Review: Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor is finally back, and at long last jumping on the modern warfare bandwagon that Call of Duty and Battlefield have long settled into.

Is this the reboot MoH needs to reclaim its title of Best War Shooter Franchise? Read on below the cut.

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Medal of Honor hones in on Tier 1 Operators, special forces that work high up in the mountains in the Middle East, lethal and silent in their duties. They don't complain about much except the occasional fuck up from command HQ, they grow their beards long because they can, and kick a lot of Taliban butt. And put their lives on the line every single day.

Now for a quick little comparison to the big ol' Modern Warfare 2. I admittedly enjoyed MW2 immensely, but it was bombastic. There was some fictional political drivel about Russia being at it again with the megolomania, and some super hero type military men like Captain Price saving the day. There's even a bit where players fight through the deserted streets of the US, because Infinity Ward smugly prove they can make a game like that. And let's not forget that controversially dumb No Russian airport level.

MoH is far and away removed from that. There's no politics. We know the game's a realistic reflection of the war in the Middle East, but we don't know of any super villains plotting to take over the world. And we certainly don't fight at the White House. It all happens in drab mountain backdrops, secluded camps and the odd town. But that's how the real war out there is being fought. If you're looking for some James Bond sci-fi hyper-tension excitement, you're looking in the wrong place.


It's all about the men, their guns, and the bad guys they have to stay one step ahead of at all times. And certainly, MoH does that pretty damn well. The combat is exciting, the guns fire as they should and you do feel like you are doing your part to save the real world. Danger Close has to be commended, because they've made the game seriously immersive as far as being part of a real military outfit is concerned.

The battle chatter is all there, along with the military mannerisms and protocols, as well as the camaraderie that you will certainly feel a part of. You play 3 different characters (a 4th briefly onboard an apache gunship) as part of 2 special forces units and 1 Ranger unit. Unlike the larger than life antics of Captain Price, Ghost, and Soap McTavish in that Modern Warfare game; Dusty, Preacher, Voodoo, Mother, Sgt. Patterson, etc. from MoH all feel like real men. They are world-weary, battle-hardened and ready to get the job done, but at the same time, they too could die at any time. No heroics, or risk-taking, everything they do is measured and calculated.

You could put Modern Warfare at one end of the realism spectrum (i.e. not very) and something like Operation Flashpoint and Armed Assault at the other end (i.e. hyper-realistic). Then you've got MoH which straddles the two quite well, a game that's got the fun and excitement of a triple A title and also the storyline and concept of a military simulation. It's the kinda' game that I personally enjoy because I want to be immersed in military realism; constantly hearing all that "Oscar Mike" jargon, crouched in a bush for hours at end doing jack all except staring at some enemy positions, and short bursts of tense gunfight. No bullshit. The game also respects mortality, men aren't dying left right and center, instead there is a strong sense that everybody is fighting for their lives, always one hair's breath away from death. And if they do die, it's a tragic moment rather than a narrative gimmick.


But I'm wary that as a game, MoH lacks variation that most gamers nowadays crave - the environments are all pretty much the same - hills, mountains, rocks, valleys, early on there are some encampments and an airbase but yeah, mostly mountains, rocks and valleys. Also, MoH falls short in terms of mature game design - it feels like a corridor shooter, and it's a big pet peeve for me. The game shuttles you along these samey environments, occasionally stopping behind conveniently placed cover to take shots at enemies before moving on.

Technologically and graphically, MoH lacks polish. Enemies pop up from set spawn points. I saw them do it right before my eyes once when I ran too far ahead of the game's expectations of my actions. Also, there's the occasional clipping, people seem to be floating rather than running and enemy death animations are awkward. The textures are quite low which is a surprise considering it is running on Dice's (of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 fame) modified Frostbite Engine. It's not all bad, the large expansive scenery looks positively harsh, the character models look mostly badass, and there's nice shiny HDR lighting with glare and dust thrown in. But in comparison with Battlefield and MW, MoH may be the weakest of the lot.

But the worst thing about the game in my opinion, is that the whole thing feels like an on-rails documentary. What do I mean? Occasionally, the controls like to be taken away from you - whether it's to jump on the back of a vehicle, or the game wants you to walk instead of run a certain part, and let scripted moments play out whether you like it or not. To me, I'd want to be totally immersed in the role of a badass Tier 1 guy, but I can't do this if every once in awhile, I can lift my hands from the keyboard and watch the computer take over. Also there is little to no sense of player agency. You have to run along a set path, there is the occasional alternative, but otherwise you go where your superiors tell you, you shoot what they tell you to shoot and you remain mute as your character.


This is why I mean it feels like a documentary. You're there alongside the others, but you can't fully get into character. Danger Close has created a barrier between gamer and game, whether for better or for worse. By all means, the game makes you feel like part of the team - the other guys call out to you a lot, ask you to take point or carry out special tasks (they always do, even in Modern Warfare) and save your ass when it gets knocked down (as part of the narrative) - but there's a nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I'm just tagging along with these other cool dudes, just there to appreciate their valor, their bravery, and their hard work. But appreciate you will. If even half of these levels you play are realistic recreations of missions real special forces carry out, you'll have to applaud the amazing nature of these warriors' work. The realism trumps Modern Warfare's incredulousness any day.

Sound is actually very good. As I said before, battle-chatter is top-notch, the sound of bullets pinging close to your head is scary but most importantly, the music is emotionally rousing. As you climb that hill to victory or wait for death to close in on you, the music makes you feel like beating your chest. I have no other way to describe it except that it works. They even have some hardcore rock music playing as you rain death down from an apache. Awesome.

If you look past its flaws, the game's got heart. As I said before, the characters you spend the entire game hanging out with are great and the dialogue is well-written. You feel like they are a bunch who you could imagine knocking back a few beers with and tossing around the old pigskin during peace time. And that's important, a sense that these are real people thrown into extraordinary situations, and that they too can die at anytime. And you don't want them to. It makes moments in the game a lot more tense, especially when the narrative makes you feel outnumbered and outgunned. Unlike Captain Price and Soap McTavish who are really bulletproof, and the trick for you is to hide behind them at all times because you know they'll never be killed off. They are Modern Warfare's celebrity superstars.


So should you get this game? Perhaps, if you know what you want. Its multiplayer offering is average at best in comparison to what's out on the market already, and the single-player is not perfect. Medal of Honor probably won't win any awards, certainly not Game of the Year, but it is a decent showing from a new developer that has presented an unfinished, tragic war in a respectful, uncontroversial, and yet mostly entertaining manner. It's not about the conflicts between nations, it's not even about evil villains, it's just about the men and women on the battlefield keeping the enemy at bay, protecting the innocent. Yes, Medal of Honor is back in a good way. And if Danger Close learns from this game's mistakes, I'm looking forward to what they'll bring out in the future.