A once great franchise, Medal of Honor has been stumbling and slowly (or not so slowly) bleeding out since being hit by the Call of Duty bullet back in 2003. However, with the assistance of Danger Close and DICE, this series has finally staggered back to its feet – for the most part.
Like most games, Medal of Honor needs to be looked at in two parts, the singleplayer and the multiplayer. However, this division is more pronounced than usual due to the fact that each part of the game was handled by a different development studio altogether. While EA had the internal Danger Close (formerly EALA) handle the singleplayer, for multiplayer they turned to DICE, best known for their perennial Battlefield franchise. However, while this development process may have been atypical, the two pieces meld well and each is compelling in its own right.
The singleplayer campaign takes place across the span of a few days in the mountains of Afghanistan. Throughout the 6-7 hour campaign, you’ll primarily take on the role of two Navy SEALS and an Army Ranger, though you’ll control other characters intermittently, as well. If this rotation of protagonists sounds familiar, it’s because it is (Hint: Call of Duty). This isn’t the only play that Medal of Honor borrows from the other team’s book either. There are the now requisite sniping, sneaking, shoot-dude-in-slow-mo-while-holding-hostage, and (insert aircraft here) missions, as well. However, while you may not experience any earth-shattering revelations while playing through the game, it implements these various aspects competently and they ultimately serve to better the experience, familiar or no.
I don’t care if it’s ripped from another game: getting behind a .50 cal sniper rifle and shooting at Taliban fighters across a valley only to see their heads explode a second or two later is damn satisfying. In fact, one of these borrowed concepts that appears at the end of the game is implemented much better than in any other game that has featured it.
While Medal of Honor is certainly peeking at the next desk over in many respects, it is just as certainly going for its own, unique tone. You won’t be snowmobiling down a mountain, leaping waterfalls in a RIB boat, dodging raining helicopters, or being blown out into space here. Danger Close has gone for a decidedly more “realistic” feel to the action and story. The studio claims to have dealt closely with actual veterans of the wars in the Middle East in order to get the tone correct. Personally, I can tell you that I recognized pieces from two contemporary, non-fiction novels while playing through the game. Generation Kill, about Marine Force Recon’s push into Iraq, and Lone Survivor, about a SEAL team nearly wiped out in the Afghan mountains, are both clear inspirations for elements of the story. In fact, they go so far as to quote the former at one point.
While this attempt at realism may leave the game void of the pulse-pounding, over-the-top climactic moments of its contemporaries, I feel it is a nice change of pace. Personally, I feel that in the most recent installments, Call of Duty has gotten a little too out of hand and has become more Die Hard than Black Hawk Down. While you do play as a “Tier 1” soldier in this game, you don’t ever feel like Superman, and, personally, this allowed me to feel more grounded in the setting.
On the multiplayer side, Swedish studio DICE has brought over their expertise to create a compelling complement to the singleplayer. Famous for their Battlefield franchise, you will certainly see familiarities between Medal of Honor and those games. Built on the Frostbite engine (the same in-house engine that powered Bad Company 1 & 2), the gunplay and movement are very familiar, though sped up to better approximate the experience of something like, say, Call of Duty.
There are four modes to choose from: Team Assault (team deathmatch), Sector Control (COD’s Domination), Objective Raid (COD’s Demolition), and Combat Mission, which is essentially Bad Company’s Rush mode with various objectives rather than just blowing up two crates at each station. My favorite is easily Combat Mission, since it progresses through a larger map, allowing for varying play styles. These maps also feature an infantry fighting vehicle for the attackers, which adds an element of desperation on defense (or kickass on offense).
Like the singleplayer, one element working in the multiplayer’s favor is that of a sense of realism. You will see no money flying out of dead enemies, no emblems emblazoned on weapons, no marijuana-filled calling cards, and no Tonka trucks of death – just soldiers dressed in fatigues holding rifles. Personally, I feel this sense of realism helps to better bring the experience to life and make it more compelling. Adding to this sense of realism and immersion is the more tactical approach the game takes in the Combat Mission game mode. While it doesn’t let you spawn on the teammate of your choice like Bad Company, the game does allow you to choose to spawn at the front line, which isn’t only useful but can make for some cool moments. Rarely in Call of Duty will you see a squad build up on one of the flanks and then all rush forward together and hit the objective.
However, while this realism may be a strong asset, it also hurts the game as well. Since the game doesn’t offer underslung flamethrowers or reflex sights with skulls in the middle, there are simply not very many unlocks to be had. While the game offers three classes to choose from (Sniper, Rifleman, and Special Ops), you can only unlock new weapons and attachments, and not any new equipment. The weapon attachments are all pretty standard and bland, consisting of sights, scopes, barrel attachments, and magazine enhancements, and there are very few weapons to unlock, as well. As Jeff said on the Bombcast, “The stick is there, but the carrot kind of sucks.”
However, despite the slightly bare-bones unlock system, the multiplayer can still be a ton of fun. The gunplay is quick, intense, and satisfying thanks to the unforgiving health system. Just a couple of well-placed shots and all you’ll know is that you heard a sickening thud and watched your body fall to the ground. In addition, DICE’s great track-record of sound design carries over, and you’ll quickly learn to think twice before peeking your head out when bullets are cracking by at the speed of sound.
Overall, Danger Close and DICE have done what I thought would never happen; they have made a Medal of Honor game in 2010 that I actually want to play. While the singleplayer is not without its occasional technical issue, these hiccups are few enough and minor enough to overlook for the total experience. Likewise, while the multiplayer may not offer the same content depth of its contemporaries, what’s there is compelling and satisfying in its own right, and there are already two more maps and one more game mode on the way via DLC. If like me, you’ve grown slightly tired of the over-the-top direction of Call of Duty, or you’ve simply squeezed every last moment of enjoyment out Modern Warfare 2 and Bad Company 2 and just need a new fix, you may be pleasantly surprised by Medal of Honor. It may not win any competitions for originality, but it’s a good first step towards injecting more competition into many gamers’ favorite genre.
P.S. You guys who use the weed emblems and titles are really cool. Like, really. I mean it.
P.P.S. I will be buying Black Ops.