In 1999, Medal of Honor commenced the FPS style of the game in war, but
Call of Duty soon became the benchmark, since then, the genre has turned
into increasingly popular, especially in recent years, a lucrative
market that Activision’s game has become increasingly strong. Electronic
Arts, it’s main rival is in the preparation for world domination, this
year the series resurrected in order to recover the popularity and face
plant in the genus, at a particularly suitable after the success of
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and doubts surrounding the future of Call of
Duty after the near-dismantling of Infinity Ward, creators of the best
installments of this saga.
Immersion is amazing, the graphics are breathtaking and the soundtrack
is still more realistic. When you are among a handful of U.S. Rangers,
crouching in your boat to recite some prayers while your neighbor throws
at your feet, as bullets fired by MG42 from the bunker perched on the
cliffs you whistling in the ears and the launch of next door explodes
under a 88mm shells, sand of Omaha Beach, so you seem like a godsend
given the number of corpses littering the beach. But it’s not over: the
horror has only just begun. Now, you need to get to the top of the
cliffs!
Perhaps Respawn Entertainment, the team which founded the Infinity Ward
returning veterans under Electronic Arts (the company who left after
making Medal of Honor: Allied Assault), to take on one day of a Medal of
Honor, but for this first stone "rebirth" of this franchise, EA has
joint two teams: their studios in Los Angeles for the campaign mode, and
DICE, creators of Battlefield Swedes, for multiplayer. The effect is
not only unbalanced graphic level (each mode uses a different engine and
the multiplayer is better), but also in gameplay, the multiplayer is
outstanding, while the campaign mode is merely decent.
Operating directly under the orders of the National Command Authority
(the highest military authority in the United States), there is an
entity of fighters, selected among the best, which are known for highly
sensitive missions. These are Tier 1 operators. Attached to the army’s
air, land or even the Marines, more than 2 million people in uniform in
the U.S. military. Among them, fifty thousand soldiers under the
authority of Special Operations Command.
Operators of Tier 1, selected from among these, are the elite, above
even Special Forces surentrainées. Their number, though not official, is
of the order of several hundreds. These are weapons of war living with
extreme precision. They are experts in deploying violence control. The
new Medal of Honor was developed in collaboration with Tier 1 operators
and builds strong. Players will be immersed in the unforgiving
conditions and hostile Afghanistan today, will take the skin of these
warriors and use their unique skills in the fight against a new enemy.
The enemy has changed. The war has changed. A new warrior is born. It is the Tier 1.
This reboot of the series Medal of Honor gives way to leave, who knows,
definitely, the Second World War, and atmosphere to the game on a
current conflict, in this case Afghanistan. Beyond the controversy that
has generated that will lead to a conflict that is still ongoing, and
the Taliban in multiplayer mode (finally removed), this allows not only
new weapons but also completely different combat situations, and series
of moments where we can use remote control weapons, designate targets or
drive vehicles, among other things, which makes the gameplay more
varied.
In campaign mode operating embody a Tier 1 member of the special forces
of the United States, which along with peers and the rest of the unit
will face the Taliban in the troubled Asian country. The missions follow
one after another, connected by cutscenes that will tell us something
more about how the operation proceeds, alternating and combining all
kinds of situations, from stealthy incursions into enemy territory until
mid-scale battles, through missions outpost where we to clear, or at
least facilitate, the way the rest of the Army.
As mentioned, the missions vary in style, but all have one thing in
common: the linearity. The battlefields and scenarios that follow are
designed as an aisle, whether obvious "urban canyons" or apparently
open, but in fact linear. We entered a village, but we’re going house to
house, street by street, without any alternative path, open area or
tactical situation than us on one side and enemies on the other. The
result is not bad, but generic, but luckily there are different parts
that help combat the monotony.
Apart from this wandering from point A to point B, each level has one or
two original situations that give an extra variety to the game, from
moving in quads covered by the darkness of night in Afghanistan to
situations that will not stop out enemies until they meet certain
targets, the latter may be a bit archaic at times, but will bring
variety to the game and do not dislike. There are times, quite often,
where we have to laser designate targets and the artillery or aviation
the attack, we have a time limit to finish all the objectives, and
sometimes more than one weapon to choose, in some situations, up to four
different. These parties are fun because the player feels powerful and
you can choose where to shoot the guns, or controlling himself falling
bombs. Finally, the parts that handle large vehicles, or their guns, are
also very good.
But despite these small details scattered variety of campaign mode, it
continues to be quite inadequate for the times. Not bad at all and
fulfills its function, but it is memorable. The level design, although
these are quite long, it is remarkable for the times, while the story is
hardly remembered by the player. The artificial intelligence does not
stand out at all, and some Taliban are too inclined to run and expose it
to stay safely behind cover.
It should be mentioned, however, two curious details of control: first,
that the game has a system of targeted assisted striking. Apart from the
normal pointed, have a precision pressing the left trigger of our
console. When we change the normal pointing accuracy, the game tilted
the focus automatically to the nearest enemy to our looks, helping us to
shoot. The second detail "drink" straight from Mirror’s Edge, and how
we can slide across the floor when we ran into a hedge. Curiosities,
although the first comes to make the game too easy at times.
Multiplayer is another story, and indeed for those players, increasingly
numerous, passing Olympic campaign mode to play online only, Medal of
Honor will be a great game with no weaknesses. DICE teachers have used
all their experience of the Battlefield franchise to create a good
online multiplayer with personality, we might describe as a
Battlefield-style transformation into something smaller but not worse.
Calling things by their name, the multiplayer of Call of Duty is based
more on quick shooting and the player’s individual skills, while
Battlefield is intended to reflect larger-scale clashes where teamwork
is more important. In Medal of Honor, not to compete against them, DICE
has sought to strike a compromise between both types of first-person
shooter online, trying to combine the highest rate of Call of Duty with
the variety of game modes, more tactical and more "team" of Battlefield.
Have been going pretty well, and Medal of Honor has its own
personality.
The main online game mode called Combat Missions, and let’s faces twelve
teams in several consecutive stages: the Americans with a mission to
meet a number of objectives in each mission, and "opponents" (formerly
Taliban) in order to prevent it. Is an adaptation of "Rush Mode" for
Battlefield Bad Company 2, but on a smaller scale and with fewer
requirements when working in a team and act tactically. As it was a
"softening" of the level required to participate in a Battlefield game
mode a priori complex.
The result is very satisfactory, as in other game modes, imported as
seen in Battlefield but simplified to be "friendly" to the general
public you want to get Medal of Honor. Feedbacks are faster than in the
previous game, but the point to reappear is a little random, even when
we do ask that appear near a group of colleagues-the system chosen at
random. Another mode, called "Sector Control", takes the idea of
Battlefield Conquest mode but also simplifies a bit, asking both teams
to ensure control of three different areas of mapping. Speaking of maps,
there are eight different sizes. Are sufficiently varied, although
perhaps a somewhat limited number.
The multiplayer, besides having a superior visuals to the campaign mode
(the first engine uses Bad Company 2, while the latter uses the Unreal
Engine 3), is also playable at best. The weapons are different and
targeted system is more demanding (and balanced). Strikes a good
compromise between playability and tactical scale of Bad Company 2, and
the more frenetic pace of Call of Duty. However, it needs its own game
modes, more maps and player development system with more options.
A graphic level, as we said, the two modes of play are different. They
are obviously very similar to each other, yet different, and gives the
impression that the graphics engine Bad Company 2 has not been fully
exploited for the purpose of which are as similar as possible. Still,
without being one of the highlights of the year charts, the game looks
good, with large scenarios and full of detail, realistic artwork but
without the visual crudeness, and good effects of explosions, lighting,
smoke and dust. Both engines work well and moving graphics the game
smoothly.
In sound, as usual Electronic Arts, Medal of Honor is a blockbuster and
has a good soundtrack, with not too much prominence, especially with
fantastic sound effects for weapons, explosions and so on, and with a
good dub Castilian. Perhaps the latter lacks drama at certain times of
combat, but at other times, especially in the cinematics, voice and
interpretation are a natural fit.
Medal of Honor will be for many a disappointment, and not without
reason. Those who were expecting a game that you can look to you to be
masters of the genre is a bit cool to discover that Medal of Honor is
not an outstanding game, but simply remarkable. At the same time,
looking for a multiplayer something different, enjoy a lot with that
included. It has been carried out by some masters of the genre, which
have simplified the Battlefield formula to reach a wider audience.
Conclusion:
Not only is the game somewhat different visual and gameplay in each of
its modes, but also in quality. The multiplayer is great, but still
lacks something, with its own style, is as complete as the other games,
the campaign mode, however, far more things missing. It is the comeback
of Medal of Honor we expected, but if you have more sequels will no
doubt give more war.
