Medal of Honor Video game Review (About In Description)
2Goldeneye for the PlayStation has finally arrived. The full review.
If there was ever a game that turned the first-person shooter in a different direction on consoles, it was Rare's Goldeneye 007. Everyone who owns a console should own that game, and everyone who played it and loved it has been waiting for the next one to show up. At one time we here at IGNPSX thought that Tomorrow Never Dies might be the next one (for obvious reasons), but that's not how the land lies. After a couple attempts with the Jurassic Park license, Dreamworks finally has scored a knockout punch with the World War II first-person shooter, Medal of Honor. This game gets that honor.
Gameplay
If there was one game that truly stood out from the pack, it's Medal of Honor. Authentic and original to its core, MOH is an example of how the Dreamworks team took the Saving Private Ryan sentimentality into its development studio and showed everyone that first-person shooters don't have to follow the standard route. That they can be done on the PlayStation, and that they don't have to be PC ports to great. While taking nods from Rare's Goldeneye, Medal of Honor has a flavor all its own.
As a new member of the Office of Strategic Services, your character Jimmy Patterson has been summoned to perform several services. With the trappings of World War II soaking every pixel and polygon of this game, you will find that your world is the most genuine reproduction of World War II in any videogame on consoles today. Your missions range from simple shoot-and-meet-your-target sessions, to subterfuge, to stealth and disguise missions, to planting bombs, to sneaking through and jamming the engine of a German submarine. Each mission becomes increasingly difficult as you progress through more than 20 of them, and each is firmly entrenched in a solid storyline that's delivered before and after each mission with a superb interface.
Your weaponry is based on the real deal. Players are presented an original arsenal, ranging from the Thompson SMG, Stielhandgranate (potato masher), the M1 Garand, Browning automatic rifle, shotgun, bazooka, to the Colt 45, and a Mark II Frag Grenade, to name a few. And they all work just like back in the day (I think...). With the rifles, for instance, you take a few shots and then reload. It's in those few seconds you're really vulnerable, but so is the enemy. And while you can see the shot of your bullet in the wall or mountainside (a touch that's old but still nice), you can't see the bullet shells falling to the ground. You can hear them, instead, a concept that works just as well.
You will spend a lot of time interfacing with Nazi soldiers. Not just shooting them. But getting past lower ranked officers and speaking with them. You don't actually speak, but the game boasts 1,500 lines of unique dialog in which you and your allies and enemies converse. After each mission, a gravelly-voiced old captain directs your next mission with great discern.
The range of play is great. Sometimes you simply run and shoot. Other times, you must be stealthy. Players can disguise themselves as German commanders and militia, and stroll through enemy headquarters and encampments unnoticed, able to look through top secret files in offices and meeting rooms. By toggling through your inventory, gamers can simply flip out their badge, and the Germans accept allegiance. Usually. Occasionally, higher ranked German officers won't believe you, holler "Imposter!" or "Guards!" or "Sound the alarm!" and shoot. The AI is especially good, and forces you to play smart to win.
As we've been saying all along with MOH, the little touches make the difference. With grenades, it's all new. Throw your grenade in the perfect spot, and watch the Nazi soldier nearest pick it up and throw it right back. It may kick or lob it in another direction as well. The Germans always had dogs around, and these German Shepherds are more than just a mouth with rabies. They're trained. Throw a grenade when a German Shepherd is around, and it will pick up the grenade and if you are close, bring it back to you in Kamikazi fashion.
Here is an example mission:
In this new mission you'll take on the disguise of a Kreigsmarine officer on a German freighter bound for Germany. On board the merchant marine vessel Wolfram, you'll need all your wits to survive the trip to Bremen. Bremen is home to the U-Boot production facility known as Dachsmag. Here the Nazis are building U-4901, their largest submarine yet.
After ditching your Kreigsmarine uniform, sneaking onto the Dachsmag and boarding the U-4901 before it launches is crucial to the mission. While out at sea, you'll need to radio in coordinates to the Allies, scuttle the submarine, then exit out the hatch when the sub temporarily surfaces before plunging to its watery doom.