestral themes, which may be sad, dramatic or impressive. The choice of the set list for Medal of Honor was perfect. This is a true masterpiece, which in no way hinders the action or concentration: quite the contrary. Early in the game you are already introduced into the atmosphere with the help of music, and it's hard not to get excited.

The sound of the guns is very well done, stil, it fails to impress. Every shot resonates very strongly, and the difference between weapons and calibers can be perceived audibly, perfectly. But this has already happened in previous titles. To a lesser degree, but it did happen.

Regarding the multiplayer mode, Medal of Honor offers a great variety of games (Sector Control, Combat Mission, Objective and Raid Assault Team), there is offline mode Tier 1 as well, which has leaderboards and puts the player in several extreme and difficult moments. Medals are given according to their performance, and you can check its position in the ranking. In  Tier 1, there are several actions that make the clock stop for a while (the Tier 1 mode is timed), such as headshots. Shoot at an enemy's head and get this temporary advantage.  Please note that the multiplayer portion of the game was developed by DICE, so similarities with Bad Company 2 are in the agenda. It is noteworthy that the multiplayer in Medal of Honor is very easy to find matches available. The matchmaking is done very quickly, and despite a few lag problems everything went perfectly.

Medal of Honor is a beautiful revival of the franchise. Despite the flaws, these are offset by shots in the right spots, and what we have here is a beautiful game, fun, challenging and full of tension moments. If you are looking for a good war game and prefer action rather than explosive action, this game can bring you many good times.

Marco Cecilio, NoobFeed