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Medal of Honor Preview


EA's long-running shooter franchise moves
into modern times.


March 11, 2010 -
Medal
of Honor is not a new name for shooter fans, but with the upcoming
version the franchise is entering new territory. It's being moved into a
modern setting as US forces tangle with hostiles in the hills of
Afghanistan. The single-player portion is being handled by EA
Los Angeles, which has been in very close contact with the US armed
forces to help craft a product that looks, sounds and feels authentic.
The multiplayer portion, which we don't really know anything about yet,
is being worked on over at DICE, the studio responsible for the
Battlefield franchise. Looking at that studio's track record of creating
some of the most thrilling online shooter experiences around, then that
has to mean good things, or so we all hope. The focus of this preview
is the campaign mode, a small portion of which was shown off during a
recent demo session.




In the game you'll be playing the role of a Tier 1 operator, an elite
soldier that's assigned only the most difficult and demanding missions.
This means you're not wearing a uniform or anything like that. Your job
is to blend in. You won't be alone, either, but part of a small squad of
other Tier 1 operators running things on the ground in Afghanistan.




One of the themes of the game will be how the various levels of military
command interact as missions play out. EA LA wasn't really talking
about specifics, but it seems like you'll be hearing from direct
superiors and commanding officers back in the United States. Whether
this means there'll be cut-scenes featuring a cast of characters or if
it means you'll be hearing their messages as they're passed along
through radio chatter is unclear at this point, but it'll be interesting
to see how it's all pulled off. Throughout the course of the game
you'll also switch between playable characters from level to level,
presumably giving you more insight into the character of the operators
on the ground.






Taking out enemy patrols.

The
one mission shown off was set in a mountainous area of Afghanistan.
Your squad of operators weaved through rocky pathways on its way to
disable an anti-aircraft gun and push on into enemy territory. It wasn't
the type of experience where waves of enemies started pouring down from
the mountains as soon as you were spotted, but instead focused
initially on stealth and precision. Chatter between soldiers was
frequent but always brief and to the point. Now, I've never been out in a
warzone on a top secret mission in Afghanistan so I can't really
confirm that's what really happens in the field, but it certainly felt
realistic as I was watching it.




As the handful of soldiers crept up the side of a hill in low light
conditions, one teammate would quietly call out enemy positions. Two
enemies standing on a hill, for instance, would be identified, and if
you looked up you'd see the patrol wandering a ridgeline. It seems you
won't have to do all the shooting in the game, since when you finally
open fire to take one of them out, your squad will do the rest to ensure
you can still proceed without alerting all hostile forces of your
presence.




Creeping further up the hill brings the squad into contact with larger
groups of hostiles. One group carries a flashlight, so you need to wait a
moment before proceeding forward and they swing the light away so you
can get into position to fire. A more interesting assault was on an
enemy camp, with a number of hostiles posted up around a fire. Your
squad approached the position and took up hiding spots in a circle
around the clearing before shooting, taking out every enemy in a matter
of seconds.




After this point the action opened up a little more, as thundering sound
effects indicated some kind of battle was happening just in the
distance. Moving over a ridge revealed a huge expanse of landscape
stretching out below the hillside, above which a friendly plane was
peppering ground targets below with gunfire. Unfortunately, your enemy
had set up a large anti-air gun on a ledge above your squad's position.
It was your job to take it out. The sense of scale here was particularly
impressive, helped out by some great sound design as the gun pounded
above and shots reverberated off the rock walls. It lent a sense of
energy and chaos to the situation that was so controlled just moments
before as your squad fired through enemy patrols with surgical
precision.






Fire from above.

Once
you start shooting up at the enemies near the gun the game seems to
transition to a more familiar first-person shooter experience where you
crouch behind cover to avoid shots and pop back up during lapses in
enemy gunfire routines. I didn't get to play so I can't really say how
the shooting mechanics feel, but the encounter looked to be
well-crafted, with your squad hustling through rocky paths on the way up
to the plateau while picking off enemies along the way. Once the area
was clear, explosives were strapped to the AA gun and it was destroyed
from a distance. Your squad then moves into a village area built into
ravine, but that's right around where the demo ended.




One of the last things shown was the playable character being smashed
with a gun in the side of the head as he rounded a corner, which
triggered a cutscene. Whether the game uses this type of thing to build
character and reinforce the game's personalities as it progresses
remains to be seen. From what I saw, the action looks to be intense, the
sound design impressive, and the visuals, even though they're still
very much in development, looked to be pretty good.




Expect more about the single-player mode once we're able to play, and
more about the multiplayer component once it's unveiled.