18 cert, EA/Dice/Danger Close, PS3 (also Xbox, PC) ****
GAME OF THE WEEK:
The arrival of a new
Medal of Honor
felt like a special event. Scores of military first-person shooters owe a huge debt to previous titles, so this feels like a legendary rock band reforming to show the kids how it’s done.
The most striking decision for this Medal of Honorwas the modern setting. American history is not short on warfare, and it would've been nice to see another period piece, perhaps in Vietnam. But why carp? In fact, the game uses the Afghan conflict well – the locations (many of which are real), weapons and dialogue feel utterly authentic. As you'd expect, the tone is serious and respectful of both the American "Tier One" (top level) soldiers, and of their Afghan collaborators.
Like the opening scene in Saving Private Ryan(which has always been an influence on the series), combat is more about strategically getting a foothold on enemy ground than just barrelling in with weapons blazing. Players are rewarded for strategising and acclimatising to the geography of a location as much as they'll benefit from marksmanship.
There’s a loving attention to detail and a nice variety of vehicles (from quads to helicopters) and weapons; I especially liked the optics for sniping, including heat sensors. The graphics are terrific and the sound design is noticeably precise. Play with headphones if you can.
As a first-person narrative, Medal of Honoris compelling and affecting and the online multi-player mode is slick and addictive. (Play online against friends at first if you don't want to be instantly annihilated by game-addicted strangers.) However, in campaign mode its biggest flaw is its relatively short running time (four to five hours).
The franchise was once the vanguard of the military shooter. Now it's playing catch up with the young guns, and it falls short of the epic sweep of Modern Warfare 2.But what Medal of Honorlacks in scope it makes up for in realism, atmosphere and tone.
