Medal of Honor: Frontline

With Call of Duty going back to the second world war I thought it might be worth going back to the first game that got me interested in this setting. Medal Of Honor Frontline may not be the first in the series but it was the one that caught my eye one day while looking through the many games at Babbage’s It follows adventures of James Patterson who is a covert spy who gets moved around to different areas to complete objectives. Other than giving some context to why our hero is raiding different places like a U-Boat facility the game doesn't even try to tell much of a narrative. All of the levels are mostly corridor based which contrasts against the more open level design of most FPS today. While I’m talking about the mission design let's go over the gameplay and the visuals.

So this is a 2002 game so it obviously isn’t going to stand the test of time visually. Still it does look alright since this is the point where developers could make models without them looking blocky. Mixed with some dramatic music this game tries to have a few special moments that don’t quite have the same impact today. The controls are where this game shows off the fact developers hadn't quite figured out FPS on a console yet. Going back to the time before iron sights and general precision aiming with a analog stick isn’t that fun. Between the minor zoom in aim that roots the player in one spot and the fact the machine guns were a pain to actually hit someone I didn’t like most encounters with any enemy. After a while, I found out the Colt 45 might have been the best weapon which took me back to when FPS had really awesome pistols. That alone isn’t enough to the make the fights fun though. The strongest point in this game's favor may just be the setting.

Watching some old black and white WWII footage before starting a mission really sets up the tone and setting. Gives a bit of reality to the crazy movie like atmosphere EA was going for when they made this game. Yet at the same time, the orchestrated soundtrack gives the cool moments that happen a weight that might not have been here with some generic video game music. Even the setpiece moments are still pretty cool and are only less effective because newer games have gone beyond what they could do with the PS2. If only the controls were better then this game could have easily stood the test of time.

If you couldn’t tell by now I don't think this game held up. Doesn’t mean it’s the worst thing ever but you really need to know what you're getting yourself into. If you don’t like imprecise controls then this certainly isn’t the game for you. On some level this game is just for the curious that might want to see one of the reasons why WW2 was such a prolific genre for such a long time.