Ironman273 Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Impressions: Medal of Honor by Andrew Yoon { Mar 11th 2010 at 4:00AM } It's impossible to avoid comparisons between EA's upcoming Medal of Honor reboot and Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare series ... so, I'll just get it out of the way: Medal of Honor unapologetically follows in the footsteps of Call of Duty. In fact, I'm willing to raise the possibility that Medal of Honor could be the "true" sequel to the Call of Duty 4 campaign many of us are still waiting for after suffering through Modern Warfare 2's increasingly preposterous storyline. Recently, I got a peek at a new Medal of Honor trailer which lays it out like this: There are two sides to every war: the sledgehammer and the scalpel. What Call of Duty 4 did so well was to portray exactly how these two components work in tandem, as it featured scenarios in which large assaults aided small elite forces, and vice versa. Medal of Honor promises to recreate similar battlefield situations, with the "scalpel" represented by the Tier 1 Operators, an elite branch of SOCOM. Gallery:Medal of Honor (GDC) The "sledgehammer" portion of Medal of Honor was not shown during my recent "hands-off" demo, but what I did see of the "scalpel" showed incredible promise. Military buffs will appreciate the game's incredible attention to detail, particularly to tactical formations. The one level I saw in action encouraged methodical movement through mountainous terrain. If you listen to the advice of your squad, you'll be in position to ambush your enemies; you always have the tactical advantage in a firefight. Even without a deep interest in the military, Medal of Honor's attention to detail will still be appreciated by any gamer. Fans of Modern Warfare's "aha" moments, when a well placed soldier performs a stealth takedown on an unsuspecting enemy, will be pleased to see similar actions return in Medal of Honor. In fact, most of the animations featured in the game are impressive. Your squad moves through environments in a completely believable way, checking their corners, and assisting each other through the vertical territory of Afghanistan. Enemy animations are even more impressive, with the AI reacting realistically to the action at hand. In one segment, I saw two unsuspecting enemy soldiers engaged in conversation with each other. When one was shot by a Tier 1 squad member, the other responded with the appropriate amount of surprise, cowering in fear, then scrambling for cover. Medal of Honor looked remarkably polished, even though the build I saw was only 60-percent complete, according to its producer. In its current state, it's playable from beginning to end; and the rest of the development time (the game's due this summer) will be devoted to play-testing and further polish. The producer confirmed that development is being led on the PS3, and he reiterated Sony's previous claims that a game that starts out on Sony's hardware will be better suited for multiplatform production; benefiting both PS3 and Xbox 360. The PS3 demo I saw ran at a very solid framerate, although it appeared to be displaying in a sub-HD resolution. Regardless, I was still impressed by the current build's more-than-solid performance. Medal of Honor's fundamental gameplay should be familiar territory for Call of Duty veterans, as it features similar quick-look and lock-shooting mechanics. Gadgetry is also handled in much the same way, with players able to call in air strikes by confirming marked targets through night vision. In short, Medal of Honor unabashedly apesModern Warfare, and it seems its developer, EA Los Angeles, has taken the "if it ain't broke" philosophy to heart. From what little of the game I saw, it doesn't appear Medal of Honor's single-player campaign will revolutionize the FPS genre; however, EA is still taking a rather bold step in attempting to recreate a real, modern conflict, while approaching it respectfully and with finesse. I can only hope that the "sledgehammer" portion of the campaign will maintain the same tone, without having to resort to wayover-the-top escapades. Of course, in order for Medal of Honor to successfully compete with the Call of Duty brand, EA will need to offer much more than a compelling single-player campaign. Unfortunately, the DICE-developed multiplayer mode was not being shown yet. More intriguing, though, I spotted the addition of a third mode, "Project Mercury," in the build's main menu. It wasn't something I was supposed to see (and no EA representative would comment) -- so I can only postulate that the mode could be similar to the Spec Ops co-op missions featured in Modern Warfare 2. Clearly, there's a lot more of Medal of Honor we've yet to see. And what this first look at the game's single-player campaign lacked in innovation it made up for in potential. I'm definitely eager to see andplay more. Source: Joystiq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massiveterra Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 I wonder how MOH and BF will live in harmony in the military FPS space...esp if DICE is making the MP for both games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasethebase Reporter Posted March 11, 2010 Reporter Share Posted March 11, 2010 I wonder what the MP will turn out like, if it relies on skill rather than perk set up it's an instant purchase. An FPS like Counter-Strike where it relies heavily on how good you are at the game hasn't been release since Source in 2004. It's a gap waiting to be filled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookie Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 I wonder what the MP will turn out like, if it relies on skill rather than perk set up it's an instant purchase. An FPS like Counter-Strike where it relies heavily on how good you are at the game hasn't been release since Source in 2004. It's a gap waiting to be filled! Won't happen meta-games are all the rage these days. Interesting preview though. Currently luke-warm about this. Interested in the MP a great deal if it's being done by DICE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamp0 Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 New Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-tier-medal-of/63075 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WastedJoker Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I wonder what the MP will turn out like, if it relies on skill rather than perk set up it's an instant purchase. An FPS like Counter-Strike where it relies heavily on how good you are at the game hasn't been release since Source in 2004. It's a gap waiting to be filled! What the hell? Are you saying no other multiplayer game relies on being good at it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayepecks Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 New Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-tier-medal-of/63075 Still 50-50 on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerm Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 They spelt honour wrong. :p It looks great from that, would like to see gameplay footage now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green_Eye Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I am beginning to get optimistic about this and that worries me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajputwarrior Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 They spelt honour wrong. :p It looks great from that, would like to see gameplay footage now. americans always gotta be different... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S00N3R FR3AK Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I wonder what the MP will turn out like, if it relies on skill rather than perk set up it's an instant purchase. An FPS like Counter-Strike where it relies heavily on how good you are at the game hasn't been release since Source in 2004. It's a gap waiting to be filled! Halo has always been a skill based game with 2 releases since 2004(don't know if 2 came out after source in 04) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamp0 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 What the hell? Are you saying no other multiplayer game relies on being good at it? Well, most games are all about unlocks and perks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massiveterra Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Well, most games are all about unlocks and perks. you mean 1 game is about unlocks and perks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamp0 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 you mean 1 game is about unlocks and perks bad company has unlocks and perks, I mean specializations. Even Bioshock adapted that whole approach. I am not saying it's always a bad thing, but I'd still like to see a game with a more basic approach to multiplayer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasethebase Reporter Posted March 14, 2010 Reporter Share Posted March 14, 2010 What the hell? Are you saying no other multiplayer game relies on being good at it? No, as in heavily relies on it. Halo does, but not so much because you have regenerative shields. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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